Tropique

If you're looking for a realistic lychee-heavy scent that doesn't skew overly childlike, this is your girl! At first spray, you immediately notice the aldehydes and shimmering bergamot. It fades nicely into a bubbly lychee/rose/freesia floral. The most easily noticeable components are bergamot, lychee, freesia, musk, vetiver. There may be rose, hibiscus (Rosa sinensis variety that you can make into candy, not true hibiscus), some waterlily, vanilla, and possibly some bamboo and the slightest hint of coconut. Fragrantica is just being lazy with their scent pyramid notes because they are listed online in various places and can give you a better idea of what this creation is like. Don't grab for this or blind buy with the assumption that it is a coconut-based tropical scent. And thank God, no Gardenia or Tuberose here. Nothing wrong with the classic tuberose-coconut tropical scent. It's just that it gets old and there are so many wonderful tropical plants that never get to bask in the limelight. That makes Tropique unique. Tropique is as close to Safi by Nyakio Kamoche as you can get right now. I've spent 10ish years of searching and will be buying a full bottle of this to layer with bamboo and some sweet vernal grass for the touch of bulrushes. The similarities are also there to Mankara. It makes sense, as there is quite a lot of lychee in this. But Tropique is infinitely better because it's not as synthetic and lacks the metallic sharpness and chalky notes that Indult's Mankara has. On my skin those notes are amplified to the point it is unwearable. That makes this an especially wonderful find for me! I've been looking for a Lychee-forward scent for ages where it doesn't either evaporate immediately or is synthetically cloying. Lychee is both one of my favorite scents and one of my favorite fruits and flavors. That makes it easy to recognize the differences between different varieties of the fruit and the synthetics used both in candy and drink flavorings as well as perfumes. There is a perfect blend in Tropique. They use some synthetics to boost the longevity of the note. That makes the tart side of the Lychee the last to fade before the delicate vanilla/musk/vetiver (amyris?) base is all that remains. 10/10 and to be appreciated for what it is. When it was launched in the late 80s/early 90s (correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty certain I remember seeing this for sale in Paris and obscure American niche shops as a child alongside Épices, Vanille, etc.) , this was actually quite groundbreaking. People think it's generic, but that's just because it's been a niche fragrance and copied to death by other companies. The vintage bottles are superior to the updated ones, but haven't changed much overall in terms of scent or longevity.

This smells exactly identical to those red & black raspberry gummy candies with beads on the outside from O’Shea i believe. I cant smell anything else but those candies, specifically when youre eating them lol. Sweet & fruity.

A very distinctive fragrance that I have to be in the right mood for. It's beautiful and I have had people ask me what I'm wearing. Actually, despite its name I find it a bit heavy for summer. To me, it's more of a winter scent. I would love to know what the fruit notes are. They've blended it so well that no particular note stands out. They certainly succeeded in creating something lovely and unusual.

Some citrus, maybe freesia or orchid, some vanilla; not really very tropical or juicy and fruity as I expected.

I agree with the prior review that it's not easy to pick apart the notes here, like an old fashioned soap. Just a little sweet, a little sharp, a little powdery-floral. While I wouldn't call it tropical myself, I suppose I could imagine the toiletries in one of Flagler's Florida beach hotels smelling like this a century ago. Surprisingly strong as well; I spray once and can smell it in my carpet for days. Okay but nothing I reach for.