Sweet Berry

Sweet Berry is the odd one out in a range that otherwise runs sweet and heavy, and it is a welcome exception. The opening is a proper citrus and herb accord: basil, lemon, mandarin and orange together, with the basil doing the interesting work. Basil is a green, peppery, slightly aniseed herb and putting it at the front of a fruity fragrance gives the whole thing a sharpness and a bitterness that stops it reading as another berry sweet. It is the brand's most unexpected decision after the salt in Coeur Volcan. The heart is blackberry and red fruits, juicy and tart rather than jammy, and the citrus from the opening carries into it so the fruit never sits alone. There is no floral heart at all, which keeps the composition unusually lean and direct. The base is oakmoss and white musk, and that is a genuinely old-fashioned pairing to find under a modern berry fragrance. Oakmoss brings a dry, slightly bitter earthiness that gives the drydown a faint chypre inflection, and the musk keeps it clean. Performance is three to four hours from the mini spray with light projection. Spring and summer, daytime, casual. Easily the best warm-weather option the brand offers.