Mystery Molecules: samples reviewed blind, only looking at the name and notes once the perfume has dried all the way down.

The following notes are for a perfume that I tried last weekend. My initial reaction: I quite enjoyed this, experientially and intellectually. The notes were distinct, and cascaded quickly, like a piece of classical music. Crystalline and easy to understand, an allegro.

“Pineapple, pear, floral all happening really quickly, milky notes – the most interesting thing I’ve smelled so far – is it Ashoka or Trayee by Neela Vermeire Creations? Those are more fully blended though…

Fig?
Leather/musk?Reminds me of an animal somehow.
Vetiver?”

There wasn’t a whole lot to this perfume, but I certainly enjoyed it. The musk is apparent quite immediately, nestled in amongst the fruits, flowers, and milkiness of a baby at breast. The leather comes in a bit later, and the whole thing ends with a dry leather/musk/herbal quality.

The Reveal: Huemul by Fuegia 1833. 
I looked at the label and wondered what “huemul” meant. After looking up the perfume on Fragrantica, I looked up the word itself: it’s a deer in South America. My impression of an animal was spot on!I received this sample in a swap, and it turns out that it was from a bottle purchased on a trip to Argentina. This made sense to me, since I’d never heard of this brand before. (Thanks for the sample, Emily! 🙂 )

About the brand, from Fragrantica: “Fueguia 1833 Patagonia Laboratorio de Perfumes is an Argentinean niche perfumery house that was founded by Julian Bedel (the in-house perfumer) and Amalia Amoedo in 2010. Julian Badel, inspired by his ancestors who were naturalists and writers, creates in Buenos Aires his own perfumes which are a reflection of the diversity and exotic flora of South America. The species used are native to Patagonia.”

The Verdict: I liked it! I’ll be holding on to this sample. I probably won’t be purchasing it, but it is fun. (Fig and I don’t really get along.) I would even be happy to check out more from this house. This perfume behaved differently than I’m accustomed to perfumes being composed, and I liked its clarity of composition, I liked being able to read the notes with my nose.

Fragrantica only has the following notes: Musky, White Floral, Animalic, Floral, with further clarification being: Muscone, Macrocyclic Musk and Jasmine. After doing a little bit of digging, I am pleased to find that it is noted on the North American Fuegia site that they qualify this as a Musk Lactonic fragrance. Fuegia’s main notes are “Musk, Massoia, Jasmine.”

So there you have it. A simple, delightful little treasure.