Nouvelle Edition Figue Amere (2002)
by Miller Harris

This is a very rich fig fantasy. Bergamot and fig goes very nicely at the start. and violets so sweet makes a bright counterpoint with the bitterness of fig. salty powdery sweet and figgy. Really good work. I could not compare this one with Premier Figuier by L'Artisan Parfumeur. Figue amere is by far the best. Premier figuer though having a promising top accord, is unluckily spoiled by a cheap coconut aroma. I have apreciated Fleur de Figuier by Molinard as an bright replica of the fig tree itself but Figure Amere much complicated, artistic sweet (and feminine) goes to the wish list at first try.

Top: bergamot, mandarin
Mid: “bitter ripe green figs,” salt, Narcissus poeticus, rose, green violet leaves
Base: cedar, amber, sea moss
This opens with a nice, earthy fig scent. Oddly, this scent projects more coconut than Premiere Figuer (regular or extreme) by L’Artisan Parfumer – yet there is no coconut listed here. In comparison to the L’Artisan products, this is much more floral, creamier, sweeter. It is not a lean green scent in any sense. Lots of sillage here folks. The drydown is sweet and ambery, and I don’t get any cedar. This is not a bad scent at all, but I don’t care for the style. Others may well appreciate it.

A slightly disappointing attempt to harmonize a collection of inspiring ingredients. Whilst I enjoy the slightly bittersweet edge that fig fragrances often convey, there has to be depth and at least a little potency. Sadly, it errs too much on the side of caution, and fails to maximise the tantalizing accords it produces. Figue Amere probably has a lot to say for itself, but it simply cannot get the message across.

Gorgeous fig scent. It's hard to choose between this and L'Artisan's Extreme version. The L'Artisan fragrance uses coconut as a base and Figue Amere uses amber and that's the only difference really. Both are lovely and intoxicating. Figue Amere is less sweet than L'Artisan's --- best to try them both. You won't find better fig scents anyway.

Hmmm… Nice. I really like this take on fig – very green; more fig leaf than sweet, ripe fig. It is such an invitingly green accord in the opening of the fragrance: really attracting. There’s a floral bent to the fragrance, too: I get rose and a little bit of wood, but the green dominates, carrying with it the figgy and rose afterglow. This opening doesn’t produce much sillage. It is actually quite transparent, and I guess that sheerness is the primary characteristic of the whole fragrance: It retains its light and green character through the middle notes and the base. The middle and base are shadowed by an incense or myhhr note – very obscure to my nose, in fact, I think I would have missed it if I weren’t searching for it. There is also a salty ambiance in the background; stronger, to me, than the incense but still in the background of the green / floral nature of the accords. The dry down, also very reticent, is amber and cedar; it goes a bit powdery on me.

I’m not quite sure where I’m going with Figue Amere. On the one hand, I really enjoy the accords – they’re enticing and memorable, well balanced and unique. On the other hand, the scent seems to be too soft; I have to concentrate to smell it. I have for the past several months been moving toward preferring the more subtle fragrances over the more powerful ones that had long been my favorites. Figue Amère is certainly an excellent candidate with qualifications for subtlety. The tendency towards powder in the drydown also forces me to weigh a purchase, but whatever I decide, it’s certainly that this is a thumbs up fragrance.

I love this too, without quite knowing why. The figginess comes out right away and settles into the church incense sort of smell with underpinnings of brine and...vanilla? Strange. Great!