Fiery Pink Pepper
Molton Brown (2015)

Nothing fiery here. FPP is not offensive in any sense, but the lack of interesting note play, sillage, longevity - indeed any part of an olfactive experience as such - cannot be judged positive. I suspect if this had been produced by Hermes it would be lambasted. A possible contender as a non-invasive scent (for office work in certain east Asian countries?). Very much not for me.

Pink pepper and watery notes.

Although the peppercorn smell is here, there's nothing terribly fiery. Instead, it's a variation on “blue” fragrances: that sort of dry, ozonic grapefruit top note (they say tangerine, but the pepper and elemi emphasize the acidic aspect of the citrus rather than the sweet, which is in any case fleeting), and the nutmeg and ginger in the heart–no doubt accompanied by Iso E Super–acting more like “pepper helper” than establishing their own voices.

Supposedly, the heart also includes jasmine and rose, but these are some of the least assertive florals I've encountered. The base has politely balanced patchouli and cedar, and oakmoss absolute that's likely trivial in a 2015 release and reformulated away by now (though still listed as an ingredient on the website).

Again, it's nice without being all that remarkable. It has that slightly sweet metallic freshness common to its ilk. I like it a bit better than most of what I've sniffed in the genre, which makes me curious about the differences in the EdP, including prominent osmanthus and the addition of musk. Not curious enough to buy a FB, though.

A very mild thumbs up.

The opening blast combines a white pepper cite with a restrained you orangey citrus, resulting in an nice, generally bright and not overly spicy dyad constituting the top notes. Nicely done.

The drydown starts with infusing a pleasant background aroma of red-current into the mix, and the combines a rather faint nutmeg with a touch of ginger and a somewhat nonspecific woodsy undertone; whiffs of cedar - without clear pencil shavings - were present, albeit very transiently only.

The base is defined by a light and soft patchouli, which lacks any harshness or sharpness on my skin.

I get moderate sillage, adequate projection and five hours of longevity on my skin.

A pleasant spring scent with an unusual way of tackling a pepper impression; quite simple in concept though but crafted well. The bath products are excellent. 3/5.