Cacti

This is one of my favorites. This is one of those perfumes that is greater than the sum of its parts. I find it quite difficult to pick out the individual notes here, but the overall effect really succeeds in feeling like cacti. It somehow manages to both smell like a fresh cut nopal, and like you are sitting near a fountain in a desert garden on a sunny day. It's not citrusy and it's only vaguely floral, and I think what I smell most is possibly the shiso and mate? It's quite watery though, and very fresh and pleasant, with just enough spice to make it memorable and interesting. It certainly doesn't smell like any other fragrance I've ever tried. My husband usually doesn't care at all about my fragrances, but whenever I put this one on, he says "oooooh the one I like," even if he is a few rooms away. As far as sillage, it's not overwhelming, and you would have a hard time overspraying this one, but a few spritzes will do just fine. It lasts all day for me and I can smell it on my jacket the next day. If I spray it in my hair and put it up, when I take my hair down it's like a fresh burst of fragrance all over again. I tend to buy decants unless I really love a fragrance, and usually I try to avoid paying this much for a fragrance, but the beautifully simple bottle and the absolute uniqueness of this scent made me splurge. At this price point, I am a bit precious with this scent, so I don't wear it every day, but if I were made of money I probably would. This for me is the standout of the Pour Tous collection. If you're something of a desert rat like me, I'd definitely recommend getting your hands on a sample of this.

I first smelled Cacti in the Arielle Shoshana store during somewhat of a smelling spree. I immediately loved it! It was beautiful! I only sprayed in on the tester strip and walked away. But when I realized I kept smelling and loving it, I ran back into the store and sprayed it on my skin. That is when I fell even more in love with it. I am a jasmine/amber lover and I could get a sweetened, amber and jasmine note when it dried down. The watery freshness mixed with the warm floral made me immediately think, summer by a lake. But the icing on the cake was the fact that this lasted on my skin up until the next day. It didn’t come off until I double cleansed my skin. I decided then that this had to be my summer fragrance. Previously, before deciding on Cacti, I had love Eau Moheli by Diptyque for a few months. I thought it was going to be my summer fragrance. But, Cacti took me away from Eau Moheli this summer. Maybe next summer, we will meet again. That being said, this is clearly a 10/10 for me! :D

I love this. I immediately get the scent of the water someone would offer you at a fancy spa somewhere near Joshua Tree - cucumber and shiso leaf are there, giving it a spicier edge vs. the way I more often see cucumber (with accompanying melon/sweet juicy notes). A perfect after-shower fresh scent for me. As someone who is fairly sensitive to ambroxan/white musks, and finds many contemporary "clean" scents lean industrial to my nose, I really appreciate that the dry down here stays fresh-vegetal-watery-clean and not synthetic-clean. Because this fragrance does not lean into those synthetic woody ambers for projection and longevity, it does mean the longevity is limited, and by 2-3 hours this is mostly gone - but personally I'm so happy to find something I can completely enjoy that I don't mind having to re-apply.

The opening is peppery and sharp, with a powdery vanilla accord. Once it settles, it's an ethereal, delicate green. I love all green scents, but this is distinguished from the crushed tomato-leaf note that dominates the category. It is gentler, more chic and refined. And complex! I can smell all of the listed notes, especially aloe, shiso, and cucumber. I find this to be a close-to-the-skin scent, but I almost prefer it that way. Shiso is nostalgic to me, and this fragrance feels like a personal secret garden. Cacti reminds me of standing in a shaded, well-watered garden of lush, verdant flora. I have worn this every night to bed, hoping my dreams will take me back to the rainy, petal-studded riverbanks of the Kamo River in Kyoto, surrounded by green, green, green...

This fragrance most reminds me of the scent of a prickly pear. It has a definite succulent presence, but is also sweet and fruity. I've lived in the desert and always noted that many desert plants are very aquatic. Aloe, one of the listed notes, is a good example. These plants grow in very dry places so they have to store their own water. They are thick and juicy. The prickly pear is the fruit of a cactus and it has a mix of that aquatic aroma and an almost tropical sweetness. Another interesting thing to note about this is that it is, to my nose, a feminine aquatic. Usually I find aquatic scents to be more masculine-leaning, but not here. This is a sweet and delicate aquatic. I do find it to be a rather unique fragrance and can't think of another perfume to compare.