Muse

The house pictures a summer afternoon with golden light on warm skin and the ocean shimmering in the distance, a scene captured in Muse.

At the centre of Muse is blooming gardenia, which the brand explicitly names as the fragrance's central raw material. Ripe fruit and coconut give it a rounded softness on one side, while dry wood adds warmth on the other.

It opens with mango cream and coconut: the sweetness of fruit flesh layered with a dairy-like smoothness. Pink pepper scatters small sparks through it and keeps the sweetness from sinking too heavily.

In the heart, sweet pea and gardenia come forward. The light, translucent petal feel of sweet pea lets air into gardenia's thick, creamy whiteness, and the roundness of the opening carries straight into the floral heart.

The base is sandalwood, cedarwood and cashmere. Smooth sandalwood and the drier outline of cedar give the sweet fruit and white flowers a calmer footing.

The perfumer is Domitille Michalon Bertier. Here she builds a white floral wrapped in fruit and cream. It suits days when you want sweetness on open display, and moments when you'd rather enjoy a white flower for its softness than its airiness.