Saffron Flour

when i got my first universal flowering samples, i really struggled to define saffron flour in a meaningful way. the others were so easy to talk about, but there's something ephemeral about saffron flour i struggled to pin down. my first impression was lightness and warmth - then nostalgia. pastry blind baking in the oven, teabags steeping in syrupy water, crushed cardamom pods and sugary vanilla milk. it's left-of-field sweetness with a gentle touch of salinity. not gourmand in the most traditional sense - not so sweet it makes your eyes water, but sweet like enriched brioche dough or vanilla orchid scented hand soap. there's a little savoury, culinary edge to it which is what makes this scent so beautiful. i've sat with my beloved decant for almost a year, and over time, the scent has evolved and developed - the rich, creamy butter note has become more prominent, and the spice notes - which delicately toe the line between sweet and savoury - have macerated into a deeper, more warm-spicy palette. and now, when i smell it, it makes my heart *ache*. it's the combination of nostalgia, cosiness, comfort, and that slight salty spicy edge... i'm in love with it, and i'm in love with myself when i wear it. saffron flour, you will always be famous !!!!!!

The name is perfect as a description of the scent. It feels classically constructed and there is maybe a hint of rose (the note list says rosewater) in the top/mid-notes, reminding me a lot of L'Artisan Parfumeur's gorgeous Safran Troublant. Nonetheless, Saffron Flour is not relying on the traditional pairing of saffron with rich rose. Instead it's an atmospheric saffron-suede, an indoors version of Heeley's Cuir Pleine Fleur (another gem) or a less Euro-chic take on Mona di Orio's Violette Fumee, i.e. done in a cosier, dustier, more smooshed-together manner. I can sort of get the cinnamon-and-sugar take as per some reviewers below, but only if I concentrate very hard - otherwise, this doesn't feel sweet-gourmand to me, and I don't get the buttery effect either. The textural adjective that comes to mind is 'mealy', as in the damp-feeling texture of cornmeal, ground almonds, ground buckwheat, or even chestnut flour (actually, in this respect it reminds me also of Kloon Keen's still less sweet, more austere 'Castana'). Doesn't last as long as I'd like it to, but that could be an issue with dabber-sample application and an incipient cold. Very human-feeling on the skin, and so wearable in this desiccated late August air.

Somehow the sum of the strange mix of notes above creates a scent that could be described as “saffron flour.” It has a golden roux or slightly burned butter aspect to it that blends with the saffron in a most singular fashion. Strange and hard to describe, but likable, wearable, and unforgettable enough that it made it onto my to-buy list before quickly joining my collection. Saffron Flour is an exceptionally unique scent and worth sampling if you're a fragrance adventurer. I’ve tried Poems One Through Twelve and Pleasure Portrait (my favorite) from the brand, and I think Universal Flowering is shaping up to be one of those houses that would have to try to make something I don’t end up liking.

i’m surprisingly adept at critiquing fragrances i dislike, but when i encounter one i dearly love, i become helpless. all i can say for now is this perfume is soooo incredibly scrumptious, It’s like cinnamon and saffron infused sugar, showered over a thick, golden slab of butter melting into warm, crunchy toast...mmm, i want to lick the air around it. i cannot wait to get my greedy little mitts on a full bottle. i’ll return (to edit) once i’ve hunted down the right words to truly convey how mad I am for this piece of art.

soft lactonic-creamy saffron wrapped in a rose-sweetened dusting of flour. perfectly captures that silky soft, powdery smooth essence of flour when you drop it into the cookie mixture or get the film of it on your fingers after eating a particularly flour-powdered treat. light and fluffy puffy and tender. dries down a little buttery, nutty, and even softer. reminds me of pink cheeks, powder dusted, and the salinity of butter cutting through sugary dough when you steal a bit from the bowl.

This reminds me of walking into a Mexican panaderia serving fresh pan dulce, arroz con leche, and of course horchata. The cinnamon rice of it all.....I looovveeee. I know exactly what kitkatya means about the flour note; not chalky, nor powdery, rather a dusty flour. Opening is spicy warm and cinnamony. Dry down is buttery and lactonic. The rose water is nowhere to be found. Not exactly a true warm gourmand, but it’s light and fluffy and subtly sweet, like pastries soaked in cold milk.

sticky saffron bread buttered & toasted with a glass of horchata wafting on the side. probably out of my four samples (purple afternoon, heliotrope milkbath, and poems one through twelve) my favorite! the only downside on me was that it was incredibly fleeting. it has this delicious melted butter note that comes out on me the most- which may sound weird that I enjoy it so much, but it's a beautiful gourmand that i would love to keep on for hours. writing this on a rainy day btw!

I think this perfume is just lovely. It’s a bakery air scent, without smelling cheap or cloying to the nose. I love lactonic fragrances, but I find that a lot of perfumers struggle balancing them with other notes. The spice of the saffron and horchata notes balance so well with the rose water. It’s a lovely, cozy, enveloping gourmand. As someone who typically dislikes rose, I thought the rose brought a perfect balance to this scent.

This is so much fun! An odd fragrance that works beautifully. It smells like wheaty, buttery, sweet condensed milk with a splash of rose water. The saffron is strong here too, slightly smoky, ambery, sweet paired with a musky woodiness. It’s like a saffron infused horchata with a creamy butter touch and floral notes. Just such a lovely combination and it dries down to a much more saffron forward buttery woodiness.

As someone unfamiliar with two of the perfume's key referents - saffron and horchata - for me Saffron Flour feels like a kind of olfactory trespass. This is someone else's childhood, someone else's nostalgia. The opening exhales with leathery astringency, like new shoes, then settles into a sweet prickle of candied florals which gradually dissipate into dust and plastic baby dolls with a buttery ambience.

A light yet powerful evocation of Indian saffron-ghee-milk -flour sweets. I wore it first on Ganesha Chaturthi and was absolutely overjoyed. The toasted ambrette seeds in the fragrance differ from the cardamom I associate with the sweets, in a beautiful way. For me wearing this frag is as satisfying, and as holiday-specific, as taking prasad. Sillage is surprisingly good, given that it goes on light.

Finally got a tester, upon spraying I hated it...sooo dissatisfied, but once it sat on my skin I couldn’t stop smiling. don’t even know how to describe it. I love saffron heavy scents and the butter peaking through as it sits is divine. smells like a cafe that doesn’t have AC in a town that doesn’t really have seasons, mixing patterns, and couches covered in plastic. I’m hypnotized

Spritzed inside my elbow to test my sample. At first the saffron was clear and unmistakeable over nutty gourmand notes. It dried down to leave me smelling like the Corolle doll I had growing up —my prettiest doll that I wasn't allowed to play rough with. Sweet and warm in a comforting, soft way. More than subtle enough to be elegant about it.

Lowkey reminiscent of the horchata buzzball for the first 20 mins... saying this as an earnest horchata drinker/ someone who semi-regularly makes horchata. Once it settles though, this is sooo lovely. Saffron, cinnamon, horchata, roses - everything I love. Cozy, warm, & gently sweet <3

creamy, lactonic, sweet delight of a scent. if rose water, powdered sugar, and doll heads had a baby this is what it would smell like. it’s what i chose to wear today while i alternate between napping and studying. super soft and femme.

St. Lucia saffron buns, but specifically the ones from Kirsten's Christmas set. Warm spicy and plasticky perfection with a tender, doughy butter-ambrette base. Edible, but abstract. (I love it sm.)

Creeeeamy, delightful, powdery. Reminds me a lot of when you go through a baking phase at like 13, smooshing Kerrygold into a bowl of flour to make scones, love it.

I NEED this perfume. The powder in it reminds me of Vanillary by Lush. People say it smells woody and sweet. It's very long lasting. Chaunniej's review is spot on.

i love this sm, pining for a full bottle! to me this scent is v reminiscent of iyoshi cola the “dreamy flavour” bc of the spices and creamy horchata accord.

I wear Saffron Flour when it’s raining, or when I feel a little bit lazy and self-indulgent. A puff of spicy-sweet flour cloud.