Nature Morte Avec Pommes

Imagine an altar for the Autumn Equinox: crisp apples, a loaf of walnut bread, a chalice filled to the brim with cider (slightly stale, because we’re busy and it’s perfectly fine to leave offerings out for multiple days!). A feast shared with covenmates and friendly spirits alike. Sticky-fingered, silly, sacred. A toast to Persephone‘s descent into the underworld, to the first chilly evenings, to haunted orchards, to communal magic and serious play. (It took me several wears before I was able to rewire my brain to get past the green apple shampoo scent association! Maybe that's what pulled me in at first spray: childhood nostalgia, a faint memory of my mom wearing DKNY Be Delicious. I came for the Granny Smith, I stayed for the magic that unravelled afterwards!)

I am losing my marbles over just how realistic and rich this is. Possibly my best find of the year, and I don't see it losing to any future releases. The walnut note is ever-present, from the opening to the drydown, going from freshly-cracked-open to slightly stale, but still edible. The green apple in the opening is impressively well-balanced — something I’ve never experienced with this note in other perfumes, as it tends to lean synthetic. Here, you’re sitting on a massive walnut table, cracking walnuts straight onto it, and a plate of sliced green apples is placed on the other end — quite far, so you just get occasional whiffs. Brilliant. Miskeo once again does what it says it will do, as this is the scent equivalent of a nature morte painting.

this smells like if a trendy but not hollow bar made a cocktail inspired by mcdonald’s apple turnovers. two profiles, almost childish take on apple flavour contrasting with boozy with a tinge of bitter amber. i do love it!

Of the three recent releases from beautiful Miskeo, this one is my least favorite. It reminds me just a bit of cult fave Le Feu d'Issey by Issey Miyake in that it has an apple note mashed together with a variety of other notes that I struggle to mesh with. Sweet apple comes through with sweet tonka, and then a fermented feeling that gives me just-over-ripened fruit that needs to be tossed in the bin. Something has spoiled. I had high hopes for this one but it just doesn’t work for my nose.