Monstera

My strong penchant for green fragrances has led me down an ever more circuitous path through all manner of perfume houses touting vividly verdant perfumes, some that deliver on their promise, others feeling more like a functional product through its wear (sorry, Jorum and your Pluck!). I had my eye on the Mexican house of Xinu since I was introduced to them a bit ago by Dana Sandu (A Nose Knows). I honed in on Monstera because, naturally, the idea of a lush, crunchy, succulent tropical rainforest green scent seemed to describe the zenith of my search. Frederic Malle's Synthetic Jungle, while brilliant, is not terribly jungle-like, at least in my imagination, mostly because of its incandescent lily of the valley accord. Once I finally laid my nose on Monstera, however, it exceeded my expectations for an ultra-wet rainforest, big leaf greenie. It immediately recalls entering indoor botanic gardens, since truth be told, I have yet the privilege to visit a true equatorial rainforest (someday!). It reminds me of entering the indoor portion of The Botanic Garden at Smith College in the winter and admiring the humid flora, or more recently, visiting Logee's Greenhouse in Danielson, CT with my friend John Biebel. Monstera begins with saturated vegetation in 'surround-smell,' condensation and broken stems, sap and phloem, only slightly bitter, more tart. This tartness is like the scent that wafts when you first cut a pineapple, penetrating yet invigorating. There is even a big creeping vine berry, cucumber, melon current running through this hothouse. It grows a bit more fruity, but never quite full-on sweet, with the heart lending an almost sulfurous character that suggests passion fruit or grapefruit, but is still greener than it is ripe. I have never smelled Monstera fruit, but apparently it shares similarities with pineapple. I also can't recall ever smelling another note here, Bull horn orchid, but I've smelled several fragrant orchids and I don't think the idea of an orchid accord of any type is far-fetched in Monstera. Daturas, however, I am acquainted with: yes, the strangely citrus-cacao-vanilla-narcotic scent of these vespertine blooms isn't a reach either. It is the general illustration of thick stalks, pendulous blooms and oversized fruits that most inhabit my wearing experience. Juicy, tart, creamy, slightly-sweet, and crushed leaf-and-smeared-petal ultra-green, Xinu's Monstera turned out to be wholly satisfying for my yen. I do hope to one day truly experience the sensory awe of a rainforest canopy, but in the meantime, this enables me to lean into the fantasy.

I noticed there’s no note pyramid for monstera and although it’s listed in the description above, the notes luckyscent lists are more identifiable: leaves and fruit of Monstera, sacred ear flowers, white datura, bullhorn orchid. Monstera is a very strong like. It’s a juicy fresh green, like an unidentifiable green twig snapped right under my nose that develops into a high end perfume. For some reason I hate using the phrase “smells expensive” because I feel like all good perfume smells like the sum of it’s worth. “Smells expensive” in regards to Monstera, is a sort of criticism. It smells a little pretentious, cerebral, and aloof, like an ice queen. It smells very modern- sleek and polished. Despite being a green perfume it smells “urban”. The fragrance of a new condo dweller. It reminds me of an area of my city that 7 years ago was an old train yard with an abandoned refrigerator factory. It was revamped and is full of industrial style condos, an Urban Outfitters and a sushi place that’s open late and plays dance music. But anyway.....It smells like an incredibly crafted green perfume. It’s a little too clean for me, so I layered it with patchouli. Monstera with patchouli morphed into the cousin of Chanel no. 19, and it went from new condo dweller to NYC rooftop garden and made it more my style, but still felt ostentatious while I was jogging. Overall, Monstera is a modern unisex green frag, and if that’s your jam you should immediately invest in a bottle.

a glorious straight forward (but not boring or obvious) green scent, monstera is quickly becoming a dear favorite. my scent preferences tend to be extreme -- give me enveloping warmth or an aloof chill -- as both seem to give me strength when i need it. monstera falls in the latter category, but it it isn't a floaty aloofness -- its green keeps the wearer grounded and of the earth, it's motto may be 'those who know don't speak', with a sly smile. beautiful and in control. unlike my other favorite greens--such as diptyque philosykos, prada infusion d'iris, maison martin margiela (untitled)--this is pure earthy green, where i find those others have other elements to distract (the sweet coconut of philosykos, the incense of d'iris and untitled) from overt dirt. perhaps a bit challenging for someone entering the green scent world, it's deeply rewarding for those of us who can't get enough of it. while the notes list blue orchid, datura, and monstera fruit, nothing about the feels floral or fruity to me (though, admittedly, not notes i'm instantly familiar with)--but rather of their crushed leaves and dirt they grew from. bliss. edit: i really took note after writing this review of how the floral comes through after a few hours on the skin. it's soft and not cloying and lovely -- though i can't speak of any particular notes.

Soy una amante de las plantas, y Monstera nos lo muestra tal cual: una planta húmeda, casi como si estuviera recién cortada. Es una fragancia unisex. Aunque he visto algunos comentarios que la inclinan hacia un lado más masculino, yo no lo considero así. Al final, tú vistes el perfume, no el perfume a ti, y eso dice mucho del porte y estilo de cada persona. Es una pena que no muestren las notas, pero, en lo que a mí respecta, tiene una salida muy fresca, con un toque de acidez muy peculiar que percibo como un limón extraño. Posteriormente, evoluciona hacia un aroma floral frutal, casi como un maracuyá. Con el paso de las horas en mi piel, destaca un aroma dulce con notas verdes y un ligero toque de petricor. He tenido la dicha de oler la flor de la monstera y, en realidad, el perfume se le parece mucho. Te envuelve por completo; es como estar en un parque rodeado de plantas, tierra húmeda, flores y frutos exóticos. Sí, es un poco caro, pero el costo pasa a segundo plano por el concepto que ofrece. No he olido algo similar en otros perfumes. Además, la experiencia de compra en Xinu es sublime; el hecho de considerar un segundo uso para las botellas como forma de reciclaje me parece una idea maravillosa.

I'm by no means qualified to review a perfume, I'm not familiar with the lingo and what have you, so I'll just give my opinion the best I can. To start off with I freakin love this. It is GREEN. It is alive. It is verdant. I live in a subtropical climate and when I tell you this smells exactly what I remember my childhood to be playing outside amongst huge elephant eared plants and tropical vegetation. The opening is sharply green, and luscious. A freshly broken stem is the perfect description imho. It softens up quite a bit as it dries down, but always keeps the lovely green note. I love this for spring and especially summer. If I had any complaints, it would be only that I wish it lasted longer and projected more, but I lean towards loving heavier scents as a personal preference. I know this type of scent isn't for everyone, but if you love green, this is a must try. While I adore it, and would bathe in it if I could, I feel it's overpriced. I would love to see it sit closer to 150.00 USD.