If osmanthus is having a moment in modern perfumery, it's a well-deserved one: elegantly fruity, sensual and softly creamy, it's long past time that this beautiful floral stepped out of the supporting shadows and into the limelight. And it would be hard to think of a more impressive debutante than Absolue d'Osmanthe, an utterly stunning new floral scent fresh off of taking Esxence 2017 by storm and now ready to go worldwide. Fresh and fruity, but also richly mouthwatering and romantic, this is everything we always suspected a perfect osmanthus scent could be. Absolue d'Osmanthe wastes no time putting its gorgeous title ingredient front and center, opening bright and fruity with the apricot-like tones the flower is known for. As with all great soliflore scents, the supporting notes are meant less to twist the fragrance in any particular direction and more to coax out each facet of the featured player, and Absolue completely delivers: plum to add juicy depth to the fruity notes and rose and jasmine to accentuate the luscious softness. As it dries, subtly rich balsamic, woodsy and creamy notes (with just the right hint of animalic castoreum) emerge to resonate with the smooth, leather-toned sexiness hidden within osmanthus's soft lactonic depths. Is Absolue d'Osmanthe the perfect osmanthus scent? At the very least, we're confident when we say this impossibly gorgeous fragrance is going to be quite hard for future challengers to top.
