Astrophil & Stella Sweet Pulp via the brand

Nymph of the garden where all beauties be,
Beauties which do in excellency pass
His who till death looked in a watery glass,
Or hers whom nak’d the Trojan boy did see;
Sweet garden-nymph, which keeps the cherry-tree
Whose fruit doth far the Hesperian taste surpass,
Most sweet-fair, most fair-sweet, do not, alas,
From coming near those cherries banish me.
For though, full of desire, empty of wit,
Admitted late by your best-gracèd grace,
I caught at one of them, and hungry bit,
Pardon that fault; once more grant me the place;
And I do swear, even by the same delight,
I will but kiss, I never more will bite. Astrophil and Stella, Sonnet 82, Sir Philip Sidney (1591)

Photo of Astrophil & Stella at Esxence 2024 by Amber Jobin©

 One of the Elizabethan England’s most renowned and accomplished tales of unrequited love, Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella is series of Petrarchan sonnets in which the melancholy lover Astrophil worships the star, Stella – a perhaps thinly-veiled roman a clef of Sidney’s undying ardor for his unattainable childhood sweetheart, Lady Rich. Italian perfume brand Astrophil &Stella offers fragrances, which, while not exactly olfactory interpretations of Sidney’s sonnets, share a similar romanticism. One of my favorites from this well-crafted line is Sweet Pulp, from Lisbon-based perfumer Miguel Matos, which is apparently inspired by the “lush gardens” of the palace of Knossos in ancient Greece.

 fresco, Knossos, Heraklion Museum

With images of neoclassical paintings of Arcadian gardens implanted in my head, I expect another summery fig fragrance. Matos has made his name on bold fragrances that are often big and quirky but also disciplined, so I should have figured he would never do a prosaic fig scent. From its name, you might think, as I did, that Astrophil & Stella Sweet Pulp is likely to be a fruity gourmand. But to label it as such would be inaccurate; while there is plenty of juicy tree fruit to go around – pear, peach, citruses, and fig – this is essentially a chypre, if offbeat. Bergamot spikes the opening, keeping the sweetness of pear in check, while in the base, patchouli and oak moss add some contrasting woodiness and bite. Instead of going full throttle on the gourmand aspects of his main ingredients, Matos teases out their floralcy, so that Sweet Pulp avoids smelling like a fruit cocktail and more like a Williamsburg-dwelling descendant of Jean Patou Colony.

Miguel Matos, photo courtesy of the brand

But what about the fig, I hear you ask. Don’t worry, it’s coming. But only after a bit of delectable misdirection. Sweet Pulp has little surprises, like a fragrant pop-up book.

As I spray it on my wrist, initially I get a fleeting whiff of blackcurrant which soon spreads out into pear and citrus. First, I recognize the bitter sparkle of bergamot. It sticks around longer than usual, due, I think, to the inclusion of petitgrain. The pear swiftly interrupts in the way only pears can; sweet and drippy but green-tinged, slightly underripe. Next up is a tart orange note, then peach. Then, the smell of sapling leaf announces fig. There’s a slight whiff of vanilla bean, then more fig. About ten minutes in, I am picking up different evolutions on each of my wrists despite spritzing them only seconds apart. On my left, Sweet Pulp is just-ripe pear with a slice of green sugar cane; on the right, it’s bitter citrus and pink tea rose in full bloom. These notes play hide-and-seek with each other for a while. Sniffed again, Sweet Pulp smells of green fig; a minute or so later, the bergamot and petitgrain are back but have brought peach with them.

The musical chair game continues. It’s sweet, then not sweet. Bitter and tangy, then sweet again. A citrusy thread weaves around the fig, then the fig around the citrus. The base gives the herbal bite of oak moss its due and the woody notes smooth everything out. And that wonderful pear runs like a rivulet throughout the composition, edging out the fig by drydown.

Astrophil & Stella Sweet Pulp may not be your usual fig fragrance, but its cheeky take on a summer fruity gourmand is offbeat fun and likable. It may not be the Palace of Knossus, but it might be the party in the garden.

Notes: Pear, peach, blood orange, bergamot, petitgrain, fig, rose, patchouli, oak moss, vanilla, sandalwood, sugar, ambergris.

–Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

I received a sample, my opinions my own

Astrophil & Stella Sweet Pulp via the brand

Thanks to generosity of Indigo Perfumery, we have a 50 ml parfum for one registered reader in the U.S. To be eligible, please leave a comment describing what strikes you about Astrophil & Stella Sweet Pulp based on Lauryn’s review. Draw closes 6/19/2024.

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Editor-in-Chief Michelyn Camen’s report of Esxence 2024 featuring Astrophil & Stella can be read here.

Karl ‘s essay on In Extremis Enjoy his reviews of  Astrophil & Stella  Nabati and Madame M here

The complete range of Astrophil & Stella is carried at Indigo Perfumery https://indigoperfumery.com/collections/astrophil-stella

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