Memo has been a very reliable brand since I started writing about perfume. Founded by husband and wife John and Clara Molloy they have overseen a collection which resides in the higher percentile of niche. One big reason is working with one perfumer throughout, Alienor Massenet. Which always makes the arrival of a new release exciting; Tamarindo is the first of these for 2018.
John and Clara Molloy
Tamarindo is part of the Graines Vagabondes sub-collection which is inspired by places. Which means if you come here looking for tamarind you should re-calibrate to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica as the name refers to the beach town found there. This is meant to be a tropical holiday style of perfume, which it mostly meets, but there was one specific ingredient which nearly ruined my vacation of the mind. A veritable conga line of other happy partygoing notes rumble over it saving the day.
Alienor Massenet
Mme Massenet opens with the crushed vegetal green leaves of the tropics illuminated with the morning sun of bergamot. In Costa Rica the smell of the rain forest is never far off which the early moments of Tamarindo capture. Then my problematic ingredient arrived like a persistent beach vendor or a chittering monkey; pineapple. Pineapple has started to become fragrance shorthand for “tropical”; much like coconut used to be. Like that note if it is not kept controlled it becomes overwhelming to the point of unbalancing everything. I had little tolerance for coconut overload and am feeling the same about pineapple. Here it overwhelms the rain forest accord. What comes next makes me forget about it. A stiff breeze of cardamom chases the annoying monkey away as jasmine scents the air. As much as the pineapple irritated; the jasmine soothes. I found this to be plenty “tropical”. The base accord is a sweetened patchouli softened by benzoin and vanilla. It folds the jasmine into an earthy warm embrace.
Tamarindo has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.
Depending on your feelings about pineapple Tamarindo could be a stellar choice. For my tastes I want to ask the bartender to hold the pineapple, so I can enjoy everything else about Tamarindo.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by Memo.
–Mark Behnke
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