What happens when you are refused a sample at Guerlain after using all strategies? You spray a bouquet of blotters (including yourself) with the latest novelty Flora Nymphéa, hoping that the bouquet will not fade back home. But it did not work in my case. The new Aqua Allegoria has neither power nor tenacity and it was a challenge to my nose to see what it might hide inside without a proper testing.
Aqua Allegoria Flora Nymphéa shares with the latest Balenciaga the same nondescript fresh floral note.
Now it is seen from the angle of a recent perfume from their city collection plus Idylle minus the rose & the rain. In this case, it evokes the green top note of white flowers from the jasmine family, like the buds of jasmine sambac or petitgrain essence, all without the animalic opulent note and more the airy lilac tonality. It can be the scent of the wind near a garden with acacia or mock orange. For this reason, Flora Nymphéa shares some aspects with Beige (Chanel) but it is less contrasted and much lighter. The drydown has woody earthy notes similar to patchouli and the contrast with the top (plus the addition of a watery note) makes me think of an effect found 100 times stronger in Sublime Balkiss (just a small accent) and then something powdery (orris-jasmine like in Sophie). A delicate honey note similar to the spicy herbal note you get inside yellow flowers gives more depth, but not enough compared to Si Lolita. The orange flower note is really homeopathic here and so dilluted that it does not contribute at all to the difusion of the fragrance. It is the same for the honey, more an idea. The drydown of the perfume is not very far from the chypre accord used in Idylle you can test in the Guerlain boutiques.
Now it is seen from the angle of a recent perfume from their city collection plus Idylle minus the rose & the rain. In this case, it evokes the green top note of white flowers from the jasmine family, like the buds of jasmine sambac or petitgrain essence, all without the animalic opulent note and more the airy lilac tonality. It can be the scent of the wind near a garden with acacia or mock orange. For this reason, Flora Nymphéa shares some aspects with Beige (Chanel) but it is less contrasted and much lighter. The drydown has woody earthy notes similar to patchouli and the contrast with the top (plus the addition of a watery note) makes me think of an effect found 100 times stronger in Sublime Balkiss (just a small accent) and then something powdery (orris-jasmine like in Sophie). A delicate honey note similar to the spicy herbal note you get inside yellow flowers gives more depth, but not enough compared to Si Lolita. The orange flower note is really homeopathic here and so dilluted that it does not contribute at all to the difusion of the fragrance. It is the same for the honey, more an idea. The drydown of the perfume is not very far from the chypre accord used in Idylle you can test in the Guerlain boutiques.
Nymphéas are more metaphors than real scents but in this case I wish it were less evanescent than the illusion of spring in Paris.
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Fragrance is the 8th Art - Octavian Coifan - Le Parfum est le 8ème Art
