L'Eau d'Issey Shades of Kolam

This is so full of character and is exactly what I'm looking for in the blazing heat of the summer, it's beautiful, and makes me think that this is what an indie artist like greentea Peng would smell like (but thats just me) and I love that about it, the rice notes are prominent in colder temperatures, but in each type of weather I smell something new and that's what's so delicious about it 💗 it's fun, it's a great concept, and even if the sillage isn't the greatest and it doesn't last very long, I'm happy to reapply and chill on my couch and bask in the sun 🌞

A bit more complex than some of issey miyake scents. It’s clean yet warm and most perfect for summer evenings. I can also see this for autumn days in more temperate climates. The scent starts off with a more mature vibe (as in sophisticated and classy) then it mellows out into something I really believe is a cross over into a more youthful fragrance. You do smell that issey miyake DNA. Something kinda aquatic but like a warm pool right after the sun has set. The grapefruit only last for a moment which is sad because it compliments the fragrance so well (thinking I could wear a grapefruit essential oil and jojoba blend on skin?) It is heavy on the cardamom and cedar which is probably why I like it. I don’t really smell rose until maybe? in the dry down...and the freesia is a bit more synthetic smelling than id like. A lot of people feel this as a feminine fragrance but I really believe it is unisex to only slightly more feminine. Grapefruit, cardamom and cedar are all very common accords found in “masculine” fragrances. Definitely a clothing or dare I say hair perfume (too much will dry hair out so mix with water in a spray bottle or oil you hair in conjunction). Seems the projection and silage are terrible on skin. Overall very balanced perfume and not linear or inexpensive smelling like some of the other issey miyake fragrances can be. Can be cloying and headache inducing (because of the synthetic ambergris?)for some people. For the price point this is an excellent choice.

Completely agreed with Aiga1 below. Shades of Kolam for women smells really nice, but it has zero projection and extremely poor longevity. It's a nice-to-have fragrance but it's not something awe-inspring. It's like throwing a bunch of florals into the water and bottle that water up. I got almost no basmati rice. Don't bother with that note if you're thinking about buying this perfume for it. Lots of jasmine in the opening; dry down smells like vanilla, as some others have pointed out. If it were more intense, I'd highly recommend it, but for what it is, I just can't. (Even considering the fact that I myself am a light perfume lover, I still find this to be too thin.) The men's version is much more sophisticated, in my opinion. Update: Having worn this for about two days straight, I notice the fragrance, while being light, has the potential to become cloying and headache-inducing, ironically. It's got to be because of the white florals (jasmine in particular). I'm somewhat glad I didn't blind buy this but decided to get a sample first.

I like this smell it fresher than L’Eau d’Issey EDT but still weak

This works better in mild than it hot weather, which is not a great feature for a summer edition in my opinion. I mainly wanted to try this because of the basmati rice note, which I could barely perceive in high summer. The fragrance just smelled fresh, floral and vaguely warm to me. Now that it's almost autumn I tried it again and this time I get some rice steam, and it smells generally warmer and sweeter, almost a little vanillic. I don't get any cardamom, which would have been a nice addition, and not much of the L'Eau d'Issey DNA. This is also very light and weak. Shades of Kolam is totally fine and inoffensive if you want a fresh, clean daytime scent that is not too astringent, but honestly, I have many of those that I like better, so I'll skip this one.