What does Fig Tree smell like?
Sit under a fig tree in August and the air smells of warm, green, slightly bitter leaves. Snap a twig and white sap runs out, milky and almost coconut-like. Fig tree perfume lives in that contrast. There is green, there is milk and there is dry wood underneath. The fruit stays in the background. In perfume the note is fresh without being sour. On skin it lasts a few hours and turns creamier.
Origin and production
The common fig (Ficus carica) has been grown around the Mediterranean since antiquity. Fig leaf absolute is banned by the IFRA because of how it reacts with skin in sunlight. Perfumers therefore rebuild the smell with green, milky and woody molecules. L'Artisan Parfumeur Premier Figuier, released in 1994, is often cited as the first perfume built around this note.
How perfumers use it
Fig tree works with cedar, coconut, bay leaf and citrus. Diptyque Philosykos (1996) follows the tree from leaf to wood. Jean-Claude Ellena reworked it in 2003 for Un Jardin en Méditerranée, brighter with orange blossom. Acqua di Parma Fico di Amalfi (2006) sets it under Italian citrus. Dior Dune pour Homme (1997) uses it in an aromatic woody scent. Mugler Womanity (2010) pairs it with an odd caviar accord.
How to wear it
Fig tree suits May to September, in daytime. Three sprays of Philosykos on a linen shirt are enough. It works equally well for men and women.