A Love Letter to Fig, Vol 1: Best Fig Perfumes

Hi all! I’m loving all the almost fall vibes in the air! As I’m typing this, I have college football on in the background and a pumpkin spice latte next to me. I’m so excited for all of the autumn-themed content I have to share with you! I’ve been planning out these posts for months, in anticipation of my favorite time of the year. 😊🍂🎃

Today we’re all about figs! I’m talking about the best fig perfumes you’ll want to explore and add to your perfume collection. Our local grocery market currently has FIVE different types of fresh figs in stock and it was so fun to choose these beautiful Brown Turkey ones to photograph for this post’s photos. Late summer/early autumn is the ideal time to enjoy fresh figs as a snack but these seasonless fragrances can easily be worn year-round.

Diptyque Philosykos

• Notes: fig leaves, fig tree sap, fig tree wood, black pepper
• Other Note Perceived: coconut milk

I’m kicking this post off with a bang! This is it, guys: the gold standard of fig fragrances! Philosykos is a lovely, sophisticated, realistic fig scent that stands the test of time. This popular Diptyque fragrance was originally released way back in 1996 and is available in both EDT and (a slightly deeper) EDP concentrations. The two formulations are similar but do have noticeable differences when compared side by side: the EDT is much greener and has a very fresh feel while the EDP is deeper, woodsier, and has a more pronounced black pepper impression. Both are fabulous, though, and you can’t go wrong with either one.

This perfectly unisex fragrance has an intimate projection and my only quibble is that I wish it had a little more oomph. But I still love it. At the end of the day, if you’re only going to buy one fig fragrance ever, this is the one to pick. It’s one of my very favorite fragrances in my collection and one that I reach for again and again. Sidenote: if you’d love to have this beautiful fragrance scenting your home, check out their popular Figuier candle (link below). Much more to come on that in my next post!

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Find it here:

Philosykos EDT – 50ml, 100ml (at Diptyque)

Philosykos EDT – 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants & 100ml full bottle (at Scent Split)

Philosykos EDP – 75ml (at Diptyque)

Figuier candle (at Diptyque)

Philosykos EDP – 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants & 75ml full bottle (at Scent Split)

L’Artisan Parfumeur Premier Figuier

• Notes: cedarwood, fig, fig leaves
• Other Notes Perceived: asafoetida (dried oleoresin of the taproot of the herb known as ferula with an odor profile between leek and onion), sandalwood, almond milk, coconut, dried fruits, lime

Although this fragrance was created by the same perfumer (super talented Olivia Giacobetti) as Philosykos, this is definitely a different fig-focused scent. It’s very earthy, along with being quite green and woodsy. It doesn’t have the gentle sweetness that I get from Philosykos. I also don’t really pick up the coconut nuances in this one. Despite the mention of the asafoetida note, this is not oniony or pungent to me. It has a nice, clean vibe that reminds me of an expensive, French milled soap.

The projection and longevity are even lighter than Philosykos, making this a great choice for those who like a quieter fragrance. There is also an Extreme formulation available that packs a little bit more of a punch. Another unisex offering that anyone can wear and enjoy. If you’re a lover and/or collector of fig fragrances, this will be a must for your collection. Also available in hand/body wash & body lotion.

Find it here:

Premier Figuier EDT – 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants (at Scent Split)

Premier Figuier EDT – 10ml travel (at L’Artisan)

Premier Figuier EDT – 100ml (at Jomashop)

Premier Figuier Extreme EDP – 100ml (at L’Artisan)

Vilhelm Parfumerie Purple Fig

• Top Notes: Sichuan pepper, angelica seeds
• Middle Notes: galbanum, green fig, jasmine absolue
• Base Notes: vetiver, cashmere woods
• Other Notes Perceived: cassis, lemon, cyclamen, cypress, Virginian cedar

Vilhelm’s take on the fig genre is very green and features tons of galbanum and a not-yet-ripe fig. I get a healthy dose of black pepper in the opening. I also get impressions of leaves/stems/grass, which makes it feel very clean and outdoorsy. It’s slightly soapy with a hint of muskiness. I also sense some lemon, which adds to the overall clean and fresh feeling of the fragrance. As it dries down further, more actual fig comes through and the green notes become a little less strong and are not completely stealing the show from the fig anymore.

This very green and aromatic fragrance leans masculine to me. As tends to be the norm with these fig fragrances, it has a quieter projection. The longevity is quite good, it lasts at least a good 6 hours for me. Read more of my Vilhelm fragrance reviews here and here.

Find it here:

Purple Fig 20ml, 50ml, 100ml (at Vilhelm)

Purple Fig – 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants (at Scent Split)

Obvious Parfums Une Figue

• Top Notes: Mexican yellow mandarin, Italian bergamot, French rosemary, eucalyptus
• Middle Notes: fig, Corsican immortelle absolute, marine accords
• Base Notes: essence of cedar from Virginia, essence of amyris from Haiti, essence of vetiver from Haiti

This newer French fragrance house (launched in 2020) focuses on high-quality, luxurious yet simplistic, environmentally conscious fragrances. Their fig offering is a beautifully-crafted ode to the Corsican fig tree. The opening is a very clean, very green, herbaceous fig. It has a bit of an aftershavey vibe from the bergamot/rosemary/cedar/vetiver notes. The notes of this nicely-crafted fragrance all work in beautiful harmony with one another. It’s an aromatic, clean, woodsy, green fig that I love on my husband but it’s a bit too masculine for my personal tastes for me to wear myself.

This fragrance is classified as unisex but as mentioned above, I find it to be pretty masculine-leaning. Projection is lightly moderate, it projects well for the first couple of hours before fading to more of a skin scent. Lasted about 3-4 hours for me.

Find it here:

Une Figue – 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants and 100ml full bottle (at Scent Split)

Une Figue – 2ml decants, 100ml (at ZGO Perfumery)

Une Figue – 9ml travel-spray (at Obvious)

Imaginary Authors Yesterday Haze

• Notes: fig, iris, cream, tonka, tree bark, walnut bitters, orchard dust
• Other Notes Perceived: fruity notes

This cozy scent opens with all sorts of autumnal impressions. Along with the fig, there’s the sparkling, ambery Imaginary Authors DNA which gives it an almost caramely impression. I get the powdery iris and lots of woodsy vibes as well. It’s a touch aromatic and there’s a little bit of a tart fruity feel as it dries down. Overall, there’s lots of green fig, which I love, with some ambery, nutty, and woodsy nuances. The longer I wear it, the tart fruit dissipates and it’s pretty much all fig, tonka, woods, walnut, and ambery vibes.

I find this one to be slightly more feminine-leaning but any woodsy-gourmand scent lover could absolutely appreciate this. I don’t get much projection here, it’s definitely an intimate skin scent. Moderate longevity. Read my review of several other Imaginary Authors fragrances here (with more coming soon!)

Find it here:

Yesterday Haze – 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants & 50ml full bottle (at Scent Split)

Yesterday Haze – 14ml travel-spray (at Imaginary Authors’ Amazon store)

Yesterday Haze – 50ml (at Imaginary Authors’ Amazon store)

D.S. & Durga Debaser

• Top Notes: bergamot, green leaf, pear stem
• Middle Notes: fig, coconut milk, iris
• Base Notes: blond woods, tonka bean, moss

This creation from the rock stars of perfumery, D.S. & Durga, opens with plenty of green and earthy impressions. There’s a creamy touch, too, from the coconut milk. It has a lovely, cozy, deep, fruity-woodsy vibe. I get an ambery, almost maple-esque (??) impression. It’s definitely a great one for heading into fall; very cozy and rich. I just had to love this offering named for one of the best Pixies songs ever, and I truly do.

This is pretty solidly unisex. Projection starts light, then picks up steam and is pretty good for a while before starting to fade again within about an hour. I get at least 4+ hours of performance from it before it really fades out.

Find it here:

Debaser – 10ml travel, 50ml, 100ml (at DS & Durga)

Debaser – 1ml, 2ml, 5ml decants and 100ml full bottle (at Scent Split)

Debaser – 10ml rollerball Pocket Perfume (at Amazon)

Debaser – 50ml (at Amazon)

Debaser – 100ml (at Amazon)

Acqua di Parma Blu Mediterraneo Fico di Amalfi

• Top Notes: Italian lemon, Italian bergamot, grapefruit
• Middle Notes: fig nectar, pink pepper, jasmine petals
• Base Notes: fig woods, cedarwood, benzoin
• Other Note Perceived: citron

This crowd-pleasing popular favorite from the freshie experts at Acqua di Parma is a classic. The opening has a ton of beautiful citrus, as is evidenced by the notes, with the grapefruit being the most prominent on my skin. The ever-so-lightly sweet fig soon joins the party and creates such a beautiful scent. There’s also a very light green touch here. As it dries down, the cedar note becomes more prominent, giving this a very clean feel.

This perfectly unisex fragrance will really shine on a hot day but freshie lovers can certainly wear this whenever they want to. It’s an intimate scent with little to no projection, as is to be expected with a citrus-heavy freshie. I wish it lasted a bit longer but it displays very typical performance for this type of fragrance. If you like the idea of fig paired with tons of fresh, clean-feeling citrus, this favorite from ADP’s Blu Mediterraneo line will be your perfect match.

Find it here:

Fico di Amalfi -75ml, 150ml (at Bergdorf Goodman)

Fico di Amalfi – 75ml, 150ml (at Bloomingdale’s)

Fico di Amalfi – 30ml, 150ml (at Nordstrom)

Fico di Amalfi – 1.2ml spray sample (at Amazon)

Fico di Amalfi – 30ml, 150ml (at Amazon)

Bastide Aix-en-Provence Figue Amour

• Top Notes: bergamot, cardamom, pink berries
• Middle Notes: fig, violet petals, orris
• Base Notes: creamy sandalwood, crisp woods, musk

This beautiful fragrance opens with a very spicy, peppery feel; I really get the pink pepper and cardamom. As it dries down, it softens a bit as the fig rolls in. I get a lightly sweet, almost almondy accord that’s absolutely lovely. There’s a lightly powdery impression from the violet and orris. I sense the beautifully creamy sandalwood a few minutes in and that’s always a winning combination. As shown in the perfumes listed here, sandalwood and/or coconut are often paired with fig in fragrances as they all match up so well with one another. There’s also a musk note that becomes quite prominent in the dry down.

This is a unisex fragrance that I feel leans a bit feminine in the opening but the musky dry down steers it back into a more solidly unisex territory. The projection is quite light but the longevity is outstanding, it easily lasts all day for me. Sandalwood lovers that are also interested in fig should absolutely give this one a try. If you enjoy pink pepper paired with your sandalwood fragrances, even better. Read my review of Bastide’s other fragrances here.

Find it here:

Figue Amour – 10ml travel-spray (at Anthropologie)

Figue Amour – 100ml (at Anthropologie)

Essential Parfums Fig Infusion

• Top Notes: fig, mandarin, clementine
• Middle Notes: freesia, orange blossom, Sri Lankan black tea
• Base Notes: Virginian cedarwood, sandalwood
• Other Note Perceived: benzoin

If you’re wanting to dip your toes into the world of niche perfumery, this extremely affordable house is an excellent place to start. Essential Parfums utilizes natural and sustainable raw materials and hires the best of the best perfumers – AND allows them complete creative freedom. I think it’s especially cool that they print the perfumer’s name on the front of each fragrance. This particular fragrance was created by a favorite nose of mine, master perfumer Nathalie Lorson (you can purchase my merch that celebrates her here).

The opening of this fragrance is orangey and aromatic, which is no surprise, given the notes. I get the fig, along with the tea, cedar, sandalwood, and citrus. It’s really woodsy; the fig doesn’t necessarily feel like the star to me here as the woods, tea, and aromatic vibes are much stronger impressions to my nose. I would actually call the star here sandalwood, with tea as a close supporting actor, and the fig is more of a walk-on part. As it dries down even further, there’s a very masculine musk note that pushes the other notes out of the way. I would classify the later stages of the dry down as 80% musk and 20% woods.

This fragrance is decidedly masculine; it has very musky/aftershavey vibes. I didn’t love it on myself but it’s great on my husband. Projection is lightly moderate and it is VERY long-lasting. I got 12 hours total wear when I tested it. If you like your fig with a healthy dose of musk and woods, this will be your match.

Find it here:

Fig Infusion – 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants (at Scent Split)

Fig Infusion – 1ml decant, 10ml travel-spray, 100ml (at LuckyScent)

Philosophy Sweet Vanilla Fig

• Notes: vanilla, fig

YUM, YUM! Here’s the one that the sweet gourmand lovers have been waiting for! This delicious fragrance smells like sugar-spun whipped cream on top of sugared figs on top of vanilla ice cream. It’s positively delicious-smelling! I have the shower gel/shampoo/bubble bath combo in this fragrance as well so I can layer my products and keep this yummy scent with me even longer throughout the day.

One thing to note with this fragrance is that it doesn’t seem to usually come with a sprayer. I purchased mine from Nordstrom Rack a year or so ago and it didn’t come with one and I notice that the ones currently at FragranceNet also do not come with them. I’m not sure if that’s standard with this particular product or maybe just why you can score them for such a great price lately but wanted to make sure everyone was aware of this odd quirk. You’ll need to either just dab the fragrance on or find a sprayer elsewhere. If you’re a fan of Philosophy’s sweet gourmands, this should be an easy grab for you.

Find it here:

Sweet Vanilla Fig body spritz – 235ml, 475ml – FYI: no spray-pump included (at FragranceNet)

Sweet Vanilla Fig- shampoo/shower gel/bubble bath 16oz (at Philosophy)

Sweet Vanilla Fig – body lotion 7oz (at FragranceNet)

So there’s my rundown of the best fig perfumes! How do you feel about fig fragrances? Have you explored this fantastic genre? Do you already have a favorite fig perfume? Are you ‘Team Philosykos’ like me?? Please tell me all about it in the comments section! 😄

P.S. Stay tuned for my next article which will cover other fig-scented products, including soap, body wash, candles, and even a facial wash!

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