Lentisque / Spanish Bush 
Phaedon (2013)

Perfumes that evoke wild outdoor spaces are the scents of freedom. Lentisque delivers beautifully on this front. The opening makes me gasp with joy – here is the scent of a tree resin (lentiscus) forming on the bark, the sap having just oozed out and hardening under a bright sun on a rocky outcrop. A healthy dose of bitter green galbanum helps transport the wearer to this place. Lentiscus/mastic is not a familiar note to me but it comes across here as close to conifer resin (even though the tree isn't a conifer). Here is a dry, brisk, green start as good as any.
Slowly, other woody notes creep up and a gorgeous smoky vetiver with dirt and a whiff of soil clinging to it, but that bright opening accord is not lost. The aura of this creation is something else – it is dry bark and fragrant leaves and the silent forest basking in sunshine. The late stages see a cedar note much more prominent. The whole thing is cushioned by soft, unobtrusive musk.
In my experience such woody green perfumes are perceived much more subjectively than some other categories – a bit like liquorice sweets which some will consume with an addictive craving and others will spit out with an ‘are you trying to poison me?' look. But if you love perfumes like Eau de Campagne, there's a good chance this will also matter to you.
Lentisque has the brightness of an eau de toilette but also does need a liberal application to get the full wow.

This has a very green opening. The mastic and galbanum combine to give a leafy, refreshing, crisp and resinous accord. At times there is a hint of a dusky green note, like clary sage. Superbly dry, classy and wears very well. Arguably one of the best of the mastic-oriented scents on the scene. Lovely hint of dry woods. In the dry-down, a well-rounded vetiver note appears, presenting grassy, smoky and earthy tones. A pleasure to wear!

This opens with a major blast of the driest, most true vetiver I have ever experienced. The dry down is cedar. To me, this is a strongly masculine scent. But as a woman, that has never stopped me from wearing a fragrance. I adore the austerity.