FLORAIKU
RISE AND FALL

2024

lavender
ginger

date
immortelle absolute

peru balsam
vanilla

‘At the end of summer, a gentle change of air heralds the arrival of autumn, the trees take on new fiery colors in shades of ochre, red and yellow. Their leaves, adorned in gold, meet the earth as the wind blows. The opposites “rise” and “fall”, a movement up and the down following the wind. When everything seems coming to and end, nature awakens in a different, new, poetic, unexpected way. A top note of Ginger, green and earthy, as the wind blows, nature frets, ready to change. A dry and warm heart of Immortelle like crisp golden leaves heated by a late sun. Suddenly, the first drops of rain, woody and mineral. A sweet and spicy base note of Vanilla envelopes the fragrance, a sensual burst of energy, that concludes a round and soothing scent.’ – Floraiku

Ginger, immortelle & vanilla (Floraiku initially listed only those 3 key notes) seemed right up my alley. And in a way it was, but the name Rise And Fall is unfortunately indicative of my experience with this fragrance.

Okay, maybe not so dramatic, but I did enjoy the opening hour quite a bit, before losing interest along the way. Rise And Fall has a nice citrussy opening, with a sweet and slightly smoky base hiding under it. I was mostly reminded of sweet tobacco fragrances with a ‘wet’ element, like Roja Parfums Enigma or Zaharoff Signature Tabac. But the Floraiku opened more on the bright side, which was a welcome change of pace.

It doesn’t take long for a much more generic sugary woody fragrance. I was hoping for some more eccentric touch with the immortelle, or even a pronounced date, but instead Rise And Fall was sweet and non-descript to my nose. Not unpleasant mind you and a solid option for this broad direction of fragrance, but it doesn’t bring anything to the table that made it memorable or wishlist worthy either.