MEMO PARIS
Zante
2023
PERFUMER
Sophie Labbe
petitgrain
mandarin
bergamot
neroli
rosemary
lavender
patchouli
ambroxan
‘If you are lucky, as you arrive from the Ionian Sea you may catch a glimpse of Navagio Beach lying in the shadow of an elegantly sprawling, languorous cliff. Under the eternal spell of this Greek island, its regal rock basks in the turquoise splendour of Zante’s waters. As their depths reach towards one another, like old friends reuniting, the intense blue takes on a lavender shade. In the sky, the sun is as full and inviting as a bergamot. A musky cloud floats, tempering the mandarin orange fire. It feels delightful on the skin. Goddesses keep watch from the stony heights, aromatic like rosemary, floral like neroli, green like patchouli. Meanwhile, the animal silhouette of a ship takes pride of place onshore: it is an embodiment of time, like a memory of Ambrox, that component of ambergris that also once washed up on the sand, that ancient treasure of a marine mammal. This is an eternal island for a solstice fragrance. Zante.’ – Memo Paris
I wore Zante alongside Ithaque, which shares some of the same vibe. Whereas Ithaque is the more eccentric, more intriguing scent, I do prefer Zante, which feels like a cleaned up, gentrified take. Actually, Zante is one of the better Memo fragrances that I’ve tried.
The opening is pretty heavy on the petitgrain, which is usually a bit of an allergy for me, but it quickly softens enough to stay pleasant. It adds a bitter, green leafy touch to what mostly smells like an orange blossom fragrance to me (orange blossom isn’t in the notes, but the lighter neroli combined with a bit of the amber base makes for an orange blossom experience to me).
There’s some tinges of dry hay. I don’t get as strong of an aromatic component as I would’ve expected overall. Instead, the drydown feels rather soft, body-lotion-esque, with soapy qualities that neroli often has. When the harshness of petitgrain fades, this becomes a simple, but beautiful lotion or hand soap, that wears nicer than has been my experience with most fragrances from this brand. Not too shabby.