Polyanthes

I'm becoming such a fan of Hiram Green. I'm surprised and delighted by each new genius creation of his I smell :-)
Rich, ripe, full and sweet. Shangri La opens with a burst of citrus which quickly gives way to a soft and fuzzy, bruised and sweet peach which is a little past its sell by date. The flowers are subtle and beautiful they are well blended into the whole, I don't notice the iris which is a shame. It is lovely, 3D plush and smooth and obviously expertly blended.

There is no denying that it does bear a remarkable resemblance to my all time favourite Mitsouko. Perhaps it's unfair to pit this all natural against one of the greats but Shangri La is so good that I think it can handle it. So out of interest I’m doing a side by side comparison as there are a couple of significant hairs to split:

The main differences to my nose are that the citrus evaporates off of the top of Shangri La much more quickly leaving the over ripe peach pulverised into the oakmoss and making the composition as a whole more immediately available. It has the very lovely Hiram style moist yet powdery thing going on and is ever so slightly gourmand (I'm sure I can smell a smudge of coconut). The flowers show themselves more than the spices do. That deep, plump smoothness is really something special.

In Mistsouko, the peach is harder and more squinty juicy. The bergamot zest holds its ground right the way through the dry down, the spices show up more than the flowers do and even as the perfume sweetens into the voluptuous, sexy base, it holds together with some restraint, it stays somewhat tart and a little serious, I suspect there is more vetiver in Mitsouko. The oak moss is very sensual yet dry as a bone. I love this about it.

So, Shangri La is more smooth, languid, ripe and friendly, leaning towards gourmand and Mitsouko is more dynamic but controlled, serious and demanding, leaning towards animalic.
Both are beautiful compositions and I’m seriously impressed by Hiram Green.

Enveloping, dense, deeply comforting and enchanting, a perfume for introverted pleasure. When I wear it I don’t need, or want anything.
It has a soft, peach skin suede like texture. There are floury woods; velvety sandalwood and some sharp cedar. A couple of fresh olives have dropped off the tree, the balmy wind rolling them around on the parched earth, bruising them and coaxing out their creaminess. The slightly rugged, green and gorgeous patchouli is central and gives it a bit of an edge amongst lots of rich tonka and a some smooth vanilla adding a little sweetness. Sometimes I think I catch a glimpse of gentle, powdery flowers (violets, heliotrope?) whispering on warm skin.
The facets of this liquid seem ensouled, they become real, animated in the smelling of them, they paint a picture, it’s friendly, rounded, soothing and has depth. It has an ample, long and lovely dry down. This is one of my most loved and frequently worn perfumes.

Arbolé Arbolé. ... She’s not bothered about what’s going on around her, she’s perfectly content in her own warm, bucolic bubble.

Edit 16/3 ~ I was eating some raw almonds whilst wearing Arbolé and I'm sure I smelled a soft, unsweetened almond note in there. I'm also wondering if there is a rice tincture in this perfume (in all of Hiram Green's perfumes actually) Mmm... lovely.

There are already lots of good reviews for this beauty, but during this dull January here in the UK I'm on a Tuberose kick to cheer myself up and remind me of those warm summer days. So I'm going to review a few perfumes that have a heavy dollop of these luscious flowers.
Moon Bloom is completely natural, that coupled with the high dose of one of my top three favourite notes already makes it a likely winner for me. There is also plenty of ylang in here along with the amazing tuberose.
Big white creamy luxurious plump, this manages to be steamy whilst also being a little powdery...
Tuberose, jasmine and ylang are softly bunched together in a warm, ripe, pollen laden bouquet next to me, as I sit outside of a banana leaf roofed cafe in Bali, they also grow prolifically amongst the hot tropical greens all around the place. Everything glows golden in the sultry evening sunshine. Inside someone is preparing a bowl of sweet steamed rice with coconut milk. That's it, that's what it conjures up for me.
I've yet to wear this in the warmth of high summer (I imagine it would go well with some white broderie anglaise/cotton lace and sun-kissed skin), but I'm looking forward to it. However, I have got myself a little hot and steamy whilst wearing this, and just when I thought this all natural had dwindled to a feint, powdery skin scent, some serious body heat and a little perspiration occurred and whoosh - up came a great big steamy cloud of plump, swollen, and yes, engorged creamy flowers again! Goodness gracious me, what a lovely and slightly shocking surprise. There is nothing skanky here though, this is warm and sensual but clean, fleshy yet waxy and ever so slightly soapy.
The right word for Moon Bloom is 'gorgeous' and I love it. I don't think I'll have a problem getting through a full bottle (must save some to wear in that much longed for Summer heat though).
Edit 28/02/18: Turns out this is a 'Great Long Term Love' for me.

When I first spritzed Slowdive, I smiled a smug and deeply contented kind of smile because it is so wonderful, and because my first blind buy ever was such a ridiculous success :o)

This is not a furniture beeswax smell, and it’s not burning candles either, it is actual honeycomb, fresh out of the hive on a buzzing summer's day, still glistening with honey and powdered with pollen, there's a little bit of clean hay around the place too. Have you ever smelled and tasted the pollen granules that you can buy to boost your immune system and well being? Well, I get a load of that in here, not just the creamy sweet, softly clean, fuzzy little animal smell but also the super-fine, granular texture as the rich, tiny golden grains dissolve on your tongue.

The more I wear this, the more subtle nuances I notice. The resinous honey gently sticks to the beeswax all the way through and is very much like a delicious heather honey I love from Galicia; thick and semi-crystalized, dark amber, nectarous, dense, herbal aromatic, balmy and rich. There are some heady, creamy white flowers in here too.

It took me a few wearings to get on an intimate basis with the warm, deep, floral tobacco note, but I’m there now and I love it. It’s much rounder and more supple than other tobacco notes I’ve smelled, like rubbing fresh and ever so slightly dusty tobacco leaves between your hands leaving stains with a spicy, sweet, brownish green narcotic aroma.

Slowdive's dry down is long and lovely, a beautiful pastoral portrait of the perfect summer's day, where nature is friendly and life is always sweet.
Nectar of the gods.