Scent guide

Perfumes that smell like a fig tree on a Greek island

Fig is two smells at once: the milky, green sap of the leaves and the jammy sweetness of the fruit. The best fig perfumes keep both, then add the heat around them, dry wood and a little coconut that reads like sun on skin. These five go from the most literal tree to softer, more abstract takes.

1. DiptyqueNicheUnisex€€€
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   Philosykos

   The reference fig: crushed leaves, ripe fruit and the pale wood of the trunk. If you have stood under the tree, this is the tree.

   Notes: fig leaf, fig fruit, green notes, coconut, cedar
2. L'Artisan ParfumeurNicheUnisex€€€
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   Premier Figuier

   Softer and milkier, with coconut and sandalwood. Less leaf, more the fruit warming in a bowl on a shaded table.

   Notes: fig, coconut, milk, sandalwood, green notes, dry wood
3. D.S. & DurgaUltra-nicheUnisex€€€
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   Debaser

   Fig with coconut, iris and tonka. A late-afternoon version, when the heat has gone soft and everything smells a little sweet.

   Notes: fig, coconut, iris, tonka, green fig, pear
4. ByredoNicheUnisex€€€
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   Pulp

   Fig crowded with blackcurrant and bergamot. Louder and fruitier, like a market stall rather than a single tree.

   Notes: fig, blackcurrant, bergamot, cardamom, tiare
5. BDK ParfumsNicheUnisex€€€
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   Gris Charnel

   Fig with black tea, cardamom and iris. The island at dusk, after the swim, wearing a clean linen shirt.

   Notes: fig, cardamom, black tea, iris, sandalwood

Start with Philosykos if you want the real thing; Gris Charnel if you want fig you can wear to dinner.