Kagiroi
Di Ser (2020)

This one wasn't quite what I was hoping for. Based on the notes, I wanted something more aggressively green, earthy, and woody (or aggressive, at least, by Di Ser standards). This one was nice, but a bit soft and anti-climactic for me. I got an unusual powdery quality in the dry-down which I didn't care for, and I'm not sure which ingredient it might be coming from.

Di Ser is a perfume brand from Sapporo in Japan which is located in the northernmost prefecture Hokkaido. There the company behind Di Ser (called Essentia) has a farm, a research & development and manufacturing facility, and a shop focused on traditional Chinese medicine. They sell things like cellular plant water, incense, cosmetics, herbal tea, and of course perfume. All ingredients for their perfumes aren't grown at their own farm, though some are, and all of their perfumes consist of only “natural fragrance, plant-based alcohol and water only”, so in short, another all-natural brand but one that goes a couple steps further.

With all that aside, how does it smell?
When I first tried this on paper, the yuzu, shikuwasa, coriander and shiso together got very intense and smelled too much like a cleaning product. I put it aside for a while, and came back after almost an hour, and I was shocked. It had completely changed into a beautiful, steamy, spa-like minty citrus scent that reminded me a lot of a steam sauna somehow. It was beautiful! So I tried wearing it, and on skin the opening didn't have any of the bad associations I got on paper and went straight into the steamy spa scent.
The opening is full of very green and bitter citrus notes with a hint of peppery spiciness from the sansho and coriander. In the heart, the spicyness is amplified and the shiso is just beautiful and gives it an almost edible quality.
I don't get much of a woody base as implied by the vetiver and agarwood, but I suspect they are in there in very small amounts as fixatives and not for the smell.

It's a very contemplative and calming scent, but not one I would wear out much. I will save this scent for spa days and relaxing at home, it's just gorgeous for that and really takes you away.