It is a familiar refrain that independent perfumers can provide unique fragrance experiences because they aren’t trying to please a mass market. I have said that so often it might be the official motto of the blog. What is also interesting is when the perfumer comes outside of the more traditional US-European geographical area they can also impart a sense of place. Which is what always makes me smile when I wear a new perfume from Di Ser it confounds what I believed a Japanese perfume smells like. Shiragoromo is another which shows me Japan through the eyes, and nose, of a native.
Di Ser is a perfume brand from the northern island of Japan; Hokkaido. Independent perfumer Yasuyuki Shinohara only uses hand-made botanical materials. From the independent perfumers I know who use these kinds of materials it is a time-consuming process leading to vibrant ingredients. Shinohara-san turns them into something completely Japanese just not what we have been told via Western perfume releases.
Yasuyuki Shinohara (Photo: From CaFleureBon at Pitti Fragranze 2016)
A few years ago, many of the major perfume brands touted their new releases which were aimed at the Asian market. They imitated the clean minimalist lines of the architecture. It is not how Shinohara-san designs his perfume. I’ve tried about a dozen Di Ser perfumes now and none of them are minimalist. They are some of the most complex natural perfumes I have experienced; Shiragoromo among them.
Shiragoromo is made up of two Japanese words; shira means white, goromo means cloth. This is the name of the white ceremonial silk material. It is apt as Shiragoromo has a shimmery citrus quality which is matched by a white flower counterpoint.
Shiragoromo opens with the indigenous Japanese version of lemon, yuzu. We have become familiar with this green-tinted lemon through its use in many Western perfumes recently. This version of yuzu has a more prominent green nature to go with the fruit. It is that green which causes it to travel in glistening waves. It is fresh and verdant simultaneously. Jasmine must work to break through. It takes rose pushing from behind for it to overcome the citrus. One of the real stars of many Di Ser perfumes is the way Shinohara-san uses oud. This time it is an accord where it is paired with spikenard. It follows through on the green theme brining a green resinous woodiness to the final stages.
Shiragoromo has 10-12 hour longevity and moderate sillage.
If you, like me, use perfume to see new perspectives allow Shinohara-san to wrap you in the white cloth of Shiragoromo. Then breathe deep and learn of the scents of Hokkaido.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample I purchased.
–Mark Behnke
