The “Replica” scents from Maison Margiela bottle moments in place and time, attempting to replicate our emotions and feelings related to these moments through perfume. For example, they’ve given us scents such as By the Fireplace, Lazy Sunday Morning, and Jazz Club. Their ideas seem clear and legible, and in contrast to brands such as Le Labo, they deliver what they promise on the can. Close your eyes and spray By the Fireplace, and one could genuinely believe they were roasting chestnuts next to a cozy hearth in a French ski resort. Other scents like Jazz Club, Bubble Bath, and Under the Lemon Tree all make good on their titles. I admire their clarity and commitment to brief, but I’ve never felt an affinity with any of their scents. Indeed, some have been complete busts.
Their latest scent, released in 2024, sees the all-star father-son team of Olivier and Sebastian Cresp come together to deliver From the Garden. For this fragrance, the Cresp family takes us to a summer garden in the southern Italian region of Puglia. Again, the brand and perfumers deliver on the brief, conveying quite a convincing image of a sun-drenched Italian giardino.
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The scent opens up tart, sulfuric, and acidic. The sour, sharp hit of grapefruit and blackcurrant reminds me somewhat of Diptyque’s L’Ombre Dans L’Eau. It isn’t long, though, before the star of this garden bursts into life. After a few minutes, tomato leaf jars the senses with its green, bitter punch. It’s not a note we often encounter in perfumery, so it’s a surprising but welcome choice as the centerpiece. Indeed, the brand might have gone for a more cliched selection of iris, jasmine, lily, or rose as the main protagonist for a scent called From The Garden, but they didn’t. Instead, they pair the tomato leaf with geranium (admittedly with rosy undertones), enhancing the fragrance’s herbaceous, earthy qualities.
The earthiness carries through to the dry down, with patchouli giving the impression of turned ground and soil. Don’t expect anything too dirty from the patchouli, though. From the Garden is a clean fragrance the brand categorises as a chypre. And it does display some chypre-like characteristics. But it smells less mossy and green if I compare it to another famous chypre, Eau de Campagne. Indeed, there are some similarities, but From the Garden has a distinctly modern sheen and smells quite a bit sweeter.
Everything plays second fiddle to the tomato leaf. However, herein lies the issue. It may be too dominant for some, and for mine, it’s too linear in its development. Perhaps From the Garden would have been more interesting if the brand had amplified the earthiness of the patchouli or added something spicier to the blend. Nevertheless, the use of tomato leaf did have me sitting up and taking notice.
It’s undoubtedly one of the better fragrances from a brand that tends to play it safe. With a distribution network that includes major stores like Sephora, it’s understandable they’d tread cautiously, though. They’re chasing those sales. But in Australia, they’re sold alongside daring brands like Comme des Garçons. The difference is stark, and I know which brand I gravitate to more often.
Furthermore, their pricing structure and theming have always made me think they consider themselves a niche outfit. Of course, they’re not. They’re a designer outfit, just like YSL or Dior. With that in mind, I believe that From the Garden is much better than anything those brands have given us for a while, but still quite a step down from any of those brands’ classic fragrances.
Have you tried From The Garden? What do you think of this line from Maison Margiela?
Note: Decant paid for by me. All images are my own.
Great overview, Daniel. I haven’t tried From the Garden yet. I must confess that sometimes I struggle with tomato leaf because of the very reason you mentioned. It often leans too much towards the vegetal side. I have a few from Maison Margiela, At the Barber’s (my favorite), By the Fireplace, and Jazz Club. Apart from these, I found the rest of the line intriguing, but not necessarily something I require.
Thank you, Flaconneur. Yes, tomato leaf can be quite a bracing vegetal note, kind of an acquired taste. At the Barbers is my favourite too, but I have so many fougere scents already, I don’t need it.
Tks for the descriptive review, i am still to try “Under the Lemon Tree”, which interests me, and now this one. I confess i love the smell of tomato leaves in the kitchen, but I am not sure I want to smell like it.
Thanks very much, Tetê. Under the Lemon Tree was a nice one, hopefully you get to sample it. Yes, as I said to Flaconneur, tomato leaf in scent has been an acquired taste for me. I didn’t love it at first. But, the more scents I wear with the note, the more I enjoy it. It’s quite a shock to the senses when it features in a perfume.
I’m one of those who live a good tomato leaf/greenhouse scent. Eau de Campagne is one of my most repurchased fragrances. Their bath & body products are blissfully bracing & the candle is the best house refresher I know.
I will give In the Garden a spritz if I meet it in the wild but I won’t be sending for a sample. Sweetened tomato leaf defeats the object, doesn’t it?
Yea, that Sisley is a classic. One of Jean-Claude Ellena’s finest. I prefer it to From the Garden. But, the Margiela is worth a try, at least.
Haven’t tried this one, but while reading I thought of Diptyque Kyoto and L’Occitane Herbae. The sweetness rounding the sharp green works sometimes.
I like those scents, and there are some similarities to From the Garden. I agree, it’s important to have that balance in a perfume.