MEMO PARIS
PORTOBELLO ROAD
2025
PERFUMER
Alienor Massenet
mandarin
green leaves
myrtle
clary sage
Rose
rose absolute
rain
asphalt
vetiver
patchouli
‘That moment of brilliance that catches you after the rain, in the heart of a street full of life and shared moments. With its floral, zesty notes that recall the cheerful colors of its facades and flower market, Portobello Road offers a delicate interplay between the scents of nature, from rose to green leaves to clary sage, and the damp pavement, thanks to an original asphalt accord. Like a stroll through the city at its best. Portobello Road is a fragrance available exclusively online and in Harvey Nichols London.’ – Memo Paris
Memo is one of those brands that is pretty consistent and decent, but rarely ever wows me. I think the closest I’ve come to buying a Memo Paris fragrance were the hyped African Leather or perhaps the smoky Shams Oud; neither feel like I’m missing them in my collection now however. Enter Portobello Road. I sprayed this one on completely unaware of the scent profile and was instantly content.
This is right up my alley: Citrussy rose, understated, mature, yet versatile and on the fresh side. It brings together two of my favorite scent profiles as of late: the citrussy clean (almost cleaning product) rose from a Henry Jacques Rose Snow, Krigler Manhattan Rose or Memoirs Of A Perfume Collector London. And the plasticy, ‘rain’ Bisch tinge of a Etat Libre D’Orange Experimentum Crucis or Hermann A Mes Cotes, Diptyque Lazulio etc.
Overall, Portobello Road is closer to the first category; it’s a more natural rose, not as abstract or spicy as the Etat Libre D’Orange ones, but on the green and sharp acidic side I can also see fans of Amouage Epic Woman or Epic 56 enjoying this. It has the rain accord, asphalt vibe, but without the usual earthy, muddiness that comes with those. It stays clean; as mentioned, almost like a cleaning product. Instead, Portobello Road takes the most aquatic approach (not marine, salty however, just clean, soapy watery).
As it dries, a tad more earthiness comes in, but it’s contained. It’s more of a clean vetiver with those soapy and green tinges, than it is an ‘asphalt’ or patchouli base to my nose. It keeps a lot of the acidity for most of the wear, which makes for a relatively refreshing wear even in the drydown.
Definitely up there with my favorite roses of 2025; I’ll have to see where I will rank it amongst M.O.A.P.C. London, Premiere Peau Rose Montone & some others for my Best of 2025 Awards. The Memo is the most acidic one in the opening, which I’m gravitating towards a lot at the moment. The drydown may not live up to some other options. This will get another wear soon to figure out how I truly feel about it, but for now, it’s a strong thumbs up.