Tilleul

So earlier this year (I'm bloody certain it was last year but only typed up the review and uploaded it to here in April you know but anyway...) I reviewed Tillia by Marc Antoine Barrois but equally significantly... by the same perfumer as Tilleul, Mr Q Bisch. I loved Tillia, I thought it was a spectacular display of modern vulgarity of volume, strongly juxtaposed with glorious, naturalistic, floral, elegance. Yeah I did! So I'd heard on the grapevine and then subsequently read an article on here that Le Galion had a very similar but much 'better' more naturalistic and the snobby vibes I got were that this was much more refined and less bawdy than the Barrois, which is true BTW! (Except for the 'better' part) Now I might be being unfair here but the tone of that article (and others, people I know and like so I'm not having a go here) was one of... that old musical adage... 'I liked their early stuff better, ...their first album was good...' that kind of muso twattery where they are like 'I liked Bisch before he became popular and mainstream, of do you like his stuff NOW do you? oh I see... which respectfully.... is a load of old shite! (and so recognisable because it's also the kind of snobbery I myself might engage in from time to time lol) Anyway this prompted me to sample this perfume and wade in on the debate, like the 20 stone shithouse I am. You know what? As Tilleul opens I was like... my god... it is all the things people say, it's the exact, naturalistic floral accord which I do associate with one of nature's most gorgeous summer wonders, the linden blossom, which you don't immediately get from Tillia, because it's just so loud and brutal. This has a much lighter touch. However, as it dries down and the accord settles on skin, I hate to be reductive here but it's basically the same perfume but weaker. Sorry...I hate to be that guy and I'm not saying it's bad, far from it in fact, it's stunning. Now I openly admitted that as much as I love MAB Tillia it's strength and tenacity were weapons grade, so do I not welcome a milder alternative then? Well.... no. I like the lasting citrus, lemon/lime bite and tropical, creamy, airy, powdery floral with that sweet tinge of honey and the powerful, chalky ambrox fueled base, I think it makes the experience more intense longer lasting, and just more sparkly which is a word I've used to describe loads of Bisch perfumes and ALL of Barrois, it's the calling card of the brand. Whereas the calling card of Le Galion is to be much more demure and classical in their approach and from that perspective the way the perfumer has basically made the same perfume for two different brands he's accurately reflected their ethos. Both are great but I prefer Tillia as much as I'd love to have joined that vinyl record collectors group, waxing lyrical about their hidden knowledge on pre Amouage/Barrois Bisch work.... I can't because I just prefer Tillia. I'm with you Noseferratu! If in the event you like the smell of Tillia in general terms, it's icy, cooling, green/yellow hues but want something a little quiter, more pastel than neon, then this IS THE perfect alternative. This review has been somewhat overshadowed by another perfume but I loved Tilleul to be fair!

Artisanal honey is a simple pleasure that I like to treat myself to fairly regularly. It is unsurprising, then, that I have a soft spot for honey-sweetened scents. I find that honey as a note gives a very pleasing, rich, floral-tinged sweetness that feels more luxurious and realistic than, say, syrupy vanillin - and it is much more unusual. Tilleul is a simple honeyed floral scent that is good-quality and wearable. It is a sweet summertime scent that brings to mind honeysuckle, as @Mez0Nez below has mentioned already, despite it not being among the listed notes. In fact, "tilleul" translates simply to "linden blossom". I haven't smelled a real linden blossom, but a lime-tinged floral quality permeates this scent. Tilleul opens with heady, hazy linden blossom with a distinctive lime edge. The honey adds rich sweetness from the opening, complementing the florals beautifully. It smells very natural, like wild honeysuckle blooming in countryside hedges during the summer. It becomes slightly powdery as it progresses. The ambroxan becomes more evident as it develops, but it is restrained and acts as a fixative rather than weighing down the scent. It becomes musky as it fades, with the sweet florals remaining until final fade. Sillage and longevity are moderate. It is a spring/summer feminine-leaning scent in my opinion. A simple but beautifully-formed honeyed floral, this is more wearable than other, more artistic honey scents (Hiram Green Slowdive or perhaps Zoologist Bee come to mind). Realistic and natural-smelling, it feels as if it is infused with sunlight. I can almost hear the bees. 4/5.

A legend from Greek mythology tells that Philira, nymph daughter of Oceanus, had a son from Cronos, from their union, the centaur Chiron was born. Frightened by the being that she gave to her world, Filira asked her father to be killed, but he decided differently about her and transformed her into a Linden plant. The linden tree is a sacred plant to Aphrodite, a symbol of femininity. This wonderful fragrance, created by the brilliant Quentin Bisch, is a honeyed essence of the blossom of this tree, pure and ethereal. I feel like passing by a flowering linden tree, it is an extract of this simple yet special sensation in a bottle. Ended up on the wishlist it made me dream. “Saturn and Filira” painted by Parmigianino.

This Tilleul-Le Galion is closer to Pretty Machine (soapy drydown) than it is to Tilia (honey forward). I like it best among all linden blossom scents. When i overspray this, i almost smell the banana oil in there. Comparing with French Lime Blossom and La Chasse Aux Papillons, the vintages are more dusty, dry and less sweet. I believe the honey accord make Tilleul-Le Galion a more modern perfume. Update: I thought Tilleul-LeGalion is very similar to D'orsay C.G. I was very wrong, now that i smelt both side by side. C.G is hay-forward so it pulls the linden accord to unisex vs Tilleul is definitely dainty. (If you are a gentlemen, don't dismiss C.G.)

This perfume is... just so exquisite. It’s fascinating to watch one of greatest parfumeurs of our time explore a single note - and a very niche one at that - as M. Quentin Bisch has done with linden blossom in both Tilia and Tilleul. For myself, I don’t feel the need to compare them... they are both exceptionally beautiful, though in different ways. (P.S. I wish the house of Le Galion were carried by more stockists in the U.S. I can only find two, and Tilleul is sold out in one of them.)