Fugazzi - Passionfroud Extrait de Parfum
We all want an excuse to travel. A reason aside from seeing bikini beach pictures posted by someone you don’t even know. Traveling for national parks or to visit a long time internet friend are usual excuses but, what if you found a special interest and made it your entire personality.
On a summer trip to Amsterdam the only thing I had on my mind was visiting the Fugazzi flagship store. Fugazzi is a fairly new fragrance house founded in 208 by Bram Niessink of the Netherlands. Bram took inspiration from Egypt and the story of Cleopatra defeating Caesar, just by smelling good. The Egyptian influence is prominent in Fugazzi fragrances shown though the creative and bold uses of oud. I also love oud. The brand loves bold scents and makes eau de parums and exrait de parfums.
I was excited to visit the Fugazzi flagship store in Amsterdam because, as a newer niche house bottle can be hard to come by in the United States. Also, what a fun excuse to travel. After smelling every bottle in the shop about ten times each while my very patient partner waited awkwardly in the small store the first I landed on was Passionfroud. At first I found this to have a sticky sweetness to it when smelled on card. Like I mentioned I love oud and at the time I didn't realize the name was a play on the word "oud."
This is an Extract de Parfum and it does not play around. Passionfroud notes include:
TOP NOTES
Ginger / Taget (Marigold) / Black Tea
I don't find these to read clearly at all but, I understand how they are present and without them how overpowering this fragrance would be.
MIDDLE NOTES
Passionfruit / Mango / Black Pepper / Rose
Middle notes present in a subtle way but laying clear on top of the heavy heavy base notes adding dimension in a barely there way.
BASE NOTES
Olibanum (Frankincense, tree resin) / Gurjun (tree resin) / Balsam (plant resin) / Cypriot (mossy amber accord) / Oudh Assafi (purest form of agarwood resin)
This is my dream base note line up. The Cypriot noted here is interesting as it's a "accord" meant to be a blend of fragrances relating to a specific style of scent popularized in Greece.
This fragrance in overwhelmingly resin heavy, which I love. The heavy resin base notes make this fragrance linger for days on skin, clothing, hair, friends, lovers. Anything this fragrance touches will be affected for days to come.
The the description and fragrance story note bight sweet notes of ginger, passionfruit, mango, rose, black tea; Passionfroud is heavy leather. When I got this home and took my first spritz I wasn't even sure I liked it anymore. The scent was so heavy and thick that it was difficult to find the sweetness. After a few days of wearing Passionfroud I began I began to discover some of the subtle nuances of the scent. Has this ever smelled like passionfruit on me, no.
According to Fugazzi Passionfroud is meant to evoke the energy of Ipanema Beach in Brazil. I've never been to Brazil so I can't really confirm or deny this essence. To me this scent feels like a deep caramelized stickiness that you might expect if you slow roasted a mango until it liquified into a sticky sap and it maintained just subtle hints of once being a fruit. In a good way.
Overall Thoughts
This fragrance is not for the faint of heart. My taste is loud, long lasting, and wood heavy. If that's not your vibe you are not likely to enjoy this or, when I enter the room for that matter. I find myself craving the smell of this. If this does sound great to you I also recommend checking out Goud also by Fugazzi.
