Berdoues
Berdoues
134 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The shiso emerges with a cool, peppery-herbal snap that's almost minty in its freshness, immediately suggesting something botanical and alive rather than floral. Within seconds, the jasmine begins threading through, transforming the green opening into something more complex and unexpectedly tender.
The jasmine sambac blooms fully, its honeyed florality creating a gentle sweetness that mingles seamlessly with those fruity undertones. The synthetic elements become apparent here, contributing a clean, almost cosmetic smoothness that prevents the composition from becoming overly natural or unkempt—it feels deliberate, polished, almost architectural.
The patchouli base emerges as a creamy, vaguely vanilla-touched whisper, softening the jasmine into something almost imperceptible. The fragrance becomes increasingly difficult to detect on skin, settling into a faint, skin-scent quality that's pleasant but decidedly ephemeral.
Somei Yoshino occupies that curious liminal space between a fresh fragrance and a floral one, never quite committing fully to either identity. Japanese shiso arrives as a verdant, almost herbal punctuation mark—green without being aggressively so—before the composition pivots toward something altogether more sensual. The Indian jasmine sambac that forms the fragrance's emotional core is where Angéline Leporini's hand becomes apparent: this is jasmine rendered with a silky, slightly honeyed sweetness, but it retains enough indolic bite to prevent saccharine dissolution. Where many florals of this era would surrender to pure prettiness, Somei Yoshino maintains a certain restrained elegance, perhaps even a touch of coolness.
The Indonesian patchouli base, rather than grounding the composition in earthy weightiness, instead feels almost creamy—a soft, velvety underpinning that pushes the fragrance toward the fruity-sweet accord readings rather than anything remotely musky or animalic. There's a synthetic quality lurking beneath the surface (52% synthetic accords), which becomes noticeable if you're paying attention, lending the fragrance an almost cosmetic smoothness that feels deliberate rather than apologetic.
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3.6/5 (158)