Fado Jasmim

Well, it was only a matter of time before I decided to try the wonderful creations of Miguel. What can a girl do in the middle of a lockdown, in the middle of a bleak winter, with a perfume wardrobe very much depleted and neglected recently? There were quite a few of his perfumes that I wanted to get my hands on so there was a certain agony of choice. I decided first to go for Jasmine Fado. Being Greek i can relate to Fado music, it appears in similar forms and theme throughout the Mediterranean countries and I am a great fan of Ana Moura and Amalia Rondrigues. So, at first Spritz I am greeted with the fresh, balmy notes of lemon leaf, creamed with banana and rounded by my favourite plum note that gives a very aromatic edge. This first impression is very fruity yet restrained by the freshness of oakmoss. This part will have the fruit lovers in delight, yet, there is only warmth and moderate sweetness, nothing is cloying. On the second phase, after about an hour or more, depending on one's skin, I was greeted with the indolic notes mixed with peach and rounded by a very velvety rose, my all-time favorite note. This phase lasts very long, oakmoss is still there but it's so beautifully balanced that it never overpowers as to create a dated effect, it just compliments and supports the balance between animalistic, fruity and indolic. The final phase is THE thing, according to my nose, where Jasmine gains its Fado nature. It loses its sweetness and becomes smokier, more indolic, darker. It teams up with a smoky Amber and soft oakmoss, a deep yet soft smoky oud on a bed sprinkled with soft red musky petals, the sadness of a lost love enwrapped in deep lusty, aromatic Tuberose. The last phase lasts really long, to my delight and it still has the aromatic echo of the oakmoss giving an earthy, melancholic touch to the Tuberose. This perfume is masterly blend and sophisticated. It pleases those who love a fruity touch combined with the depth of animalic and resinous notes. The oakmoss here is beautifully blended as to keep a balance between the other rioting notes adding a classic vibe without dating the whole composition. I find Fado Yasmin best worn in Winter or Autumn, personally. Truly Miguel. This is amazing!

What happens when saudade (the soul-deep melancholy of Portuguese fado) meets a fruit basket? Fado Jasmim answers the question with a composition that feels like Amalia Rodrigues singing under a banana tree at midnight. This isn’t just a gimmick: it’s one of the many tributes to a culture or a state of mind that Matos has worked on. As per his description, here you will find the essence of fado: sadness made beautiful, longing turned into art. And he did it with jasmine as the lead vocalist, backed by an orchestra (...or the proverbial symphony?) of fruits and animalics. The opening is impactfully dramatic, one of my wife's most hated: ripe banana and plum are joined by lemon leaf, creating a decadent introduction. Then the heart kicks in rather quickly, with dominant jasmine sambac, contoured by tuberose, rose, and peach. In essence, and indolic apotheosis. In pure matosian style, the real twist appears in the base. 3-4 hours in, civet and ambergris kick in humming like a Portuguese guitarra, accompanied by musky warmth. Longevity is 8+ hours on skin, with a pretty strong projection for the first couple of hours, perhaps a bit more. Fado Jasmim is not a shy perfume and people will either smell you or your trail... for once, I can say that it is a statement piece. So all in all, Banana Melodrama is the name of the game here: this unisex composition is a theatrical interplay of fruits and powerful florals, impregnated by animalic shades. A 10 out of 10 is well deserved, because once again Matos delivers the full package: a pictured narrative, an original composition, substantial performance and a reasonable price.

Dear Fragrantica Friends, Tuberose is a note I cannot stand. I struggle with jasmine, especially the indolic kind. The note of banana, for me, exudes childish artificiality. This perfume is heavy in all three. It was doomed from the start. And yet... What kind of magic is this? Why do I keep coming back, again and again? Quite addictive. And transformative. From all the samples I got from Miguel Matos, Fado Jasmin was the one I was least excited to try out. But the more I wore it the more I wanted to wear it. It has now become an obsession that I cannot seem to shake off. Everything about it tells me this shouldn't work, but somehow it does. This is a very fruity scent with a strong omnipresence of both indolic jasmine and tuberose. It lasts quite a bit (12 hours, perhaps more on clothes) and projects quite well. I got multiple very positive comments from people around me even 7 hours after application. I don’t really get the animalic facet here (supposedly from the civet), nor the saltiness (supposedly from the ambergris) – it might be my nose is not that sensitive. This also doesn’t remind me of Fado in any way (except at a very abstract and intellectualized level). But that doesn’t really matter. Every work of art gains a life of its own when it leaves the artist’s hands and is experienced by a new observer. And art this perfume is. It has challenged me. It has transformed me. The best from Master Miguel.

Best fruit ever. This opens very strongly with a mix of banana, plum and peach that reminds allmost cherry (or fruit candy) kind extract to me. I clearly distinguish these fruits. I love coumarin, I get a lot of it. However, this does not become stuffy at any point, on the contrary, the scent is very open and airy. The jasmine begins to bloom with an indolic brightness when the fragrance dries down. I can detect the creamy tuberose too, but I can't tell that civet cat (pee or fur) to my nose almost at all. Surprisingly, I don't get a strong musk either. Animality just blends so extreme well with jasmine and indole in this scent. The fruitiness is excellently preserved throughout the lifetime of the fragrance. The oakmoss is not overpowering or mutty, but gives the scent a mature and very sophisticated edge. I can't tell the agarwood from the base, my nose might confuse it with the smell of coumarin. But Maybe I find Fado, because I cry.

more you spray, more you want. a perfume that is a magnet. fruit, banana above all, jasmine, tuberose, indole and let's not forget the civet make this perfume a masterpiece. if only it had more performance