[unpaid/samples/affiliate/ad] I tested a fragrance – Santal Beauty – earlier in the year from the brand Bibbi, founded by Swedish born Stina ‘Bibbi’ Seger and her husband, Jan Vilhelm Ahlgren in 2023. At the time, I said I’m too practically minded to join the whimsy that accompanies this brand where Bibbi practices meditation and can transport her consciousness to another dimension to meet characters with fascinating stories that then inspire the fragrances. I’m still in that place but impressed enough from that initial meeting of Santal Beauty to want to try more.
So, I have three brief reviews, starting with Rainbow Rose. This is just a moment of olfactory joy – a burst of rose petals followed immediately by something I wanted to describe as charcoal-ish. The way this fragrance changes so quickly on the skin is incredible. It’s described as a woody floral but the thing that amplifies the rose straight away is raspberry – it gives it a fruity sweetness that gives way to mossiness that gives way to a kick of oud creamy woods. Inspiration came from meditating in the Vatican – sun hits a prism creating a rainbow at the end of which is a book with a rose embroidered on the spine. Bibbi reads the first page from which a divine rose scent emerges. Very interesting and very unusual and I’ll have what she’s having, thank you.
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Next is Radio Child which is so strange – initial thoughts on spritzing were metal and hospital. There’s a kind of medicinal element to this – maybe a cough drop – that comes from a big black pepper note that in honestly, predominates throughout. I couldn’t really get to the jasmine and fig but the creaminess of cashmere wood was there and I like to think I could weasel out the oakmoss. Actually, I’ve put my finger on the ‘hospital’ smell – it’s coming round from anaesthetic – that cold waft of gas that hangs around. Isn’t that weird? While this would never be my go-to, it isn’t horrible, and I’m going to sound sexist when I say this but I feel strongly that it belongs on a man’s skin because the scent needs that masculine pheromone to make it sing. I’m not even telling you the inspiration but there’s an element of Beethoven and Sonata No 14.
Finally, The Other Room. Honestly, these are some of the most unusual fragrances I’ve ever smelled. My initial thoughts were clean, sharp, aniseed-ish, lime and skin. It tells the story of a disinhibited masked ball – rules erased and forgotten in the attempt to obtain access to ‘the other room’. The note line up is ginger Nigeria which accounts for the sharpness, cassis and lime with carnation, davana and saffron blossom. Patchouli, vetiver and labdanum lie at the base. I honestly don’t know how I feel about this one – if I encountered someone wearing it I would be intrigued and I think drawn to them but I’m not sure I could wear it myself. It’s got something unsettling about it.
So, in summary, this is a brand you have to try before you buy – these are not fragrances that you can buy on description alone because they’re intense and sometimes discombobulating. If you’re looking for a signature perfume that will intrigue and compel, I suggest you invest in the discovery set which is EU35 (redeemable against purchase) HERE. I have press samples so you can’t buy the size you see on this post but 100ml is £225 and 30ml £110 HERE so it’s a considered purchase. I also mentioned when testing Santal Beauty that if you’re too much of a realist (like me) and can’t quite get along with the meditation inspirations, don’t worry – these are unique and interesting enough to be explored for their note compositions alone but if you can take yourself to Bibbi’s ‘place’, I think you’ll get more from them.
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