Carissa

Carissa is a white flower of five petals and perfume very similar to jasmine and gardenia, with smooth white flower aspect and, sometimes, fruity nuance. Normally, it grows in the form of shrubs, but can also reach 10 meters of height and is protected by thorns. The fruits of Carissa tend to be dangerous, when green and, when ripe, can remember cranberries, but bigger. In some species, it can also provide fruity taste reminiscent of apple or strawberry. And it was this delicacy behind the thorns that Paul Kiler tried to reveal through this creation from 2012. The perfume is composed of notes of Carissa, green nuances, pure rose, tuberose and opoponax (sweet myrrh). Then, the floral aspect becomes stronger and notes of jasmine and orange blossoms appear. Finally, there is an intense blast of myrrh and Australian sandalwood, embraced by the softness of the musk and ambergris. The result is a fragrance that reveals strength and elegance, which makes me think in tones of white and pink and whose sensitivity is the main feature. After 1 hour of applied, I was surprised by an aroma that reminded me immediately, the smell of Lady-of-the-night (also called Night-blooming Cestrum), which is that flower that has the power to perfume an entire street. And while the fragrance evolved on the skin, my mind took me to a flower garden around a beautiful fountain, an ideal place to sit and read a good book. For me, Carissa is a floral able to invade into the soul.

What a narcotic beauty this is. Carissa is an unusual and mysterious floral fragrance. She is full of riddles and sharp wit. Where some may favor this as a green summer floral, I find this fragrance quite celestial and cold, but deeply mesmerizing. I'm reminded of the poisonous sap of oleanders, and delirium inducing daturas. The carissa flower, also white has been used in medicinal folklore and is also known as the natal plum; thorny and with red fruits, reminiscent of pulpy rosehips. There's a cerebral quality to this scent, the delicate saltiness of cool ambergris and musk, more than animalic and perhaps a little alien. Bitterness, tartness, like leathery, tannic, unripened apple or mango skins; fruity, crisp, rosy, and a little grassy almost like a very dry rosé. I love the texture in this which has gleaming metallic quality and perhaps a little aldehydic. The resins feel crystalline and smooth. I'll really be enjoying this sample throughout these coming cold months.

For now I will say this is a magnificent fragrance. It is my favorite Paul Kiler perfume with Cafe Diem being my second favorite. It is so clean, gentle, sweet, and pure, like a white pearl.

Straight off the bat, this is not a fragrance for me. It's simply too green--and not a dark, damp forest green, but a bright aloe green. Unfortunately, those kinds of scents give me a headache. That being said, this fragrance is beautifully crafted, and I appreciate the art behind it. When I first applied this fragrance, my brain started screeching, "SCRUBBER SCRUBBER SCRUBBER!" There was a flash of--no lies here--Welch's grape juice. Then it moved on to the rank, overpowering scent of dryer sheets, as if I was walking down the laundry detergent aisle at the grocery store. Just vile. I waited a few minutes, then sniffed again. As they are wont to do, those bright green notes shot straight in to my sinuses like darts. But now I could smell the cassia and tuberose over a the green notes, mixed with a slight base of jasmine, musk. It still wasn't my sort of scent, but at least it no longer smelled like dryer sheets. After 10 minutes, I jotted down, "Well, that's a pretty tuberose. Green/white floral." Then I, um. Fell asleep. While I was reading. With my makeup on. (DON'T JUDGE ME.) When I woke up several hours later, I gave the perfume another sniff. The green notes still hated me, as they are wont to do, and they were still omnipresent. The middle of this fragrance is overwhelming green for me, perhaps even a smidge mentholated. But the creaminess of the jasmine had begun to take effect, diminishing any sharp edges. At the 7 hour mark, the fragrance had "softened up," ending slightly more floral and slightly less green. I don't get any myrrh or sandalwood from this fragrance, or if it's there, it's so subtly woven in to the composition that I can't detect it. To me, it is the epitome of a field of white florals: soft white blossoms and crisp, green stalks. This fragrance was doomed to fail me because I can't handle certain notes, but it's still an impressive composition.

I was gifted a very generous sample of this by a very generous member (thank you!) and fell in love within seconds of spraying it on my hand. It is GREEN, which I have been craving this summer, along with a very soft, very wearable rose, a touch of jasmine and what must be the carissa flower mentioned in the notes. I looked up carissa and see that natal plum could be it. The house I was living in when I lived in San Diego on the beach had a natal plum in the yard and this smells familiar. White flower with a bit of a fruity note to it. Along with all this wonderful green and beautiful floral notes is a touch of the ocean. This is by no means an 'aquatic' note, but immediately reminded me of Puget Sound. As the perfume wears, this oceanic note becomes a bit more animalic. I love the tension between the 'green floral' and the 'something from the sea'. Having never smelled ambergris, I am assuming this is what I'm enjoying so much. The perfume is beautiful, and a little strange. I applied it a couple hours before I needed to go to bed to get up early for work, and I actually lost sleep laying there in the dark and sniffing my hand. That's the good part. Now the not so good part. I woke up at 5:00 this morning to a strong white musk drydown, which is one of my least favorite notes in perfume. I'm going to use of every bit of this decant, but I'll be scrubbing when the drydown comes. And then reapplying more for the opening and middle!

A very green start followed by a bouquet of flowers. The same rubbery tuberose as in his TNT but here is paired with rose and jasmine and some other note that I'm not familiar, which seems to be the smell of carissa flower which will become more dominant over the first hour. Now there are two things that contrast each other, the sweet myrrh and a salty note, probably from ambergris. I haven't smelled or even heard about the carissa flower until now, but I can say it's really not amongst my favorites or just this blend doesn't work for me. 5.5/10

Opoponax, roses, myrrah, and sweet ambergris.... This blend is amusingly alluring, I get that sweet ambergris with white floral and resinous notes all around! i get jasmines, with some tiare, musk, and sweet Bulgarian roses as well as myrrh, sandalwood, & sweet cinnamon. This is a resenious balsamic floral blend. Beautiful

Quite complex, with notes floating in and out of ascendance throughout wearing. The opening is a bright green tuberose, with resins and woods that are light enough to not dim it's freshness. At points, I could detect the saltiness of ambergris, the depth of rose, the earthiness of musk, and shadings to the white floral accord. Carissa is categorized as a floral, but to me, that doesn't quite describe the experience. Other notes equally share the spotlight. Animalics like ambergris and musk, green notes that are 'berry' green, woods and resins - all in the accord. The drydown has a berry-musky smell to me. Some people have difficulty with 'green notes'. Depending on the construction, I do too. I cannot wear Philosykos. There's something in the mix that doesn't agree with me. Carissa's green note mix is a bit different, and fortunately, one that works on my skin. This is a lovely artistic perfume, a beautiful smorgasbord! Enjoy it immensely!

My parents used to have two different canned air fresheners they'd use in the bathroom, and my dad used to opt to spray both of them each time. The resulting smell unfortunately is very close to how this smells. Okay this is rounder and clearly feels like a fancier version of that same smell, but I can't help but think of freshly sprayed toilet spray when I smell it.