Gâteaux by Florescent

Since this blog focuses on natural perfumes, you can imagine that I have a pretty big perfume collection. I have amassed fragrances that I’ve swapped for, been sent, bought, and gifted. I have a lot of perfume (natural and otherwise), and have smelled hundreds and hundreds more. As a result, I am thoroughly impressed with perfumes that are interesting and a little different, while still being beautiful. Gâteaux is one such perfume.

Susannah Compton launched her all natural perfume line late in 2015, so her fragrances might be new to many of you. They were new to me, so I was delighted when Susannah sent me samples. She has three fragrances, Pretty Bird, Sundays, and Gâteaux and are made with only organic or wildcrafted botanicals. They are all lovely and full bottle worthy in my opinion, but Gâteaux struck that “this is really different, and I like it!” chord in me. I’ve never considered myself a devoted mint lover in my perfumes, but the spearmint in Gâteaux works very well with the distinct rose geranium opening. There’s no denying that mint is present, but the rose geranium tempers it, while at the same time the mint heightens this flower’s lemony herbal-green quality.

Any perfume that gets a lot of skin time from me is most likely a woody floral, and yes, Gâteaux is just that. The heart is full of orange blossoms and the warm essence of Tolu Balsam. Tolu Balsam hails mainly from South America and comes from the resin of the Myroxylon tree. It’s warm and sweet with notes of cinnamon and vanilla, but is also green and fresh. The result in Gâteaux is a sweet and resinous interplay with the orange blossom that does not weight it down due to its fresh nature. The mint never strays, it just recedes into the background which maintains  Gâteaux’s uniqueness.

The lasting power of Gâteaux is at least four to five hours which progresses to its final stage of lingering orange blossom, vanilla and a touch of powder. I was sent the 5ml roll-on which is ideal for carrying in your bag and for travel, but I am seriously considering the larger 15ml bottle as I would love to spritz Gâteaux liberally!

Have you tried any of Florescent’s perfumes? Which one is your favorite?

Gâteaux is available at Florescent.co as well as Potion. $79 for the 15ml atomizer, $49 for the 5ml roll on. They also have a trial set of all three perfumes for $15.

Image of Gâteaux is my own. Botanical illustration of spearmint from Botanical.com

Disclosure: Gâteaux was sent to me by Florescent. Opinions in this review, and all my reviews, are solely my own. This post contains links to Potion which I am affiliated with.