Limanakia 27

Limanakia is a refreshing, clever take on the generic ‘sexy white-flower scent to wear in summer’. Don’t get me wrong, I love those as well, but they do get boring over time. Now this fragrance here is sure to surprise you if you’re expecting a creamy combo of tiare and jasmine. You actually will get some creamy white flowers closer to the drydown, but first you'll have to deal with some mineral animalic. Yep, my friends, this smells like dried saliva. Was it brought here for an extra punch, for the sake of art and its fun? Or should we really think of this 'naked bodies on a rocky beach' stuff? We'll never know. So yeah, for me it's a formula of jasmine, tiare and saliva. Seriously though, I adore this fragrance for being so unique. For me, it embodies those days at the beach: you're laying on a sunbed, drops of salty water still trickling down your skin, the pebbles on the shore are so hot from the sun that you're almost lazy to go for the next dive - you simply want to stay in this hazy bliss forever. There is the burning sun of Attica, the white stone, the turquoise sea and the blue sky. The longevity is very impressive, it stays on even after several actual dives (uh yeah, I usually wear frags to the beach). I got a lot of compliments on Limanakia from both sexes so I suppose its sillage is on the moderate to strong side.

PG is one of my favourite perfume houses because not only is Pierre Guillaume highly skilled, he's also never boring. At the same time, his creations are interesting without ever feeling like they're trying too hard. Limanakia opens with the smell of hot stones, slightly ozonic, a real dry summery smell with a hint of floral sunscreen. About ten minutes later, I got a whiff of a curry house, like freshly-made poppadums - ah, there's the cumin! It grows to become the most prominent note and it juuuust stays on the pleasant side, not going sweaty or overpowering. But it's close, so if you really hate cumin, you won't like this. In the drydown it becomes weaker and the floral notes shine through a bit more. Like Andy Tauer's Le Maroc Pour Elle, this is a fascinating and skillfully-made fragrance, even if it's a bit odd and not for every day.

PG27 is an animalic mineral; a unique proposition that ties together very human memories of a rocky beach that’s been beaten by eons of sun and surf. The idea of bodies throbbing and rubbing together on a shore or coastline thats ravaged and sculpted by the elements for ever and a day. Mainly characterised by a salty fractioned patchouli thats tinged with the vegetal animality of labdanum, PG27 also uses wormwood to refresh the initial mineral aspects created by the cocktail of salicylates and cumin. The fragrance’s floral heart of jasmine, lily-of-the-valley and tiare is coloured by the spicy facets of immortelle and the wooded, earthen notes of patchouli.

Limanakia is one of those fragrances that will always remind me moments full of passion and emotions. Flowery, mineral, crisp and warm, also refreshing, sea shore rocks covered with sea salt. I absolutely love it. I am happy I still have the possibility to have and wear it.

I get ylang ylang and tuberose more than the listed notes, but it's not bad. It reminds me of Embruns d'ylang. I really like this, it has grand, honking floral notes but with an original twist.

Flowery, mineral, crisp and warm, sea shore rocks covered with sea salt - Athens riviera by the Aegean Sea... I absolutely love it.

From PG website: Mineral Animalic Rocky Beach accord, Salty Patchouli, Labdanum, White Flowers, Immortelle. A white floral heart oscillating between jasmine, lily of the valley and tiare is colored by the spicy facets of immortelle and the woody fractions of patchouli. In effect this floral heart defines the composition, but it is accompanied by a fresh, aquatic vibe. There is a hint of labdanum in the base, but it's very timid, and I don't get anything 'leathery' (there is something musk-y though). It almost reminds me of vintage Oxygene. Rather beautiful overall.

I love the opening, it's mesmirizing. The flowers, the saltiness, the hint of freshness mingling in there as well. It's stunning, for the first 10 minutes? That's being generous. After that it just sinks in the skin and you are left with not a lot honestly. I applied a second perfume about an hour or two after because this became a whisper of salty memories.

In my view, the fragrance reviewed today is both original and full of surprises. The first surprise lies in its pronounced white-floral character. The second — that it doesn’t read as overtly feminine at all. By pairing the florals with a mineral accord, Guillaume has created a truly unisex composition that can be worn by women and men alike. To me, however, it leans more towards an evening scent. It evokes a sunset watched from a beach bathed in the fading light. Dusk settles over the Aegean Sea, and we are surrounded by the heady scent of white blossoms. Summer is slipping away, and their fragrance suggests that they too will soon wilt. It’s only a pity that this evocative scene painted by Limanakia doesn’t fully align with my personal taste. For me, the fragrance feels just a bit too intense — not in terms of projection, but in the sheer density of its aroma. Still, it is absolutely a scent worth discovering. My rating: Worth getting to know. (5/7)

I suppose it's worth noting that Limanakia is a rocky range of cliffs reaching down to the sea, in the southern outskirts of Athens, in Vouliagmeni area. The place is teeming with gay men swimming and cruising during summer and is considered one of the gay landmarks of Athens.

It's like a milky lemongrass bamboo mix. The tiare gives the milky effect while the artemisia gives the floral rosy part. The lily of the valley rises within the cool-down with some immortelle. Some woods as well. Nice blend.