[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] I realise I’ve favoured Bitter Mandarin over Sea Daffodil with the pictures in this post but I bought some very juicy (and delicious) mandarins to illustrate and then just got carried away! They’re both part of the new Blossoms collection for 2022 and they’re far more punchy than recent years.
Honestly, Bitter Mandarin makes my heart sing – if ever you needed a fragrance to boost you through the rest of rainy February, this is it. The very juiciness of it at first spritz followed by a smoother, creamier but unmistakeably citrus settle is so invigorating and fresh that I can’t see that I’ll have the bottle for long! The theme of this year’s Blossoms is Sardinia which is a part of the Mediterranean where the sea daffodil, sometimes known as the sand lily, thrives – it’s actually a relation of the amaryllis. I wore Sea Daffodil all of yesterday and it deserves as much attention.
At the on-line launch, someone said it had a little waft of sun tan lotion and I totally get that – it’s a solar fragrance with a lily-ish scent that embodies that shore scent – if perfume could be sound, Sea Daffodil would be the noise of the waves washing on the sand. There are notes of ylang ylang, vanilla and sandalwood so it’s dry, heat infused and creamily floral. If you are not a ‘pretty’ floral fan, this could be the one for you – there’s so much more to it than the florals.
Bitter Mandarin has the effervescence of opening a can of orange San Pellegrino – I only ever have those on holiday although I have seen them in Tesco but certain things are best taken in a sun hit cafe with a beach nearby. The inspiration is, in fact, aperitivo time – that ice and a slice refresher before nightfall that gives you a boost of energy to fuel your evening. I don’t really pick up too much of the bitterness – there’s a sharpness of peel for sure but to my nose, it doesn’t become acidic or pointed, and a touch of orris that amplifies the mandarin. Bitter Mandarin is a bottle of joy for those who love citrus.
The bottles have a sand washed pebble like appearance (I admit I thought mine was stained so I tried to clean it… ) with a greyish vein running through. I think I’d rather have had a orange vein or something but it’s so smooth in the hand feel that it feels churlish to raise this as a preference. There are both 50ml and 100ml bottles available – £75 HERE for the former and £112 HERE for the latter. If you spend £110 or more you’ll receive a free miniature candle.
Non-affiliate HERE.
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