Jade Vines

Like stepping out of GIGANTIC white concrete building and into the adjacent botanical garden. My friend Julia told me that the woman who formulated this fragrance was conjuring a scent for a plant in her garden that she loved but which carried had no smell. Maybe that's not true, I don't know. This perfume quickly imprints itself on the wearer and performs a prolonged etude. Though lush, the jungle motif is distant from the cloying sticky sweetness one usually associates with the tropical climate. Jade Vines is a bit more grown up and asymmetrical. The leaves are wide and emerald green. The white flowers steep in a clear puddle with their petals crumpled, balled up like tissues. And you are sitting on the cedar bench in a museum, separated from the woods by a sheet of cold glass, fogged with condensation. Tried this on at scent bar, in search of something to wear at my upcoming wedding. The wood notes in Jade Vines will blend completely differently on each person who wears it. Even after many hours, as it becomes increasingly leathery and mulchy, the lilting strings of the flowers are still audible. Evokes a slightly dignified vintage feeling, perfect for a wedding.

Such a unique perfume. Starts out very earthy and green then the white flowers blossom that last for a while until a woody dry down. Reminds me of Tuscany in the summer when you can smell the linden flowers in the day time, and the white florals at night. Realistic earth and flowers and not synthetic or mainstream smelling at all. Perfect for spring/summer. Leans more feminine but my husband likes it as well although he doesn't actually wear it often. I like female scents on men though, it's different.

As an orchid grower, this throws me immediately into the greenhouses of a very specific nursery in Encinitas, California that inspired me as a kid. Lush spicy wet foliage and white florals, ginger and yuzu present in the opening. Shame it only lasts for a few hours max and the price is a little steep. This is my ride or die signature scent until someone finds a way to capture the scent of a tropical greenhouse as well as this one. The closest anyone has gotten is Xinu monstera for context.

Total surprise from Regime des Fleurs! I was looking forward to testing this since I have a penchant for green notes as well as white florals but wasn't expecting to get such a realistic, humid greenhouse opening AND a mentholated tuberose (think a tamed Tubereuse Criminelle). Have been waiting/looking for something like this for ages and was not expecting it to come from this house. Only downside is it mellows out to a smooth gardenia a little too quickly but alas.

Took me a couple wears, but I keep going back to it. Opens airy and crisp, 2000s childhood backyard nostalgia or 2000s' nostalgia for the 1980s. A bit synthetic, but playful and relaxed. Then through the green it opens and warms, as if discovering something real. After an hour or so it's all gardenia and light tuberose, late afternoon. The few RdF samples I've tried are all melancholic, and this is a moment of balance, a pause, in sadness.