Himiko

THIS smells particularly Japanese in my heart's eye. BEAUTIFUL. Quiet WabiSabi elegance with a rich, astringently clean, dark-bitter-sweet restraint. Style of Hiroko Koshino but lighter and more spacious. Touch of allspice, cedar/birch beautifully melded with fresh dark smoky umeboshi plums. It is a Tatami tea room in an ancient temple garden in the woods. Wisps of bittersweet incense tendrils curl up from a little bronze censor on the floor. The windows are open and it is a cool, serene autumn morning. A few slices of mango fruit are simply arranged on a tiny square dish on a table, the refreshing aroma mingles with the incense smoke and the garden breeze that brings wafts of damp clean woods after a rain. Introspective, meditative sensitivity wearing close to the skin, bringing quiet to the mind and soul.

This is a gem! So strange there aren't more reviews. A delicious spicy woody non-sweet gourmand scent. Plum and sake (I clearly smell it though it is not listed) dominate the composition, has a great tart-y spiciness to it. Perfect for fall, it's like a soul-warming cozy scarf worn around the neck during a walk in a park with fallen yellow leaves. A niche fragrance worth getting to know!

A surprising love! Yes, it's quite a fall or winter fragrance, in its opening it reminds me of Atelier Cologne Gold Leather but it turns less boozy, lighter and perhaps more lightly woody soon enough. Seeing as I adore that one, that's no issue. It's like a lovely early autumn fragrance, when the air is crisp but it's still sunny, the leaves are turning but there's no frost yet.