Nouvelle Edition Figue Amere (2002)
by Miller Harris

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!

This is my dream scent: figgy without being predictably green, nutty, woody, with a kind of oriental saltiness (I can see why the previous review likens it to a church). Unusual and evocative.
One downside: every time I try a spray of this scent I turn into an automated sneezing machine - with a headache. Very frustrating, because when it lingers on the sleeve of my sweater it smells so wonderful the day after i've tried it!
So I will persevere with the sneezing/thumping headaches because I want to purchase a bottle for autumn/winter.

Very nice green figue, like a "fig at the sea", standing really apart from other fig scents that I know. The drydown smells like myhhr(well, it smells like in a church), don't know why. It must be cedar-amber combination.Worth trying.