WHAT I SMELL:  Floriental opens cool to the skin, but warm to the nose with a comforting labdanum and a light and airy incense which is rounded and full-bodied without being heavy.  Soon a subdued plum note enters along with an earthiness that keeps the fruit grounded, but the fragrance is pleasingly lightly gourmand at this stage.  After a bit, a creamy sandalwood enters the mix along with a lightly sweetened tobacco.  Floriental is a comfort perfume in that it’s light smoky radiance is like a transitional sweater taking you from the warm summer months to the cool of the fall.   In the end, Floriental exists in a lightly boozy, incensed sandalwood haze.

From the Comme des Garcons Parfums website:

Floriental is a disrupted floral fragrance that challenges the traditions of perfumery to reimagine a flower that has no scent.
A creative collision that blurs the lines between the floral and the oriental to create something completely new.
An odourless flower is given life, a virtual scent imagined: enigmatic, contrasted, intense.

Labdanum, lavish sandalwood, vetiver, incense, pink pepper and plum liqueur.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  A rain-soaked fall day when you enjoy a quiet walk through the colored leaves.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE FLORIENTAL:  introspective, calming, quiet

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT FLORIENTAL: Katie Puckrick Smells

BOTTOM LINE: Now that it’s getting cooler outside, I should be excited about switching gears toward wearing some fantastic cooler weather fragrances.  However, I could easily live in a climate where it was summer all year-long and where I could just remain smelling of white flowers.  Unfortunately that’s not the case…but a fragrance like Floriental is a welcomed gentle push into the cooler months making for an easy seasonal transition without effort.

• Bone Rating:  4 out of possible 5 bones
• Scent:  Floral Oriental
• Classification: Unisex
• Expense: $103 for 50 ml eau de parfum

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary