Scandal Absolu

I bet there is some musk and amberwood in this so that's what it shares with the Scandal by Night and the green element, but which is not the spicy sour pear of the latter. It also shares the sweet indolic tuberose aspect which here is not spiced up by patchouli, orange blossom and salty sour pear or weighed down by cherry so this is so much better to me than Scandal by Night, a cleaner composition. The sandalwood is slightly like pencil shavings after it macerates (I bought it when it first launched) and it complements the fig. I also smell a waxy musk along with the rich slightly spicy sandalwood cuz this is musky animalic on me. I bet there is amberwood in this, just like in Scandal by Night, because it also has an amber-y type of resinous sweetness which becomes more balsamic and more resinous after maceration. Paired with the sandalwood it renders it subtly spicy but not earthy like patchouli-peppery. The fig is aromatic, not too sugared, even after maceration. To amplify the sugared fig I pair it with bbw Brown sugar and fig or VS Velvet Petals. It has a mature vibe to it much like Velvet Petals but they're quite different scents. The spice in this is subtle and the fig kinda acts like a dark green fresh element in this, kinda like the green pear in Scandal by Night or the La belle just not sour, obnoxious and salty. There is a deep woodiness about this scent reinforced by the dark green fig. The lack of honey and vanilla makes it darker and this could be worn by guys too but nothing too unisex here, just the fact that the fig is a more neutral aromatic source, not overly feminine. I love that about fig as in the chocolatey fig of DUA Caramelized Choco Biscuit, a different fig scent than this one but equally neutral not super feminine. To me the fig here is not the super ripe sugared fig. It just has a balsamic resinous cloud around it. It's not jammy or like the Greek spoon sweet fig in syrup. Any sweetness gracing the green fresh fig subduing its sour dry quality stems from the milky tuberose and the amberwood they're hiding haha. I grew up around figs since we own a field of about 30 fig trees in southern Greece across from Rio at our fishing village, so I can tell it's not a ripe fig. As I said, I smell some spice in this from the sandalwood almost like a peppery cedar with some amber, but smoother than cedar - it's intense when I smell my skin up close. The black fig's dark deep aromatic essence intensifies at the later drydown. Scandal Absolu is like they mixed some Scandal By Night, replacing the obnoxious pear and citrusy profile with the fig which is more neutral and aromatic, with So Scandal since in the open air the projection has the wonderful sweet bubblegum-like creamy milky tuberose of it, just not as milky and cheerful as in So Scandal. So this perfume is a 10 from me and everything spicy is subtle and balanced, but be prepared it's really animalic. Update - For a beautiful green ripe fig slightly jammy and quite balsamic but surrounded by fresh notes, try DUA Fig and Vanilla - it is amazing and I only paid 21 bux for it. It is a different vibe from this one and more like the fresh yet jammy green fig I was looking for that is not drenched in sugar. Also I like a Greek brand's new fig scent, called Aether by Aloe Colors. It has coconut and peach, fig, tuberose, jasmine, sandalwood, vanilla and patchouli, so it shares some notes. It's in the same league as Scandal Absolu only more summery and jammy, but also earthy by the patchouli. Both of these are much lighter than VS Tease Heartbreaker where the tonka paired with green and sweet notes mimics the scent of sugared fig.

First impressions having smelt this in Boots store and liberally sprayed all over: it's a love! I need to state that I am a big JPG fan, and usually like the majority of their releases. I like sweet scents, and was excited about this one as I adore fig. I've been through a bottle of So Scandal! and currently have Scandal Le Parfum. Although most of my collection is niche, JPG are a brand I still love and probably one of the designer houses I really back. To me, this is fig syrup in the opening. There is a freshness, but it isn't green at all. It feels like a fig/orange blossom sweetness as part of a dessert, it's golden but not fully sticky or sugary as such. It feel like it gets nutty, maybe it's the sandalwood, but in the dry down there is a rich nuttiness/woodiness that made me think of baklava. In the far drydown, it smells mostly like the Scandal pillar itself mostly, although I don't get any patchouli here. It may be smoother - at around 4 hours it feels almost creamy to me. The sillage is mouthwateringly sweet but retains a freshness whilst having a honey like richness and edible quality. I do not detect tuberose here, and would say any florals are fairly well hidden (to me, it reads more like orange blossom syrup like the original - definitely not tuberose dominant like So Scandal! was, or jasmine like in Le Parfum). I have purchased this as the original Scandal didn't work for me due to the licorice note (which I hate, and so can pick it out prominently there). So I'm delighted to have all the bits I enjoy about that scent, with the addition of the figgy sweetness initially. I think this may be slightly more summer appropriate than original Scandal, and can't wait to wear this on a balmy summer evening. The bottle is my favourite in this range so far too. If you already have and love the original, you may find this doesn't give you enough extra to warrant owning this also - but if you didn't gel with some aspect of that, like me, and/or adore fig, I would definitely recommend this. Update: my bottle arrived today. First full day wearing - the tuberose is actually very noticeable now! From start to finish, a green tuberose (not the bubblegum tuberose in So Scandal) that reminds me of how it smells in Memo Marfa, with the fig and sweet honey syrup. Well...I will need to wear it some more and see what sticks!

Edit: I have since gotten myself a full bottle and although I still stand by my earlier review, I do think it's worth having in my collection. It does remind me of a smotther softer scandal by night, and since that one is no longer around, I do think this has a place in the Scandal lineup now. I am currently wearing Absolu and I am enjoying it fully. Review based on 2 days of wearing a sample. I am a little unsure about this one. On one hand it's not what I expected at all, when looking at the notes, and the name "absolu". On the other hand it's exactly what I could expect from a scandal flanker. I love the Scandal DNA so I am not mad about this having that. But to me this smells like a softer, more tame version of scandal by night. I don't get any fig, I do get a slight tuberose and sandalwood. But otherwise it's that honeyed scent I have come to love from scandal. Absolu to me smells like the opening of scandal by night, but it never really develops from the opening. It just dries down to become more subtle and closer to the skin. A bit more of a crowd pleaser perhaps. I tested this in scandinavian spring, wich is still quite cold and rainy, so maybe it needs a different climate to shine. But I am a little underwhelmed. I do find that original Scandal has something screechy in the drydown, absolu does not. But I don't feel like absolu really lasts or projects as well as the OG and previous flankers. I will probably still get a full bottle of this at some point, as I do love the Scandal DNA and I do collect them. But it's not really needed, it doesn't really add much of anything new to the lineup. I will test it again when the weather changes to see if that helps. So to sum it up, Absolu seems like a smoother, softer version of scandal and scandal by night. It's less heavy, more crowdpleasing. Sits closer to the skin. It's pleasant and retains the scandal DNA but seems redundant.

The best in the Scandal collection. 🏆 Let's start with the bottle design. You get the fun and iconic legs in the air, and the bottle comes in a beautiful gold degradé. The prettiest Scandal bottle IMO. And once you smell the fragrance, you realize the bottle design fits the fragrance to perfection. A+. This does start off similar to Scandal by Night. If you haven't tried that one, imagine a delicious hard cherry-honey candy with bubblegumy tuberose inside. But the drydown ! There is so much more than that here ! Now you get that same candy, but with a delicious filling. As you go thru the candy, you get to the most intoxicating coconut-slightly vanillic custard filling, with a slice of candied fig and mini bits of nuts. It's so creamy, silky, smooth and heavenly. The fig here is not green at at, and oh it's there ! I'm sure the coconut and creamyness comes from the sandalwood, but I'm still convinced there are other notes missing here. Whatever is in it, it's amazing! And although it's sweet, it's not as sweet as the OG which I can't wear because it's a little too much for me. The creaminess here seems to balance it out nicely. Femenine, delicious, decadent and oh so sexy! As with most from JPG, it's a beast and lasts forever. And trust me, you'll get compliments galore with this one ! 👍

After reading a few reviews I thought the fig would not be recognizable but I quite got the note: First smelled really nice, hit of honey tuberose and also the image of skin warmed with the heat of the sun ?? Amazing projection, everywhere I went people commented on how good I smelled. It evolved into a fresher, not woody but almost, fig. I almost got the distant image of the pulp of the fruit with its seeds ??? There was the sun, warm skin, and the green freshness of a opening a fig ☀️💚 But I am a bit disappointed at one aspect: after one hour it settled into a skin scent, zero projection anymore. Afterwards it became a sun potion: a really nice summer perfume. The blend is simple yet beautiful!!! Everything fits together: the floral and not too creamy tuberose, the green/sweet fig (and the two giving this vivid idea of a creamy sunny coconut on the beach), and the sandalwood is always a match made in heaven with the other two notes. Everything blends into a nice creamy dream that floats around you when you are taking a stroll on the beach, or taking a sun bath, very well blended and balanced, and a tested and approved crowd pleaser 💚🐚🤍☀️