Mikimoto Eau de Parfum

Ok so there haven't been many reviews for this fragrance in a while so I felt compelled to give my $0.02. I think this fragrance is great; keep in mind that when some people say "this isn't unique enough" that those people may have been in the fragrance game for a while and that they may be jaded over time. "Uniqueness" is attributed against the backdrop of the overall fragrance selection today and ultimately becomes a mix of the objective and subjective, but is heavily subjective regardless. What this perfume does very well is capture the essence of Japan and Mikimoto in particular. It does transform into different stages where the different notes (aforementioned above) come into play. It's like taking a tour around Japan, where you get the sea, sun, and the sky. This works in the post-work restaurant and works at the refined tea-house (nothing with strenuous activity). We also have to accept that Japanese people like light perfumes and those that play close to the skin. This is great insofar as you can smell it but it's not wild (more classy + airy) and that was the intention of the perfumer. It is stronger than Sailing Day by Margiela, which is the #1 sold perfume in Japan and stronger than Jo Malone, which is also popular with Asians. I agree with user DR521 insofar as it is fresh and urbane, and can work in many different settings in Japan. This is also definitely unisex. Japan gets HOT and to have a perfume like this from an excellent Japanese house that works in hot and cold is fantastic. If you're reading this from the US/Europe, you'll wear this to dinner with friends or the post-pool party, or a theater/show etc. While I love designer scents such as BDC, this feels more classy and clean than that but can fit in the same scenarios. Is this blind buy worthy? No. Because someone like bi.ann or shashamo may read this and feel gipped. This scent transforms and you need to spend time with it before running to the review site. Go to a Mikimoto and smell it. If you're in Japan, buy it as a keepsake (the bottle is beautiful).

I got a sample of this fragrance with my MIKIMOTO jewelry and wanted to come on here to write a review, but I read the previous reviewer @shashamo's review and he/she already said everything I wanted to say about this fragrance! I'm such a huge pearl lover and MIKIMOTO fan that I really really wanted to enjoy and love this fragrance, but it's like what shashamo said, it's so typical, ordinary, and basic. I feel like this kind of scent (exact DNA) has been around for so many years. Quite disappointed actually. I mean it smells good, but nothing about it represents the elegant and timeless image of their brand.

I had high expectation for this fragrance because I have this image of Japanese cosmetic products smell sophisticated, subtle and have thier own way of uniqueness. This is very very ordinary perfume. There is NOTHING special, no unique or niche aspect from this scent. It opens up typical soft floral then again very typical aquatic that smells so familiar then within 10 mins wood note suddenly appears and stays. Maybe I've been had too many niche perfumes and this is too ordinary. If I smell this from a girl or guy I would think that person plays really safe and even boring. This can be a shampoo scent but then I still woudn't go for it. Too shallow. I heard purfumer said the aquatic fact for this perfume was a must as Mikimoto is a pearl jerwely company but not if this makes it too casual and fresh. I expected much more sophistication and complexity for the perfume that carries the image of luxurious and elegance of pearls.

Pineapple, pomelo and incense with aquatic notes and a touch of wood. Sounds bad but is actually fresh and urbane. Quite unisex and pleasant in hot weather, low projection and sillage but it persists.