Molton Brown Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel Eau de Parfum

Today I'd like to shine a light on the Molton Brown fragrance that I'm currently obsessed with, Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel. It's an ocean-inspired Eau de Parfum that opens with aromatic fig leaves and ginger with cypress and jasmine in the heart. It's grounded with an opulent leather and musk base.

The Packaging

The fragrance comes housed in a collectible and refillable glass flacon with a one-of-a-kind spherical resin cap. The box is also beautiful, and it's tough to let it go, but I have enough boxes right now and I'm still living out of quite a few of them. But the debossed Mayfair Ebony rigid box is a real statement and looks incredibly luxurious. 

The Notes

Let’s have a look at the notes: 

Top notes are Cardamom, Bergamot, Fig Leaf and Ginger.

Middle notes are Sea Notes, Cypress, Jasmine and Olibanum.

Base notes are Leather, Vetiver, Cedar and Musk.

The Fragrance

This fragrance was initially released in 2019, and it was very well received critically. Senior Perfumer Carla Chabert’s fingerprints are all over this fragrance. She is renowned for her playful pursuits of the unconventional. The opening is very intense. It's a lot of spice, a lot of cardamom and it has you on a cliff edge as to whether this is going to steady up, or be too overwhelming. Luckily as the abyss stares back it settles into something woody straight away. As if you've just walked into a Ski-lodge in the Alps. 

The dry down is gorgeous. My only critique is that it seems to scoot through the middle notes too quickly. I didn't get much of an aquatic vibe from this fragrance, considering how much it's focused on being an aquatic scent. There was some hint of seaweed in there, and maybe some sea salt but it felt like it came and went very quickly. 

So if you're looking for a marine scent, I would probably think twice about buying this one. But if you're looking for something very elegant, very mature whilst being quite spritely and youthful then this is the fragrance for you. It also looks great on the shelf. Which let’s face it, is very important. Guests visit your bathroom more than any other room in the house, and having an ornate bottle like this on top of your cabinet really elevates the room. 

Final thoughts

I have great fondness for this fragrance. This is very luxurious looking and smelling.  The dryness and leather base makes it suitable for year round wear. If you are wanting to dress to impress then you can certainly create a statement with this fragrance. I thought it was too masculine to be classed as unisex and Tuula agrees with me. I would wear this to black tie, to dinner dates, to important events where you wanted to make a valid impression. 

Available online for £120