Shiseido / 資生堂
Shiseido / 資生堂
144 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Black pepper and clove ignite immediately, their sharp bite cutting through delicate blossoms with almost aggressive energy. The opening fifteen minutes feel confrontational—this is spice-forward, deliberately unsettling any expectations of traditional floral softness.
As the pepper mellows into the second hour, lily of the valley and rose emerge with unexpected restraint, whilst star anise introduces a faintly green, almost herbal quality that prevents sweetness from taking hold. The powdery iris becomes more prominent here, adding an almost soapy dryness that elevates the composition above simple florality.
The woody base gradually reveals itself as the spice fades, leaving a subtle white musk tinged with faint woodiness that's more suggestion than declaration. By the fourth hour, this becomes a barely-there skin scent—intimate, powdery, with only the faintest peppery memory lingering on fabric.
Shiseido's Energizing Fragrance announces itself as a spiced floral rather than a sweet one, with black pepper and clove arriving in the opening salvo to establish immediate kinetic energy. This isn't a fragrance content to whisper—the peppery bite cuts through the blossom accord with surgical precision, preventing the composition from settling into traditional feminine territory. Claudette Belnavis constructs the heart around lily of the valley and rose, but here's where the architecture becomes interesting: the star anise and heliotrope create an almost savoury backdrop, pushing against the jasmine's creamy indulgence rather than supporting it. There's a powdery iris note that feels almost dusty, masculine even, which grounds the composition's more ethereal moments.
This is a fragrance for the wearer who finds conventional florals cloying. The white musk base is restrained rather than animalic, allowing the woody elements to provide structural support without overwhelming. The fresh accord (88%) suggests citric undertones that never quite materialise as distinct notes—instead, they function as a clarifying agent, keeping the spice-floral interplay from becoming murky.
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3.8/5 (230)