So, figs!
I love fig. Fig is a note in perfumery that can be interpreted in many different ways. Some figs are sweet, fruity, and jammy. Other figs lean more green... The leaf of a fig tree, its bark, the fruit is just a small player in a much bigger game. Personally, I think I prefer a fruitier and sweeter fig myself. But I've tried a lot of fig perfumes, and I'll probably continue to try more. The diversity in the profile makes me drawn to it. Plus, I think I'm still on the hunt for the perfect fig perfume, my favorite fig.
So, some fig showdowns! But very same-y figs today. Let's go green!
As I've mentioned before, I have so far been pretty disappointed by my Theodoros Kalotinis samples. But the last one to try is Alluring Fig! This is supposed to be a dupe of Diptyque's Philosykos. Many people call Philosykos, both the eau de parfum and eau de toilette formulations, the definitive fig perfume.
Well, here's the skippy, at least from my perspective! These three smell exactly the same.
This is a very green leaning set of fig perfumes. Very much fig leaves. A hint of tree bark. A whisper of fruit in the distance. Very crisp and fresh.
Some people say that the EDP and EDT of Philosykos smell noticeably different from one another. At least to my nose? On my skin? They're identical. The only difference is longevity, which is to be expected. The EDP lasts about twice as long as the EDT. And honestly, for that price? Don't bother with the EDT at all.
But again, to the price... If you wanna smell like Diptyque's Philosykos, don't bother with the EDP either. Because Alluring Fig is the perfect dupe. It smells identical to me and is a fraction of the cost. It blew my mind how they were genuinely indistinguishable from one another when one is $55 a bottle and the other is $240. Never underestimate the power of a good dupe! The only noticable difference is that Philosykos did last one hour longer on my skin than Alluring Fig. But for one hour difference? Just reapply the cheaper one if you've got to! They're both long lasting enough.
That being said, this still isn't the kind of fig perfume I'm looking for, so these samples are just an exercise for my nose.
And on top of it all, I always love asking my wife for her opinion on my perfumes and her take on it. For all of these, she said the same thing. She scrunched up her nose and said "the fruit in this is rotten".
Personally, I do think the fruity fig note in this is shamefully light, but ultimately pleasant. I smell a fig tree with figs still on the stem. But she explained to me, it smells like a fig tree... Where the figs have fallen off the stem. They're on the ground, around the tree, fermenting to get some animal totally wasted like that one scene in Primal.
Goes to show you that everybody smells something different! Honestly, I kinda like her interpretation better.