Perfume Review: Keiko Mecheri Mihime and Ume

Mihimé and Umé are two new fragrances in the prolific Keiko Mecheri line. Both are said to have been “inspired by the timeless Orientalist pieces of Parisian couture houses in the Art Deco period” (from Luckyscent.com). Mihimé, with notes of hawthorn petals, bergamot, violet leaves, rose petals, ylang ylang, narcissus, peach, amber, vanilla, heliotrope and white musk, is a an airy, citrusy-green rose scent on my skin. The potential sweetness of the rose, the syrupy fruitiness of peach and the doughiness of the base of vanilla, amber and heliotrope are nicely balanced by the bracing bergamot, the chilly violet leaves and what I perceive to be an agreeably metallic lily of the valley note. The result is a scent that is bright, subtle, very pleasant and extremely wearable. It does not, however, have enough richness, oomph and originality to successfully pay “homage to the classic chypres of French perfumery”. Luckyscent praises Mihime’s “beautiful spare quality that keeps it modern”, but as far as I am concerned, the scent is too spare, too indistinct and generally pales in comparison with scents it was meant to honor. My first impression of Umé, a “meditation on umé, the Japanese plum”, was that such meditation was being done in the temple worshipping Angel. The beginning of this scent has intense fruity richness not unlike that of the Mugler’s sumptuous creation. When the candied top accord of mandarin, persimmon and wisteria subsides, the scent, although quite sweet, loses some of its richness, with fresher floral accord and slight woodiness keeping the sweetness in check. Having said that, and I know I sound annoyingly hard to please, for what the scent is trying to do, i.e. be reminiscent of the decadence of the bygone era, it is almost not sweet enough, not rich enough, and like Mihime, rather hazy and indistinct. Furthermore, it smells like a multitude of scents, including the aforementioned Angel, both Flowerbombs and too many others to name. Even the fans of this fruity-gourmand genre (and, to an extent, I am such a fan) might judge Ume to be too similar to the scents they already love and own. Mihimé and Umé are available at Luckyscent, $80.00 for 2.5oz. *The images are from Luckyscent.com