Intuition Estēe Lauder

Intuition Estēe Lauder arrives as a burst of Mediterranean morning—bergamot and mandarin orange colliding with sharp grapefruit, their citric brightness tempered by a whisper of green notes that suggest crushed leaves rather than floral greenery. There's an almost candied quality to the citrus here, particularly where the mandarin meets orange blossom; it reads less "fresh" and more "sweetened," as if you've bitten into fruit that's been left in the sun. The heart unveils a gardenia-freesia pairing that's respectfully restrained—these florals don't screech for attention but rather settle into the composition like silk slipping beneath cotton. Rose and Chinese rhododendron add a faintly herbal, slightly peppery undertone that prevents the middle from becoming saccharine or overly powdery, a crucial balance given the citrus-sweetness already established.

This is a fragrance for the pragmatist with romantic leanings—someone who appreciates florals but won't tolerate cloying excess. It's unisex in the way only early-2000s niche perfumery understood it: neither aggressively masculine nor bathroomy-feminine, simply *present*. Wear it to the office over linen, to afternoon tea when you want to smell considered rather than conspicuous, or layered on clean skin when you need something that suggests effort without announcing it. Alberto Morillas has crafted something deliberately understated, a composition that whispers rather than declaims—which, given contemporary rating scores for longevity and sillage, proves both its greatest appeal and its fundamental limitation.