Fragment 38

[zankoku_zen]

Smoldering red amber, fig wood, and olive blossom.
 

[muined]

My bottle just came in the mail. I was hoping for something woody, clean, sweet, and warm (obvs.) I can't wear honey but love very sweet scents, so I was betting on the amber here coming through...but it doesn't so much. It's clean for sure, in a breezy way, and woody, yes, but woody like sage. I'm not getting smoulder. It definitely smells, er, Mediterranean, but not in the way I expected. This is unscientific, but it reminds me of, um, a bougie home goods store, like Williams Sonoma, LOL. I'll try it again, but it looks like I'm gonna swap. (Wink! Feel free to HMU.)

[zankoku_zen]

Fig, woodsy amber, and a whiff of olive blossom. This one is a sexy fig amber, very Mediterranean. Breezy, warm, sexy fig. Medium throw and wear length.

[torischroeder9]

In the decant: Fig and olive blossom. 

 

On my skin:

 

At first, it's olive blossom on the breeze (our neighbors have an olive tree in their backyard, and it literally smells like whiffs of those flowers blowing gently into our yard), with a fig wood undercurrent. The fig wood is pretty subdued right now. 

 

It takes a while to develop, but eventually the amber comes out, providing a soft, resiny grounding for the olive blossom. By this point, however, the fig wood has disappeared entirely on me. 

 

Eventually, the fig does come back, providing a beautiful rounding to the olive blossom. 

 

It takes a little bit to come together on my skin,  but once it does, this is lovely. It's close-wearing scent on me, but one with depth and power. A sexier and non-traditional perfume but not so much so that I couldn't wear it to work (one day, when I can work out of my house again). I was a little uncertain about this one -- hence the decant -- but it's definitely in bottle contention.   

[puellacaerulea]

In the decant: Olive blossom, amber, and something surprisingly spicy -- is that the fig wood?

Once on: The spiciness fades fast, and the olive blossom and amber stay prominent, with just a bit of fig. The wood slowly amps up over time, but this is primarily olive blossom, amber, and fig on me. Deep, heavy, and sexy, sort of like Defututa 2.0. I can't see myself reaching for this enough to get a full bottle, but will hang onto my decant.

[avilion]

4 hours ago, puellacaerulea said:

Deep, heavy, and sexy, sort of like Defututa 2.0.

 

Defututa without Miss Jasmine, who turns into Miss Litter Box on me – I like it a lot, but my decant will probably satisfy me plenty.

[AirimirOfGondor]

Surprised with this! To me, it's completely different between the bottle and on skin.

 

In the bottle, and wet on skin, it's a strange mix of sweet & juicy orange, and pine, with a hint of bittersweet bubblegum (like Bazooka Joe or bubblegum balls from a quarter machine). Honestly it reminds me of some of those wayyyyy too strong bathroom air fresheners (the cone type ones XD).

If it stayed like this I probably wouldn't like it much.

 

But! When it dries out, it is amazing!

As it mellows, the woody notes come out more, and it blooms into this wonderful earthy, lightly sweet fragrance, with a very slight hint of something incense-y, or spices. The combination of notes do give it the teensiest bit of a man's cologne kind of feel, so I do find it to be a more masculine-leaning fragrance.  But it's very wearable, very close-to-the-skin, great for all-season wear! :D

[Casablanca]

Lovely ambient Mediterranean blend.

 

This is an airy olive flower and a warm, woody fig, with added fullness and a little sweetness from the amber. I don't get overt amber, but find an abundance of olive blooms and wood-toned figs.

 

Fragment 38 is a Mediterranean summer blend. It's gentle and relaxed -- even deliciously lazy. If I were planning a trip to the Med Sea, I'd want to bring a blend like this.

 

I think this is my favorite from my friend's Luper decants.

 

[Juliamon]

Like the first review, my gut reaction was "home goods store" but more specifically the kind that carry candles in seasonal scents like "Getaway Beach House" and "Cozy Holiday Spice" year-round and stocked in various spots throughout the store so that they intermingle with each other and saturate everything else. Fresh and breezy, but also woody and warmly spiced at the same time. The kind of scent I always enjoy when I'm in those kinds of stores, but never actually seek out because I walk out of those stores with the beginnings of a migraine from it. So it is happening here as well.

 

An acquaintance of mine actually has a term for this type of scent, she calls it "hot man and the sea." Scent interpretations of a devastatingly hot guy standing with you on a sunset beach as the waves lick at your feet, like a romance novel cover. That's this.

 

I love it, but it's a one-sided love. Wish I lived with someone who'd get along better with it, so I could just catch occasional whiffs!

[theseagrows]

i get a fresh green fig and some olive blossom-it smells candle-y at this point, but also it's fresh and reminds me of the scent of a spa where you'd get a massage. it's very 'clean' smelling but not really aquatic. an interesting scent, and i love the notes but this one just isn't working like i imagined it would.

[Lucchesa]

Fragment 38 was a frimp in a swap, and it's much fruitier than I would have expected from the notes.  It's candy-sweet and almost citrusy, and while the olive blossom doesn't go to soap as it often does on my skin, I never get the wood and amber combo I was hoping for.   Sweet, summery, and higher pitched than I normally wear.  It definitely has that high-end spa vibe that others have mentioned.

[starbrow]

I heartily agree with so many of the other reviews. This is Mediterranean beachhouse candle territory. There's something a little salty and wafty about it that I appreciate, but I can't get over the "this is a candle I'd like to smell while bathing" feeling. I would love this as an atmo. I just don't think I want my skin to smell like this!