Orange Blossom

As usual, another soliflore from Illuminum smells good. I hate it when reviewers use this word, but in this case, it's true: this is a competent orange blossom perfume. It's actually better than competent, because it is not overly sweet or syrupy or soapy (for those who dislike those qualities), and it showcases the dominant orange blossom quite well. There is also a touch of orientalia, though I would not have identified it necessarily as oud. No patchouli, though, so those who love orange blossom but dislike the patch in Elie Saab eau de parfum might prefer this composition instead. I love orange blossom (more than neroli), and here it smells appealing. The strategy of Illuminum is clearly to be able to steer their clientele to every conceivable perfume idea which might pop up in their mind. What collection would be complete without an enticing orange blossom perfume, showcasing a classic scent from the history of perfumery? Sweet, floral, innocent and seductive--all at the same time! Yes, this is menu perfuming, and I see it being done more and more in the luxury realm. This sort of house caters to people like the British royalty and the First Lady who are busy and would like to satisfy all of their perfume needs in one-stop shopping. The next time I'm in London, I might drop by the attractive Illuminum digs. I wonder whether anyone attended the Chandler Burr event held there recently? I'm not so sure that hitching one's star to Chandler Burr is likely to be a winning business tack, but as long as it's only one of a variety of simultaneous strategies running in tandem I suppose that it cannot hurt...

Seville a l'Aube...EXACTLY! Not that they smell identical, but this is one of those rare floriental that works like magic: soapy, herbal, and oh so warm like the passionate color of the juice, but dries increasingly greener & losing floralcy. I personally would've preferred a soliflore, but I have not found a satisfying one, and I wouldn't count on this brand to make the holy grail anyway lol

In typical Illuminum fashion, there is no orange blossom here. Instead this is a very watery Neroli, that to my nose smells like cold soapy used dishwater, but neroli always smells quite soapy to me - so take that with a pinch of salt. I felt this was quite light, but I guess it has decent projection/sillage as I only applied a small amount and my BF complained about the smell - so I guess its lightness is deceptive. I don't detect any Thyme, Olibanum or Myrrh, there is something in the background that I guess could maaaaaaybe be oud?

I expected this to smell of pure orange blossom. Again with this brand and their marketing strategy with choosing the fragrance names, you can either an exact smell of what the name of the fragrance is or you can be so far away from it (Taif Rose smells exactly of taif roses, while Rose Oud smells nothing of Rose Oud). This feels like a masculine floral, a little citrusy but not summery. Feels classy and balsamic. Again with this brand, you can always count on their amazing quality. Very long lasting and has big projection.

brand new full bottle for trade. Private message me