PHILOSYKOS:

2/8/15

I think that there are many times in our lives when we do not appreciate a thing of beauty straightaway; particularly if it strays from the path of what we have known before.  It takes time to retrain our brains to think differently, and to see that something unique and unlooked for can also be gorgeous in its mold-breaking way.  This rule can also be applied to our ol’factory senses.  There are simply things which are new and exotic in ways until now undiscovered by us, and at first we may not ‘get it.’  That is what I am discovering with Philosykos.  Created in 1996 by the master perfumer Olivia Giacobetti, in homage to the memory of one of the founders of the brand, Desmond Knox-Leet, this is truly an embodiment of one of nature’s most sweet-smelling and mouth-watering fruits: the fig.

The first time I tried this fragrance, it did not sit well on me.  I don’t mean on my skin.  I mean in my mind.  There wasn’t a fusion between the two and as such I dismissed it as odd.  Going back to it several weeks later, I used it on a day when I was going to be out all day, and in the open air.  This was the EDT version.  Now perfume tends to sit a very long time on my skin anyway, with the notable exception of one perfumer who I will discuss at a later date.  This beautiful and unusual scent was still present, albeit faintly, 12 hours after I applied it.  Suddenly it was working for me.  I kept discretely smelling my wrists, marveling at the many facets it brought to my senses.  Yes, it is fig, but not just the fruit itself.  I can smell the whole plant.  I can smell the leaves, the sap, and almost visualize the tree from which they were plucked with care.  I can feel the sun shining, the sky is blue, and I can see in my mind quaint little sailboats dotted on the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean.  I imagine whitewashed houses and little old women making lace tablecloths.  Is that insane?  Yes and no.  It seems impossible that a mere perfume can evoke all these images, but yet, isn’t that what a truly remarkable fragrance is able to do; to transcend the bottle and whisk us off to childhood, or to a destination unknown?  Scent is transforming.  It can take us on myriad journeys through time and space without setting foot out of your door.  I almost can’t believe it, but these journeys are exciting and make you crave further and yet deeper experiences.

Rating: 4 white vessels bobbing on the sun-streaked sea.