Ginger Piccante, the new Acqua Allegoria from Guerlain, will do very well. Released tomorrow here in Japan, this somewhat bolder addition to the range by Delphine Jelk takes a primmish rose, not prudish but not coy, deepens it to dry, on-trend cedar note, perfectly ungendered ; fresh, not necessarily wanting to be touched but certainly staking a claim, and flushes it all serenely with a spicy, and bold, citrus touched ginger accord up top that gets things going nicely.
Being total ginger nuts in this household I had assumed this was going to be an unquestioned, no brainer buy, but the final arrangement of the scent for me is just a tad too well behaved and form -fitted : all bark and no bite, all soap and no scratch – and yet adroitly constructed and conceived all the same (when was the last time you can remember a memorable Acqua Allegoria?)
Predictably, I can never have too many coconut perfumes, as you probably know, so Coconut Fizz is very likely a new purchase for me. True, I am still slightly debating whether the creamy solar floral marine centre of the perfumemight veer into sickly on me – but come the hot summer – which we are entering, divinely, as we speak – the fresh flesh of the coconut water, and the lure of the beach – – as the fantasy lands a mist of tropical droplets on my shirt – might prove too hard to resist.
I like this kind of perfumery : fragrances for consumption, unfussed – for simple enjoyment and daily use.
The Black Narcissus 
I like the idea of quotidian fragrance. Not everything has to be profoundly original and complex. Ginger Piccante sounds right up my street as Coconut Fizz sounds right up yours. I also read your Limon Verde piece and you make it sound fabulous in that context. Did you and Duncan keep loving it after the jet lag wore off?
No : we gave it to the book- mentioned Chie, who smells gorgeous in it. I can’t do Guerlain sports fragrance subterfuge : these two new ones are a bit airheaded but full of ease
Guerlain sports fragrance subterfuge. Ha. Beautiful. Forty bucks plus shipping saved because as usual I was reading your description and salivating.
For the Piccante ? You may find it rather pedestrian and polite – but the ginger note is undoubtedly spritzy ( and will make a great gift for someone else if not )
The last aqua allegoria I loved was Figue Iris, which was then sadly discontinued, and upgraded into the unaffordable (for me) echalons of Promenade des Anglais. I should have stopped umming and ahhing about it in Schiphol duty free on the return back from my trip to see you in 2008… x
Was that when it was ?
One MUST umm and ah with perfume though to avoid taking home a total dud : I have actually been having second thoughts about both of these