Mochi

Mochi is built around the idea of a Japanese rice cake: soft, milky and lightly sweet rather than a thick dessert. Rice flower leads the concept, with pear, peach blossom, aloe, coconut and tea rose in the opening. Reviewers pick out different parts of that opening. Some smell aloe and rose first, one finds a tart peach that stays all the way through, and a fan of rice scents calls the rice soft and not starchy. The heart is creamy and mildly lactonic, with nectarine, cream, orange blossom and silk blossom. After about an hour a more definite rice note comes through, closer to sugared rice pudding than to a nutty, pistachio-like rice. The base is a powdery white and Egyptian musk with a little vanilla. Several wearers describe that base as clean laundry or fabric softener, which is the part people either enjoy or find too synthetic. One reviewer asks readers not to sniff the skin directly for that reason. It is a light scent with mixed reports on staying power. Some buyers see a skin scent after two to three hours, others get six hours or say it lasts for hours, and everyone agrees it is delicate rather than loud. Spring and summer are the natural seasons, and daily wear suits it best. One reviewer found it too youthful for the office, while another thought it fit nearly any setting. It sits near other soft, milky indie gourmand florals and in the same family as the brand's own Snuggle Bug and Matcha Latte, with less sweetness than either. Handmade by Juliet Rose in the UK, it is for wearers who want a clean, creamy, quiet scent.