Currant Events

I've sniffed all of the Matsaki Matsushima fragrances that Sephora has to offer, and haven't liked a one of them.  They all smell rather, er, plastic to me.  Cherry is the newest scent, and it is, to me, the most interesting.  It's not particularly cherry scented to me, however.  The opening note is the scent of blackcurrant, a fruit that manages to be sweet, green, and musty all at the same time, with a bitter Robitussin-like quality.  It's one of those fruits that I think tastes far better than it smells.   But it's interesting.  (I didn't say it was nice.)

On paper, however, Cherry is much more pleasant.  The blackcurrant note is light and more subtle, and the floral aspects are much more noticable.  It's light and refreshing, like a spring day.  On paper.  Maybe on skin too, but alas not mine.  Oh, but it still doesn't smell anything like cherries to me, nor cherry blossom.  Odd name, eh? 

Keiko Mecheri
Wild Berries
Notes: wild black currants, wild black raspberries, wild strawberries, musk

While I can't attest to the provenance of the berries, if they are indeed "wild," I can say they at least smell pretty true.  Ripe strawberries and raspberries, dry and unsweetened, mingle with the musty woodsiness of black currant  (the note appearing here in a much more pleasant and delicate manner than in the preceding scent).  There's a bit of a powdery quality to the scent overall, and the musk is fairly light - almost too light to notice.  Although the berry/musk combo may seem to share kinship with L'Artisan's Mure et Musc, in reality they are quite different, and I am happy to have both in my collection.