DER DUFT
In Flagranti
2023
PERFUMER
Antonio Alessandria
apricot
basil
galbanum
peach
raspberry
strawberry
jasmine
lily-of-the-valley
orange blossom
tuberose
white lily
amber
caramel
musk
sandalwood
vanilla
‘In Flagranti is a rich fragrance that opens up with a burst of humid basil and crisp galbanum. In a while the green starts fading in a luscious and mellow triumph of fruits. Strawberries and raspberries confer a tart facet to a silky velvet of peaches and apricots, preparing the stage to the key player of the fragrance, a white floral bouquet where tuberose, jasmine, orange blossom and white lilies sing all together in a single voice. This choir of divas lies down on a comfortable bed of caramelised sandalwood and vanilla, intertwined with milky musks and radiant amber.’- Der Duft
‘In Flagranti is a sophisticated and luxurious interpretation of a floral-gourmand theme.’ – Antonio Alessandria
Der Duft is a brand with an eccentric and unique line-up and their latest release adds to that aesthetic. It fits in well with what you’ve come to expect if you are familiar with the Der Duft collection.
I’ve always appreciated the artistry in the Der Duft fragrances, but most tend to lean too green for my taste. This is also the case with the opening of In Flagranti. While I get a lot of the facets (floral, sweet, fruity) from the first minute, the opening is dominated by a milky grassy scent.
It’s soft and quite sweet straight away, but with a stemmy floral, grassy green hue. The fruitiness starts to come through, but it’s rather subtle. Listed are strawberry, raspberry, peach and apricot, but they aren’t juicy, vibrant fruits in this composition. I get more of a soft candied sweet fruitiness, barely any acidity, with the florals and green tinges smelling more natural than the fruits.
I find the wear a lot more enjoyable after the opening. It becomes less grassy and more white floral, with the fruity edge persisting. For this type of fragrance and compared to some of the other Der Duft releases, I’d say it leans very sweet, although it never becomes a gourmand. The brand describes it as a floral-gourmand and that makes sense.
Texture-wise, I wouldn’t call it powdery, but it has somewhat of a retro, dated feeling. Maybe because the fruits are sort of muddied and subtle, it doesn’t have the feeling of a ‘new, modern’ fragrance. It dries down very smooth, fully blending the florals and sweetness with the slightest hint of fruits into one hard-to-describe accord.
Not challenging, but an unusual combination that took me some time to get adjusted to. Perfectly unisex; with strawberry especially being mostly associated with far feminine leaning fragrances, I don’t think that applies to this rendition of it. Not my favorite from the house (I think that’s still Cinematic), but one that I liked more than I thought upon first spraying it and a new experience, which is hard to come by after testing a couple thousand fragrances. If you are more into green florals, lily-of-the-valley, this will be an interesting sweet take to try out.
