No. 89 Floris

The immediate greeting is pure citric brightness—bitter orange and bergamot cut with a piercing neroli that feels almost lemony, whilst lavender arrives as a grounding herbal presence and nutmeg adds the first whisper of spice. Within moments, this opening feels alive and slightly bristling, genuinely crisp without resorting to synthetic sharpness.

The heart emerges as a subtle shift rather than a dramatic transformation, with rose and geranium stepping forward whilst ylang ylang adds a powdery, almost violet-tinged quality that prevents the florals from reading as conventionally pretty. The spice deepens noticeably, oakmoss and cedarwood beginning their slow emergence from beneath the floral structure, creating an increasingly woody-amber tonality.

What remains is predominantly woody and earthy—cedarwood and oakmoss dominate, with sandalwood contributing a soft, almost creamy undertone and vetiver adding a tobacco-like mineral quality that occasionally catches light. Musk rounds the edges into something quietly animalic and skin-like, though the fragrance's overall projection has become decidedly intimate rather than diffusive.