Two months ago, I reviewed the maximalist floral wonder of Carnal Flower. Perfumer Dominique Ropion used bombastic, wet green notes to transform a tuberose note into a rainforest, and the effect is nearly overwhelming. It’s hard to smell Carnal Flower and not feel yourself disappearing into its atmosphere.
Lys Mediterranee plays as a sort of inverse to Carnal Flower. It’s another atmospheric floral, one that plays upon a central note and fleshes it out into a familiar scene. However, where Carnal Floral feels expansive, Lys Mediterranee accentuates elegance and focus.
Lys Mediterranee Notes
Orange Blossom, Bergamont, Jasmine, Tuberose, Clove, Angelica Sea Air, Musk
Lys Mediterranee’s note pyramid has plenty of cause for suspicion. Basic aquatic notes appear across the board, and even the complicating notes are not particularly daring. You wouldn’t be blamed for smelling Lys Mediterranee and registering it as a dime-a-dozen floral freshie.
Like most high-quality scents, Lys Mediterranee reveals its strengths over time. Its opening is predictably pretty. Jasmine and the expected citruses create a truly enchanting marine accord, and clove adds a hint of spice to grant the opening a nice bit of dimension.
Instead of withering into a synthetic mess, Lys Mediterranee evolves into a comforting floral-musk. Perhaps the key to avoiding this derailment is a distinct lack of sweetness. The lily at the perfume’s heart is naturalistic and tempered, something achieved through its pairing with a softly bitter angelica note. This detour away from the expected makes Lys Mediterranee worth the price of admission.
Like most aquatic-leaning perfumes, Lys Mediterranee is not a massive performer. Fortunately, that problem is solved by an enchanting base. This is where the musk really shines. The perfume’s white musk base provides a lovely landing point for the florals and citruses to settle upon, and the result is an absolutely delicious skin scent. It’s likely to draw compliments long after its projection calms down.
There’s no way around it – the quality of Lys Mediterranee comes at a steep price. If you’re looking for a full bottle, even grey market bottles run over two hundred dollars ($200 USD). However, discerning searchers will find many affordable decants, and samples are quite widely available as well. For those looking for a beautiful marine floral that’s decidedly unisex, Lys Mediterranee is an easy recommendation. For lovers of lily or aquatics, it could even become a signature.
The Fandomentals “Fragdomentals” team base our reviews off of fragrances that we have personally, independently sourced. Any reviews based off of house-provided materials will be explicitly stated.
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