Burst!

Bright, fresh, and clean. Sunlit sour citrus pops in the opening, quickly moving toward dry powdery dust (chalk not makeup or baby powder), and settling into a light woods base (the pencil shavings—iso e?). The initial sweet-sour juiciness fades fairly quick on me <1 hour but a tangy green note continues to cling close to the skin, complementing the blonde woodiness and soft musk overlay throughout, ~4-6 hours. This is perfect for any gender to wear on a daily basis, to work, to school, to run errands, or just when you want to feel put together without potentially offending others. I love starting my day off with this scent at least 1-2x a week to get me in a productive and positive state of mind. After sampling 500+ mostly niche frags over the past 9 months, I still find Burst to be a standout scent. It evokes confidence and playfulness and avoids many of the pitfalls encountered with citrus dominant frags, where the citrus is overtaken by other dominant notes, too harsh/synthetic, or resembling cleaning agents. For reference, my favorite “pure” citruses right now are Profumum Acqua Viva and Laboratorio Olfattivo Arancia Rossa. Of designer frags, I find Burst to be vaguely reminiscent of J'adore, circa early aughts, but not as fruity or floral. Clinique Happy has a harsh shampoo quality to my nose and the combination of florals and sweet musk in it makes me physically nauseous. I’m glad to have discovered Universal Flowering as I can see myself wearing Burst for years to come. I also enjoy Fig Leaf (3rd favorite fig after Philosykos and Ichnusa) and Heliotrope Milkbath (creamy, fruity, shower fresh). Check out this line for highly wearable twists on familiar profiles.

I’ve been looking for a summery, citrus-forward scent that’s doesn’t smell like dish detergent or a spa product, and Burst delivers in a big way. For starters, the top note is Yuzu, so it’s citrus without being immediately recognizable as the more familiar orange, lemon, or lime, and it’s joined by notes of “Rhubarb, Apple Skin, White Chalk, Pencil Shavings, and Musk.” Now, rhubarb is a pretty subtle scent to start with, and I find that here it blends pretty seamlessly with the yuzu, apple, and the woody notes to make something that’s extremely pleasing: fresh and fruity, both juicy and dry (somehow!), almost-candy sweet without being cloying (partly because it’s also zesty and a bit sour). The musk underneath makes me think of warm, sun-kissed skin, almost like sunblock—and it actually smells great along with the SPF I put on along with it. One of the listed characteristics is “squinting into the sun,” which feels 100% accurate to me: this is one of the sunniest fragrances I’ve ever smelled. It immediately made one think of the sunburst cover art of Boredoms’ Vision Creation Newsun, and the ecstatic, joyous, percussive rush of that music totally fits the vibe of this smell. It’s uninhibited fun and satisfying complexity at the same time. It’s like eating a dripping peach over the sink in July while preparing a really impressive dessert with the rest of the basket. It feels like going to the summer wedding of your oldest friend and it’s a wild party. Longevity is pretty good, I think! I stopped smelling it after a few hours but my gf could still detect it in the evening.

I blind bought a 15mL bottle from Luckyscent based on the notes and reviews. I’m terrified that she won’t be restocking the large bottles again since this is a limited release. This is everything I had hoped it would be. Such a realistic yuzu burst at the beginning which sticks around throughout the lifespan, and the pencil shavings and potentially rhubarb notes surface 10min later to give it a pleasantly woody, waxy quality. The musk adds a comforting softness and warmth. It’s very tart but slightly sweet, and combined with the waxiness it’s very reminiscent of a Granny Smith’s skin. It is nostalgic in a way. It reminds me of being at those day camp events that elementary schools would hold on their campuses during the summer. I want a full size bottle so badly. Please restock!

This one really grew on me. The yuzu starts off bright and sour and eventually gets evened out by the musk. The pencil shavings accord is also interesting, it’s like walking in the Home Depot lumber section but a little bit waxier and lighter. I think the pencil shavings note adds a warmth/depth akin to cinnamon, without diving into warm autumn fragrance territory. I don’t get a lot of the Apple specifically, but I do get a “fruitiness” other than the yuzu (maybe from the rhubarb?) So it doesn’t stay a 100% citrus fragrance, but it does remain relatively tart. It’s refreshing and fun to wear throughout spring/summer and early fall. This fragrance is nostalgic, mature, and inoffensive/enjoyable to many (but still complex and a little strange). I love this so much!!

burst is such an accurate name - the scent literally pops in your nose. opening is sour, but it’s more of a sweetarts sour, not something sharp and offputting. as it dries, the sourness mellows into something chalkier, more subdued. the pencil shavings note grounds everything and adds balance. i don’t get any greenness here, just sweet fruitiness. could still smell this on my skin after a full work day. i purchased a 15ml after using up a dabber sample, thinking it was a limited edition scent, but it looks like they removed the LE label from their site!