Andrea Maack
Solstice
2023
PERFUMER
Julien Rasquinet
watermelon
aquatic notes
jasmine
violet
muguet
ambermor
sinfonide
‘Solstice is the latest Extrait De Parfum from Icelandic artist ANDREA MAACK made in collaboration with perfumer Julien Rasquinet of IFF. Solstice is housed in the signature Andrea Maack black custom bottle, printed with the artist´s original drawing in an edition of 400 bottles, incoming 15.05.23 A luxurious extract Solstice is a fresh and invigorating scent, combining the juicy sweetness of watermelon with the crisp and refreshing notes of aqua.’ – Andrea Maack
Solstice was just what I needed to smell on a very warm and humid night.
Admittedly, when I see water melon and aquatics in a fragrance, I’m a bit weary. Few things have the potential to go so bad and cheap smelling as that combination, especially if the watermelon is pronounced.
Luckily, I can say that this is not all that fruity, but very floral. And watery. Not sea water to my nose, but pretty crisp and clean water. Now when I say not fruity, perhaps I mean, no sweetness. Watermelon is already quite mellow, but here it’s a very subtle rendition. It’s not vibrant, not sweet, it’s only the freshness and the greener rind. Perhaps think of it as a frozen watermelon.
lily-of-the-valley, jasmine and violet are listed. Definitely getting the lily and violet. Scent-wise, it reminds me of those crisp, white musky, freesia, lily scents, that may have notes like pear or bamboo, like Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline, but Soulstice is less sharp, less musky.
Instead, it’s sort of soft for a fragrance in this style (probably because it’s extrait concentration, whereas often this style remains in EDT territory). A more recent comparison that comes to mind is Der Duft Privilege, but that added a (rhubarb) fruitiness and felt more youthful. Otherwise they could be quite similar, but it makes a big difference in the overall experience that there’s no real sweetness from the melon in Soulstice for me.
In the later drydown it felt a bit spiced, but largely floral. It became a bit hard to detect well enough to dissect.
Simple, beautiful, refreshing. Not per se the type of fragrance that I instantly get excited for, but I really didn’t expect to enjoy a watermelon fragrance this much. Big thumbs up.