Scarlet Rhubarb & Oakmoss

Scarlet Rhubarb & Oakmoss rewrites the classic chypre with a tart English top note. Where a classic chypre usually opens on a citrus note, this one opens on fresh tart rhubarb with sun-dried fruits and ripe strawberry, with crisp apple and apricot around them. The heart is a single flower, elegant white gardenia, and the base is oakmoss with musk and a little labdanum for a warm, lingering drydown. The house calls it bold, sumptuous and a little eccentric, and the community response is positive if small. One wearer found it brought back family holidays and fell for it, another pictured warm Mediterranean nights, and a third found it versatile, neither too sweet nor too dry, simple but intriguing enough to keep exploring. The few votes call it long lasting with a strong trail, and cover spring, summer and autumn, mainly for daytime. It reads unisex, fruit-led with a green edge rather than a dark mossy chypre, best in warm weather and early autumn and good for evenings as well as days. The house says it was written around mellow English autumn days, moonlit nights and warm, sun-filled holidays, which is a fair summary of how wide its use is. Pick it if you like fruity chypres with some bite. It is made by hand in the UK by a small London house.