Fleurs de Sel

Fleurs de Sel awakens my senses like few other fragrances can. It's breathing in the great outdoors and suddenly feeling truly alive. To be clear, this is no rendition of pristine and sun-kissed rolling fields. There is neither clean mountain air nor the sweet aroma of white flowers carried along a gentle breeze. Instead, you have an unpromising landscape upon which to inspire a fragrance. A stirring wind. Dull greens, muted yellows and harsh browns. Tall reeds, coarse grass, thick bracken and knotted roots resting atop a brine-soaked wetland. Despite appearances though, there is a thriving, aroma-rich underbelly that is well worth exploring. Things begin with a nose-tingling experience of punchy wild herbs and astringent green flora - flitting between medicinal, mentholated and mineral. It's seemingly a lot to handle but it's suitably contained. Mid-development the fragrance has mellowed with a soft iris, yet intermittently perks up again with hits of the underlying salt base. A persistent leather note works wonders: it binds, gives depth, acts as an olfactory distraction. I should add that I experience no woody facets here. Rather, it's strongly herbaceous. Fleurs de Sel is a slice of nature that's been fully imagined and perfectly realised. Hats off to Lyn Harris.

Just wow! The smell reminds me of an artists studio overlooking a secluded beach. Has a definite incense and honey playfulness underneath a gorgeous salty sage. I layered this over ambergris for amplification which is working really well. I also layered over a black musk attar and the artist has found a gorgeous hippy girl who is happy to be his /her muse for a fleeting weekend enjoying the sunsets with sweet riesling and fresh baklava. Has a faint resinous medicinal touch that some may not enjoy. Not a safe blind buy so get a sample and take it from there. I'm off to buy a bottle. I've been looking for a warm weather fragrance that has the balls to step away from the generic 'shower gel' and powdery flowers and I believe that I've found it. Blissful.

Loved it on first spritz! I opened this early in the morning as I started off a long drive to the Scottish coast, thinking that the salt would be a good match and the herbal feel would be calming and nd fresh. Not quite correct but I love it! This reminds me of Dzongkha by L'artisan but without the sweet liquorice note! I think it's the herbal leather but it's so smooth under the salt and warm too! I'd say it would work as a unisex but I don't fancy sharing! Excellent work by a fail proof brand! Sillage and longevity is pretty good as usual for Miller Harris!

This was the most wearable salty aromatic sea-shore fragrance I've ever had. Remember the clip of Le vent nous portera by Noir Désir? This fragrance had the exact same vibe. And I've got to say that I just love it when a perfume house discontinues one of my favourite fragrances, and in fact I urge them to do this more often so that I can just give up wearing anything altogether and save all my precious Euros on a car or a house.

This is not a fragrance I wear every day, but for the right mood it is very nice; it is a complex, natural and aromatic poem of scents that keeps talking to me, at times it gets slightly annoying (cough syrup?), but mostly, it is woody, free and mysterious (cooler climate coastal vegetation?) and has a bit of florals to soften the oakmoss. I like it best after about 30 minutes.

My first wearing of this perfume today. I am three hours into the perfume and I do enjoy it enormously. I never smelled a salt marsh and it's vegetation but if this is it, I will go and visit. I am getting whiffs of different scents constantly, it changes all the time. Find it truly amazing that one can create a perfume like this.

It reminds me of drinking Campari sodas in the south of France :)

The key for liking Fleurs de Sel is: 1. loving strongly herbal/aromatic scents 2. loving fragrance with classicaly strong woody-mossy-leather-base. A salt, prounounced in the name of fragrance might be on a third place. Not the first, not the second. I can say a few things for sure: Fleurs de Sel has classic structure, it is strong - somewhere between piercing and bracing, it is kinda warm also, definitely voluminous and not quite light. A tough one, for sure - classically tough, but still very far from "cologne" / "barber shop" vibe. Firmly unisex. The opening is strong, sharp, piercing enough to clear the sinuses. I know rosemary, laurel (bay leaf) and thyme by heart, as I grow them and use them in cooking: they are all very aromatic, but here is also some shy background warmth attached to this particular herbal concoction which makes them even stronger altogether. When this aromatic blast settles a little, I can actually smell the salty note. Now, about this salt: On me, Sel de Vetyver is definitely more salty. Acqua Divina is maybe more salty, Eau de Melvilles is definitely just about same salty, but the salty note is different - in EdM is pushed more upfront. Reveal is less salty. Olympea and Womanty are so deep in the womanly territory that comparing their saltiness to the kind of saltiness that Fleurs the Sel presents seems pointless. Salt is here present, but the strong herbal accord definitely keeps it in the background. This perfume has other qualities that make it specific. In the middle, flowers are shy. So shy I don't really get how this fragrance fits to chypre-floral group. It's much more chypre-woody. Very, very aromatic chypre woody. I don't smell narcissus. I do smell presence of iris and maybe rose, but only as a neutralizing, calming and milding factor to the very aromatic opening. But, the middle is still definitely unisex. In the drydown, the herbal-aromatic concoction (thyme + rosemary+laurel) is back, but it is not piercing anymore. It is still very bracing, along with some discrete sweetness and warmth. The very classic vetyver- oak moss combo prevents the sweetness to develop. And there is leather, the additional and quite prominent firming factor. So, if you know leather from vintage Cabochard and Bandit - it's pretty close. I definitely don't sense amber, which is listed among the main accords here. Regarding the base, I think it's safe to say that none of the classic manly chiypres or leathery-orientals would feel uncomfortable with this base. It is fearlessly tough, but polite and well behaved. This fragrance just refuses to step near the unquestionably feminine territory, it is classicly beautiful but modern unisex with strong character. *like *longevity: long lasting (8+ hours) *silage: moderate + *weather / time: Regardless of its aromatic, herbal, fresh nature and bracing character, Fleurs de Sel didn't work well on me as a summer fragrance. BUT, on fresher days in late summer (up to 25 C) it is beautiful. I suppose it will be great for transitional seasons. Casual to formal. Day.

Incredibly complex, dynamic fragrance. If shifts between herbal, fresh and green spice that leads into something medicinal, and also strong leather and whiskey. Very hard to pin down as it keeps changing, although the leather remains a constant feature for me. The initial opening impression is whiskey, but one can immediately unpack that into the thyme, rosemary, clary sage, all coming together into a bracing medicinal or herbalist vapor (a similar impact as in Terre de Bois, currently my favourite from MH). The leather is there, a bit stronger than I would like, probably amplified by the iris. The salt comes later, not marine, but more imbued with vegetal and woody undertones, although a bit of table salt with iodine surfaces now and again. It manages to convey at the same time freshness (the green herbs) and some kind of confinement (the leather), with the salt coming into it more as an effort of the imagination and maybe tying the two together. Excellent staying power, good projection. More of a daytime or afternoon wear, but would work in the evening, too. There is some confusion about whether this is a feminine or masculine or unisex fragrance (currently, on the Miller Harris website it is listed for men). I am more inclined to say that this is predominantly masculine, but very appropriate for assertive, strong, sensible women. Definitely not girly, but not hyper-masculine either, as far away from fragrance gender stereotypes as possible. A serious grown-up scent, sophisticated and a tad complicated.

I must admit I was pretty apprehensive about this scent after reading the varied reviews, but it is glorious. It opens with a big hit of rosemary and salt, then quite quickly softens to an earthy herby scent, with the salt present but not overpowering throughout. I don't detect any floral notes at all. I can see the confusion whether this is feminine or masculine as a lot of the notes are masculine, but I think it is more on the feminine side, although a strong one at that! I can't wait to wear this in summer, as it instantly takes me to a cliff top with a strong wind coming in from the sea and beautiful coastal plants underfoot. Another challenging yet beautiful Miller Harris masterpiece!

A bit perplexed why it says for women as its clearly unisex. If anything perhaps leaning towards the masculine. Strong aromatic/herbal creation. Equally herbal as salty. Very tasty. I cant say I think of the sea. It smells like one of my herbal mixes that I add to cooking. This would be excellent to wear on a hot sunny day as it is refreshing and almost biting in its herbal strength. The sage, narcissus and vetiver certainly add plenty of kick. This could possible be migraine inducing! I appreciate it for what it is and will let my fella have this to wear when it is hot. Strong sillage and good longevity.

What Thranduilseyebrows said about this smelling like a childhood doc office is spot on. It opens with antiseptic/medicinal notes, then shifts to a very beautiful herbaceous scent like taking a lavender salt bath. I know this lists iris, narcissus and rose but I actually don't detect much floral here and I think that's what makes this scent unique. Once the dry down hit it reminds me of a very smooth after shave scent in a good way. This is very unisex. I could see this being worn in all seasons for the right person. Clung close to my skin, but lasted.

Fleurs de sel smells like men's shaving cream to me. Straight up Barbasol. Cool, powdery minty-ness. I like that smell-- it reminds me of childhood-- and it's not unpleasant, but I think you could probably just shave with Barbasol and save some cash. Definitely unisex. Doesn't last long on my skin. Drydown is less shaving-cream-y and a little sweet.

The opening is packed with aromatic herbs and dominated by a salty note. There are definitely woods in the background and a faint leather note. The intensity drops a lot after the first half hour, but the fragrance doesn't change too much. It smells like a salty breeze over a garden of herbs. 7/10

Plenty of people have described this bracing, herbal, salty scent already. Yes, it smells like a rocky, wild beach in northern Maine. But I would not say that it's unisex in the common view. The vetiver is just too strong and makes this decidedly masculine.

dry, green, minty seabreeze... cooling, enveloping... i can detect some of the green/salty top notes + a trace of dry peppery leather... drydown seems to be a little bit sweeter. a very nice , comforting, dry summer scent!!!

Gorgeous! lots of herbs: Thyme and Clary Sage, bedding down into Leather and Vetiver with a bit of salt spray. Does what it says it's going to. Marvellous. A tad masculine, but that's fine by me.

Aromatic without becoming medicinal. Quite masculine. Hint of aquatics and distinguishable salt in the background. This is quite a subtle and complex fragrance for a piece with that much aromatic herbs on the top. I think there is someone out there - a man most likely - who would really love this. There is a certain private quality to this one but when you really smell it up close you sense all the nuances. Lovely, just not for me personally but for a thoughtful, intelligent, quiet man.

Smells like a childhood doctors office to me in a good way. Very herbaceous but i feel like it needs some citrus as a top note. It would probably be good on a ot day, try again. 3/5 to me

I got a sample of this in London the other day, and when I tested it last night, without checking this database, I was absolutely sure this is a masculine, or unisex, at best. I am very much surprized to find, that it meant to be a feminine fragrance. To my taste it is totally, 100% masculine, and one that failed to impress me. I wouldn't even like it on my husband, to be honest. To my nose it is more sour than salty, sour, dry, metallic, and I find it rather irritating. Unfortunately for me both the staying power and projection are very good. Definitely not a keeper.