Vero Profumo Kiki

I was recently the happy recipient of some sample sets (EDP and Extrait) of the three Vero Profumo scents, sent to me by the delightful Victoria of EauMG. I tried the EDP versions, one at a time on blotters. Kiki was the one I was immediately struck by, and I quickly sprayed it on my skin.

Kiki is a lavender-based scent, and I happen to adore lavender, but often have a hard time finding one that doesn't smell too soap-like and bitter on me. Kiki's vibrant lavender has been tempered with bergamot, citron, passion fruit, geranium, caramel, patchouli and musk. There is a double dose of lavender here, the perfumer using lavender essential oil AND lavender absolute. Not long after initially spraying, I started to sense the passion fruit along with a hint of something sweet. I am not usually too fond of fruit in my perfumes, but here, the passion fruit and citron have been used masterfully, the slight acidity slicing into the deep astringency of the lavender.

There is an effect that develops with the lavender (and perhaps the musk creeping in) that delivers an almost iris-like powdery quality, and it is very welcome when it arrives. I've had a serious craving for powdery scents lately, and Kiki delivers just enough to make this fresh fragrance sophisticated.

The caramel, patchouli and musk are done with a light hand here, which is a very desirable move because it lets the star of the perfume, the lavender, shine in all its glory. To my nose, this is English lavender, which I prefer over French for its traditional qualities, it lends a pleasing clean feel to perfume without coming across as soapy.

I can imagine that Kiki will become a favorite warm-weather perfume for me, and I am looking forward to trying this in the extrait version. Named after Man Ray's muse (Kiki de Montparnasse), Kiki the perfume is robust, shapely and bold much like its namesake, but it is not so feminine that a man can't wear it. In fact, I think it would be particularly lovely on the right man.

Vero Profumo's Kiki EDP can be purchased at Luckyscent, 50ml for $165. Extrait is also available there.