FOMOWA PARIS
RED KEELA SPLIT
2024
PERFUMER
Camille Leguay
lemon
strawberry
banana
Orange blossom
sorbet
pistachio
whipped cream
caramel
vanilla
tonka bean
Sandalwood
ambroxan
Fomowa originated from Lorga, which is one of my favorite brands on the market. Their first release, Pannaco Tahaa, is a surprising take on mango. Very sweet, but still unique and ‘niche’ for lack of a better descriptor. In the case of Red Keela Split, I find that the brand gave into the mass appealing sweet gourmand trend more. Which can be a positive or negative, depending on what you’re looking for.
Red Keela Split delivers fully on its premise. You get creamy lactonic notes, you get a bit of nutty pistachio, you get fruitiness quite prominently and it’s doused in caramel. The pistachio is something that stands out in the opening minutes, before it gets blended into more of an abstract mush.
I can picture both strawberry (at first, when there is a tiny bit of acidity in the fragrance) and banana (within the hour when there is little to no acidity left). It’s not super pronounced, but a generalized fruitiness and not nearly as ‘in your face’ as the fruit in Pannaco Tahaa. It becomes a nondescript fruity body milk or body lotion, more than actual strawberry or banana. If you’re looking for strawberry specifically; this does not have any bright, sour, crisp facets of the actual fruit to me.
As it dries down further, the fruitiness as a whole and the last tinges of nuttiness fade, and you get a creamy, marshmallow-y vanillic scent with only minor distractions. Sweet, vague and trendy. Red Keela Split reminded me of a mix of Kayali’s Yum Pistachio Gelato & Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar, albeit that I find it to wear nicer and the creaminess elevates it.
To be frank, I instantly knew that I wouldn’t love it. The opening is the highlight for me, where I get that roasted nutiness, but overall, it’s not up my alley. Sure to be a crowdpleaser and I think it’s one of the better in its class, but it’s highly indicative of the, in my opinion questionable, trend that niche perfumery is currently undergoing.
