Sonnet 116

The rice powder-green tea pairing is not common in perfumery. Most green fragrances reach for citrus, herbs, or aquatic accords. Here, the green comes filtered through a soft, moisturized lens, the tea is fukamushicha, a deeply steamed Japanese green, which gives it a darker, more umami depth than the usual light green tea. Jasmine sambac rounds the heart without making it sweet, and cyclamen keeps the florals restrained and slightly green. The lactonic base, milk mousse with sandalwood and ambrette, is what makes this distinctive. It's creamy without being heavy, warm without being sweet, and the ambrette keeps the drydown clean and skin-like rather than animalic or dense.

The evolution

The opening arrives quietly. Rice powder first, soft, starchy, almost imperceptible. Then the mojito's mint-lime lift arrives on top, cool and green, and the two notes coexist in that space between fresh and warm. The transition into the heart is gradual: green tea and jasmine emerge gently, the cyclamen adding a delicate floralcy that stays green and restrained rather than blooming outward. The drydown is where Sonnet 116 earns its name. Sandalwood settles into the skin, milk mousse adds a warm creaminess, and ambrette keeps everything close and intimate. The final impression is warmth that lingers, not projection, but presence.