Digitalis
Parfums Quartana (2016)

Another weird Parfums Quartana-creation. This american creative and visionary brand (waving around the "wider" Six Scent project, the visionary approach to perfumery by several talented american fashion designers) seems to privilege the sphere of bold and dangerously bully-outrageous fragrances appointed by its landmark weird vegetal experimental alchemies. Digitalis is basically a fougère ozonic marine with vegetal and fruity accessorial elements and a mossy final aura. It performs a juxtaposition of marine (ozonic soapy) elements and moutain/green (fern, moss, coriander, basil, galbanum) patterns as well. The juice opens literally fizzy and pungent with a bursting botanical accord of salt (with a notable ozonic vibe a la Profumum Roma Acqua di Sale), cucumber, violet leaves, basil, pepper and resinous moss. This main fruity-musky pungency holds on "mastering" for long time and with a pale evolution, providing a sort of bizarre sultry-dirty (resinous) grassy-floral and finally soapy aura wrapping the wearer with a sensual sweaty hot mantle. Sensuality is enhanced by a stout connection of ozonics, fruit (cucumber is powerful), pepper, resins and mossiness. Violet leaves are definitely the main floral theme followed by bitter gentiane. Interesting juvenile creation which could appeal the younger "party-generations" or the older sporty daring wearers. Ideal choice for extravagant summer nights parties and sexy nocturnal hot seasons beach rendez-vous.

Digitalis is perhaps the most aquatic, ozonic, and green of the Les Potions Fatales collection from Parfums Quartana. Usually "ozonic" is a descriptor that renders me inclined to think that a fragrance is cheap and only ephemerally interesting or tolerable, as that's been my experience with most fragrances described as such, but in Digitalis, that mold is broken.

Apart from the Digitalis (or Foxglove) flowers, a genus with which I'm not all that familiar, this perfume entails moss, ozone, resins, cucumber, coriander, and rose. It's quite fresh, surely green, and comfortably blended. It has vegetable and herbal hints but is not akin to wearing a vegetable (like the first incarnation of Zoologist Panda, for instance).

Performance is quite great for the type of fragrance it is, with projection roughly average, and longevity above average. Overall not as quite as robust as LOTV or other offerings in the line, but certainly satisfactory for the usage occasions, generally daytime during warm weather, in my estimation, though it's a versatile-enough offering for men and women alike throughout the year. It just plays better to the day or casual (than the night or formal) occasions.

The pricing for Digitalis is on the lower end of the collection, at $145 for 50ml, sold at Perfumology, Twisted Lily, Fumerie, etc. in the US.

8 out of 10