Caligna is my first acquisition from L’Artisan Parfumeur. I was looking for a fig perfume at that time, and I instantly in love with Caligna. I’ll tell you why.
Caligna, a clean and floral fig
Caligna starts with a combination of fresh and woody notes that reminds me of pine, with sweet and terpenic citrus reminiscent of bergamot and the bitter green facet of fig leaves. Instantly, the scent develops into an opulent and lactonic combination of clary sage, fig, and jasmine, which balance the green facet and make it round and large. This balance is what makes me fall in love with Caligna.
Caligna shows a balance of the fig leaves’ green and bitter facet and the lactonic, almost milky character of the fruits. The fig leaves combine amazingly well with aromatic and woody notes smelling like pine; it makes me imagine standing in a foggy forest with pine trees around me. The cold air encloses me, bringing out nature’s true scents. This green ambiance also gives an illusion of violet leaves and its complex leafy and floral facet, which is a nice touch to provide depth to fig notes.
At the same time, clary sage engages our senses with its aromatic and sweet nature. It envelopes the green and woody facet, giving a clean scent and delicate texture, somehow fluffy. Moreover, the clary sage creates a rich tea effect, which I find elegant and comforting.
Caligna allures us with its pretty floral character that is powerful yet refined. The floral accord smells like an abundance of jasmine, with a touch of honeyed flowers like rose, powdery flowers such as violet, and ozonic flowers like lily of the valley. These floral accords have a narcotic effect for me; I cannot stop smelling it because I enjoy it so much.
The jasmine is opulent and creamy, which I guess also builds up the fig’s accord in this composition. Jasmine’s animalic nature is visible but faintly, just enough to give richness and finesse to the floral accord. A silhouette of rose and violet creates sweet, honeyed, and powdery notes reminiscent of lipstick, not dominating but very detailed and well-thought. Lily of the valley’s ozonic and green facet gives breath to the floral accord, creating an overflowing radiance and freshness.
Underneath this luminous floral accord, the fig’s lactonic facet is sweet, creamy, almost milky, but very lightweight. There’s a clean woody note that gives earthy texture to the fig facet, reminiscent of pine, and somewhat vetiver-ish. The pine provides complexity, showing its character’s duality, which is cooling, herbaceous nuances with a slight mint facet, and the balsamic-woody profile. I see it as a clean fig accord, and it’s impressive!
Caligna is versatile
Caligna sounds so feminine, but I think men can pull this off; my father loves it so much. It lingers for a good 5 hours on my skin, and the sillage is fantastic. I love wearing it in summer as well as winter days because it has both comforting and fresh-clean feelings. I am happy to have this in my collection as my first from L’Artisan Parfumeur. This house has terrific collections, and I would love to have more. Soon, I hope!
The nose behind this beautiful creation is Dora Baghriche, a perfumer from Firmenich and also the creator of the very successful perfume, Mon Paris (Yves Saint Laurent).
Do you have anything from L’Artisan Parfumer? Any recommendation? Tell me more about them in the comment box. I would love to discover more fragrances from this house.
Cheers,
Gia.
