I am not a visual person when it comes to perfume. I don’t care about the bottle, not that I won’t notice a particularly striking one. I don’t care about the color of the juice. Nope all I care about is how it smells. I look across my shelf of lab samples and decants and sigh contentedly as the only sense in play for me is my nose.  I know that is not true of everyone and there are those among you for whom the visual aspects add a significant amount of enjoyment to your fragrant experience, I’m just not one of them.

If there is one perfume house which might get me to change my mind it would be Parfums M. Micallef as I have noted their fancy flacons in passing. At this January’s Elements Showcase they finally showed me something which did tickle my optic sweet spot. Their newest release is called Ylang In Gold and infused in the juice is 24K gold dust and pearlescent particles. When you hold it up to the light and shake it up the particles swirl in a mesmerizing glittering pattern. When sprayed on your skin it leaves a bit of that sparkle on your skin. If that was all there was to Ylang In Gold it would be interesting but the perfume holding all the shiny particles shines all on its own as Ylang In Gold is one of the best fragrances in the entire Parfums M. Micallef collection.

Martine Micallef has proven her talent time and again but for a fragrance named Ylang In Gold there is no ylang-ylang note. Instead Mme Micallef uses a clever combination of mint, muguet, and magnolia to create the ylang accord. Before we get to that combination in the heart the top notes are a triptych of herbal notes sage, rosemary, and artemisia. This leads to the ylang in the heart which is sweetened further by coconut. Like other fragrances which use other notes to create a familiar accord much of the pleasure in the heart is enjoying the leisurely unraveling of the ylang into its components. The magnolia is what is left standing as we move to the basenotes. Ylang In Gold ends on a bed of moss surrounded by musk.

Ylang In Gold has outstanding longevity and average sillage.   

I have thoroughly enjoyed wearing Ylang In Gold on these early spring days. It is not a floral powerhouse as the herbs on top and the moss and musk surround the ylang making this a very restrained floral. It is also a complex piece of perfumery as kinetically evolving as the particles infusing it. For those who love visual and olfactory it is a complete package. Even for me the fragrance by itself is a complete triumph by Mme Micallef.

Disclosure: This review was based on a lab sample supplied by Parfums M. Micallef.

Thanks to Parfums M. Micallef we have a 5mL sample of Ylang In Gold. To be eligible leave a comment naming your favorite M. Micallef fragrance or your favorite artistic effort which has “Gold” in the title. I’ve been humming Fleetwood Mac’s “Gold Dust Woman” while I’ve been wearing this. We will draw one winner on March 19, 2012 via random.org.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume.

–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor