Shi-sõ

I really love this- so excited to wear it as it continues to warm up. The opening gives you a hit of tart, green bitterness. The rhubarb is the main player at this point, accompanied by citrusy lemon verbena and sharp shiso (glycolierral). As it dries, it loses some of the rhubarb character and leans more into the ivy. It becomes soapy and clean at this point while still maintaining a bit of those sour/bitter qualities. The final dry down remains soapy and bright. I swear there's musk in here, too. Notably, I don't think this scent presents as particularly "natural", nor does it try to. I would recommend sampling first if you have trouble with "synthetic" smells. Lasts pretty long for a fresh fragrance, projects off my skin for a good 5-6 hours. Very loud projection for the first 30 minutes or so, but calms down a lot after that. I usually don’t like to consider packaging, etc. in my reviews, but my experience here was exceptional so I feel inclined to talk about it! I bought a 50ml bottle of this direct from Nomenclature, and they sent me 6 complementary samples and a 10ml refillable travel atomizer. A very nice surprise. Additionally, their 50ml bottles are so cute. They're surprisingly ergonomic (which is often overlooked in perfume bottles, I feel...) and have great atomizers. Highly recommend!!

Shi-so was a delightful surprise for me; I got a sample by accident and tested it without any expectations, only to find the most vibrant GREEN scent ever. I love it, it's so fresh and tart/zingy without a trace of the citrus accords that usually account for those characteristics (and that I also love, but variety is the spice of life and this take is way more unique). Also, it smells totally natural, and hence utterly unisex. It's the kind of scent that makes me really happy, kind of giddy, like spring after a long winter, or a breath of fresh air after opening a window in a stuffy room. I do have to agree with TheInspector that it's mostly the opening/top notes that steal the show, and the musky drydown is much less spectacular and not especially good on its own. But that's only to be expected with such a vibrant fresh natural scent, and besides, the loveliness of the opening does indeed stay present in a more subdued way for a long time, so it's easy to ignore the base notes. With late spring and summer ahead, I need at least a big decant in my life as soon as possible! And I definitely want to explore this house of Nomenclature, which I'd never heard of a few weeks ago.

Sparkling, super fresh, super green - almost gourmand. Much more gourmand than Menthe Fraiche from Heeley, or any number of similar mint/spearmint/peppermint/fresh scents. And also much better performance. It has super performance, its bright airy opening straight away letting you know what you are in for. A darkness from the blackcurrant helping body it out rather than other traditional scent types, also helping make it more like a perfume than an accident whilst cooking, the rhubarb detectable when you think about it helping giving an encapsulating balloon. Exceptional for the price beating many famous brands with their offer.

WOW! This one deserves huge accolades. Just realised it is a Bertrand Duchafor creation so... not surprising now... I received a small bottle and it impressed me so much I’m on the hunt for a big bottle. Super green citrus zesty opening dries down after a few minutes and the green herbaceous side comes out mint riding on top. The verbena muting the “chopped fresh herb” effect by now so it feels more like a fresh cologne rather than natural crushed food. An hour later and a smooth rhubarb with shiso over the top leaves you enchanted - refreshed and uplifted. Not super strong in longevity but extremely well made other wise.

This is one of my favourite new releases from the Esxence 2017. They’ve interpreted the most interesting green note of Japanese shiso leaf in a deliciously quenching fragrance that borrows scents from sunny lush greenery. It strikes me as extremely crisp, walking the line between cool metallic air and fresh cut herbs, with no citruses but with the same uplifting and invigorating effect. It doesn’t smell of vintage green; it is rather contemporary and new, succeeding in its goal to capture a modern take on the classical theme of Eau de Cologne.

Shiso really smells like Japanese, it's green, a bit herbal, it's refreshing, it's minty. I guess maybe it's the smell of real shiso leaves, albeit I haven't met any of it. I don't understand the dislikes for this perfume, because compared to other Nomenclature scent, for me this one the only one that stands out, different than any of the perfumes that I've ever smelled. It's a light scent, but it lasts very long, 8 hours or so, the sillage is average, however within 1 meter proximity, I got noticed and get compliments wearing this.

what i like about this one is: you have a mouthwaterig zesty sour citrus and without the scent transforming into something different, let's say floral. today i really wanted a blast of green almost unripe citruses and this was just perfect. It does not smell like shiso tastes (heaven!) but it's a nice modern cold citrus with a (god bless) absence of your typical cologny neroli or other flowers.

So, so beautiful. It’s like a modernized Green Irish Tweed met Escentric Molecules. Bright, leafy greenness. No touch of woods. A slight tartness & a dash of sweetness. Pretty linear over its lifetime but that’s just how I like it given how amazing the opening is. Perfect for those who need summertime fresh scents but don’t want anything overly citric or marine.

This perfume is sooooo beautiful. It’s one of the best summer fragrances which, to me, smells from start to end like YELLOW PLUM. An acid fruity juice so refreshing, and i am actually so surprised about the performance which is really great. Finally a summer bomb which doesn’t smell like lemon bergamot and neroli. Huge one, Bertrand!!!!

This is not my "type" of fragrance, but I'm enjoying this quite a bit. It's green, aromatic, and vegetal; it smells like a vegetable garden in Spring. I also get something ever so slightly soapy in this. It's in the same vein as Chef's Table by MiN New York and Aedes Signature by Aedes de Venustas, but I find Shi-so the more wearable of the three. Would be great for warmer weather; completely unisex.

Very juicy, vegetal, light green. Minty undertones. 7.9/10

Absolutely blasted up front by raw, pungent rhubarb. As it simmers away, there’s an herbal trace... that is, if you can see past the huge wall of Glycolierral. All I get here is milky, green, sweet synthetic ivy. It’s so overdone, missing shiso’s minty, spicy, and bright subtleties. The result is a sterile yet tenacious clean green bore.

So overwhelmingly sharp, the mint/verbena/rhubarb/spices are smothered and choked.

Smells like a bloody Mary on my skin. No thanks.

really dislike this. it’s super vegetal in an off putting way. it’s almost like a gourmand salad fragrance but it doesn’t smell like a salad i would want to eat

The opening is fresh and inviting. Such as fruit sweetened vegetal aroma. An interesting aroma—I can best describe as the essence of a raw garden—that is very lush. It is not a minty fresh—but a sense of fresh from that is lightly sweet. There are more brooding aromatics that will quickly begin to open up if you are hypersensitive (due to great exposure to fragrances). If you spray this close to your nose, only the heavy brooding elements will dominate. They are more of a suffocating, musky vegetal aroma. It is not charming. I want to say putrid, even. Only from afar will the finer, more attractive aromatics remain balanced. And even then, the musky elements will be underlying them strongly after the fragrance opens up. This only wants to be a showing of 'the potential of natural perfumery', I believe. I don't think it is intended to be taken seriously. It is just weird. A Sci-Fi type of smell.

I did not want to like this...and I loved it. I thought initially that I would hate this due to the ivy coming through quite powerfully on my skin and persisting. Ivy always reminds me of soap, and feels retro in a way that doesn’t suit my personal style at all. But there’s also such a warm, citrusy cardamom in here and something else really spicy — cumin? I get a little bit of sweetness that could be anise? The rhubarb is super strong to me in the beginning but fades quickly. Not an every day scent for me because that ivy is just too soapy and bitter for me, but I absolutely adore this fragrance as an idea and an experience. The citrusy note lasts impressively long, perhaps owing to its cardamom origins over actual fruit.

Pretty, but not the most wearable scent for me. The mint is relatively strong and remains during the dry down, which is somewhat impressive actually. It’s mega green, almost to the point of it resembling a green gourmand, if that exists. Back to the mint though... I can’t help but think of those organic toothpastes (Tom’s?) with such a note. It’s rendered incredibly photorealistically, and generally well blended. I know some people will love this for what it is. It’s quite artistic.

High voltage green scent with a lot of grapefruit-rhubarb juicy bitterness, fresh black current and shiso leaves (mint and melissa leaves with hint of a anise-cumine spice) If you’re sensitive to amberwood, notice that’s there is some amount of them in a drydown (Ambermax or smth similar I guess), so it’s a lil bit metallic-dry woods.