Vilhelm Parfumerie
Vilhelm Parfumerie
247 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The apple-bergamot combination snaps into focus with immediate citric brightness, almost aldehydic in its crispness, before the bergamot's slightly herbal facets emerge. Within moments, you sense the tea note beginning its ascent, softening the fruit's enthusiastic declaration into something altogether more sophisticated.
Ceylon tea becomes unmistakably dominant, its dry, slightly tannic character interweaving with gentle spice notes that create an almost peppery warmth. The apple settles into the background now, transformed into something more subtle and honeyed, whilst the citrus lingers as a persistent thread rather than a leading voice.
Black amber and oakmoss establish themselves as the composition's final act, though with minimal presence—the fragrance becomes increasingly wispy, a barely-there whisper of woody, musky elegance that clings closer to skin. Within hours, only the faintest memory of tea and distant amber remain, which somewhat undermines the overall wearing experience.
Dear Polly arrives as a peculiar contradiction—a fragrance that wants to be heard but speaks in whispers. Jérôme Epinette has crafted something decidedly cerebral here, a scent that prioritises intellectual intrigue over immediate gratification. The apple and bergamot opening announces itself with crisp, almost green intent, but the real conversation happens when Ceylon tea emerges as the composition's true protagonist. This isn't the delicate floral tea of more conventional fragrances; instead, it reads as dry, slightly astringent, with subtle spice undertones that dance with the citrus in an oddly compelling manner.
What makes Dear Polly genuinely interesting is how the tea note anchors everything else. Rather than allowing the fruity accords to dominate (despite scoring 100% in the fragrance's architecture), the Ceylon tea acts as a grounding agent, pulling the sweetness of apple into something more savoury, more complex. The black amber and oakmoss beneath provide earthy support, though they remain deliberately restrained—this is no heavy oriental, but rather a woody-floral-fruity hybrid that refuses easy categorisation.
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4.2/5 (485)