Indie perfume brand Blackbird really needs to keep on keeping on with the fruity themes. Why? Because they’re nailing them. They’re making fruity perfumes that even the fruity/fruity-floral perfume averse will love. I really enjoyed the weird banana Y06-S. Now I’m enjoying the weird plum, Anemone. Fruits, like flowers, are so weird and subversive but brands rarely ever display that delightful side of fruit in perfumes.
Anemone opens like effervescent turpentine. It smells like champagne in an artist’s studio. Then it settles into something I would have never expected! It’s a salty seaweed plum. It’s ume-kobucha! It smells like that flavored Japanese green tea that has dried kelp and plums. With wear, the plum intensifies but the kelp stays in the background. There’s tobacco and honey in this. With the plum, these notes remind me of shisa and hookahs. The champagne became flat. It’s still noticeably “champagne”, adding a dry fruitiness. It lacks the bubbles. It’s like the smell of what is left in flutes the afternoon after the guests managed to make it home and you managed to wake up with a not-so-big headache. The dry-down of Anemone is a tobacco with a funky, animalic quality. That kelp note that I picked up before is now a salty, animalic amber (AKA ambergris). The plums haven’t been harvested and made into a jam for winter. They’ve plummeted from branches and now rot or wait to be eaten by some little mammal in the middle of the night.
I didn’t know that what my perfume wardrobe was missing was a huge, weird plum until I tried Anemone. I love how it’s salty, savory and sweet. It’s like an umami plum. I also think this is one that would work in any season.
Notes listed include plum, pink lotus, champagne, honey, tobacco, ambergris, styrax and labdanum. Launched in 2016. PERFUMER – Nicole Miller
Give Anemone a try if you are looking for a fruity fragrance that is different or really like the idea of a plum/fruity tobacco perfume. Or if you like perfumes like Serge Lutens Bois et Fruits, MiN NY Coda, Byredo Bullion, Nez a Nez Atelier d’Artiste (discontinued) and/or Amouroud Oud After Dark. Anemone is saltier with a noticeable ambergris in comparison to all of these.
Projection and longevity are above average. Please note that I’m reviewing “Version II”. It was reworked for global distribution.
The 2 oz bottle retails for $138 at Blackbird. Samples are also available for purchase.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Ume-kobucha and shisa. If you’ve been looking for a plum with interest, this is it.
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*Disclaimer – Sample provided by the brand. I am not financially compensated for my reviews. My opinions are my own. Product pic from the brand. Elaine Shepard pic from fanpix.net.
Original article: Blackbird Anemone Perfume Review
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