Fiore di Lago / Lake Flower
AbdesSalaam Attar Profumo

One of the takeaway impressions I had from Lake Flower was how it managed to be fresh and warm and the same time, with neither impression predominating.

The first impression I got is lemony-green (reminiscent of lemongrass) with a hint of something dryly indolic. What amazed me was the staying power of the lemongrass note, which stayed almost the whole time. Given the volatile nature of citrusy smells---and having tried Bambini from AbdesSalaam Attar---I was expecting it to dissipate after a short initial period. That was not the case. Comparing the smell side-by-side with my bottle of elemi / canarium, I wonder if there is a bit of that in there, as it also has a lemony-green profile.

There is also something minty? Something cooling, peppermint or maybe eucalyptus. I could be completely off, but I seem to notice an element of coolness that I assume is meant to provide the "aquatic" facet mentioned in the description. Whatever it is, it's blended with the fresh lemony aspect very well, transparently hovering in the background. A round floral comes out at more of a distance, a subdued ylang-ylang I think, though it is well-blended and hard to single out entirely. With a bit of time in the drydown, the helichrysum comes out more, along with a hint of a warm vanillic undertone.

Helichrysum on its own is not an ingredient I had much appreciation for before---there is a quality about it that vaguely reminded me of car mechanic oil or the air you might encounter in an American hardware store like Home Depot (though maybe it would not be the case with a better quality helichrysum?). In Lake Flower, however, I think it is helichrysum that contributes the smell of a hay-like meadow, a smell of sun-warmed straw. Not only do I not mind it, I find myself enjoying the effect! Magical.

The "lake flowers" are then not so much the refined dressy florals common in perfumery but more like humble charming wildflowers. It is still a very refined scent, only in a different way from those florals. I found Lake Flower to be simultaneously a pleasant, unchallenging perfume that also manages to be original. I appreciate that it feels grounding in a different way from more traditionally "grounding" perfumes like woods, vetiver, etc. It's both refreshing and consoling, like having a pleasant cup of warm herbal tea with a slice of lemon by a window that is letting in a fresh breeze.

"'Lake Flower' is born from the request of the exclusive perfumery of a wellness center dipped in the green hills of Italian Romagna. After spending an afternoon smelling the outskirts of this immense place, breathed the wind that flies over the fields and the scents of the small lake that is the center of the place, 'Lake Flower' somehow spontaneously composed itself in my test tubes.

"It is a fresh and aquatic feminine fragrance, that harmonizes flowery aromas (Ylang-Ylang, Rose, Helichrysum) with scents of prairies. 'Lake Flower' is particularly appreciated by fragile or depressed women, who feel the weight of solitude, but also from those who help such persons in their social or therapeutic job." – AbdesSalaam Attar (excerpt)

Salaam doesn't mention citrus in his description, but I suspect there's some in the opening, rather than it being a byproduct of the named floral or unspecified prairie notes. In any case, the lemony top notes burn off in a flash, transitioning to a gentle hay-like accord that seems to focus more on the stems and leaves of the plants than the blossoms. Thus, the ylang-ylang, rose, and helichrysum (immortelle) don't come across here as particularly floral at all, at least not in a typical way. Rather, it's closer to the "whole plant" aroma familiar to me from the work of earlier natural (or naturalistic) perfumers such as Mary Chess. Likewise, this is not at all "fresh" (apart from the brief citrus burst) or "aquatic" in the sense of 1990s commercial perfumery. Lake Flower stays more in the fields than right by the lakeside.

Even for AbdesSalaam, who is a master of olfactory subtlety, this is an introspective scent. If you're looking for "performance" by the usual metrics, this isn't for you. That, however, was not his brief. This is a calming, centering, and private scent. I do not meant to diminish it by saying it would make an excellent skin care fragrance, as the application of soaps and lotions is one of our most widely practiced self-care regimens.

As for femininity, perhaps women are the focus of the wellness center that requested this formula, and were foremost in Salaam's mind when Lake Flower "spontaneously composed itself." However, I would only regard this as feminine in that it doesn't engage with any masculine perfumery tropes. In truth, it doesn't engage with feminine tropes, either. Even the term "unisex" implies a gender spectrum in play. Lake Flower is somewhere apart from that, in a space where gender is utterly irrelevant.

For now, I'm disinclined to buy a bottle. Should my life become more stressful, I might reconsider.

A quite original opening with hesperidic, citrus and and crisp and slightly spicy undertone courtesy of helichrysium. There is an overarching green note with bergamot in it, which extends into the later development.

The drydown adds Thai lemon grass accords mixed with acidic components. Whiffs of white florals come and go, without any of them being clearly identifiable on me;m. Later green stems and leaves of roses appear, combined with a rather dry and skin ylang-ylang; I get neither creaminess nor a lot of sweetness in the latter.

The base is grounded in a slightly woody background, with a balsamic note in the foreground. Additionally, ozonic and aquatic moments (the name!) brighten it up.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection, and seven hours of longevity on my skin.

A very nice and bright-ish scent for cooler summer days, with an original concept, quite a creative execution, and ingredients of very good quality, but a few less intensive moments. 3.5/5.

Fiore di Lago is elusive and yes, apparently incongruous (as its mysterious helichrysium). The excellent purplebird7 is right as always and its review is exhaustive and enlightening. Lake flower starts with a blast of bergamot (yes lemongrass like, aromatic/green, typically medicinal but absolutely natural) immediately joined by an airy/aromatic grassy feel, a vague aquatic fluidity and a sort of "hay-like" aroma which is a typical Dubrana's natural alchemies background. Probably the helichrysium (in connection with hesperides) is responsible of the typically lemony/green sour aromatic vibe while I catch a usual pheromonal-spicy background you can easily detect in many Dubrana's green-musky creations as Muschio di Quercia, Feromone Uomo or Indu Kush. Rose and ylang-ylang provide a typical floral wave which is anyway too much overshadowed by aromatic green/lemony elements. The dry down is musky, lemony and vaguely floral, still mastered by a hay-type of "warm animalic" effect which is a quality under my nose. This is not the most compelling Dubrana's alchemy but is anyway a pleasant green relaxing concoction with a breezy vaguely ozonic inebriating vibe.

I have a yes and no reaction to this one. The listed notes are ylang-ylang, rose, and helichrysium. But what do I smell? Lemon and hay.It is remniscent of oriental lemongrass. I believe that I am not a fan of helichrysium. It is a strange floral--strong and both sweet and sour at the same time, harsh and haylike. It also has a bitter, aromatic, medicinal note. (I don't smell the "maple" aroma that is supposed to be a characteristic of helichrysium. Rather, the sweet part smells like cut hay in the sun, a warm sweetness.) Overall, helichrysium smells rather wild and incongruous to me. Lake Flower also has the same unrefined aspect. It is unpredictable, wafting between warm and sweet and fresh and tart. Yet neither the sweetness nor the sourness is familiar, as it would be with common, edible substances like vanilla and lemon. Therefore, it is challenging. I don't know if I like it or not.