Auphorie Miyako review

When a thing is beautiful in itself, like a rose, the corner of a girl’s lips, or the mountain top, it becomes the inspiration of many artists, who, through their creations, try to not only convey, but also elevate that beauty to unimaginable heights, giving it a personal touch. This is exactly what authors Eugene Au and Emrys Au, founders and perfumers of the Malaysian brand Auphorie, did with the perfume Miyako. They took the intoxicating flower of osmanthus and tried to make its beauty divine. Did they succeed in that? Luca Turin, the Art & Olfaction Awards judges (Miyako is the winner for 2016), and many fans around the world would emphatically say “YES!”.

Unfortunately, Miyako did not leave an equally strong impression on me (unlike their other perfume, Eau de Nyonya, which blew me away), although it is a good perfume and one of the better representatives of the fruity-floral genre, which has been especially popular with female audiences for over 10 years.

But let’s see what the authors themselves say about the perfume:

Miyako is like taking a calm stroll through an ancient city in a far-off land. Golden osmanthus flowers are in full bloom and have a sweet, enticing aroma that includes notes of ripe apricot, peach, and freesia. There are yuzu trees in the center of the osmanthus, which adds a tinge of zesty citrus to the composition. Passers-by’s leather jackets add a hint of leather to the air. An adjacent teahouse provides notes of jasmine and green tea. A subtle powdered note of those fragrant bags tied to their waists gently penetrates the air as geishas with white faces and scarlet lips walk up and down. Finally, the sweet, caramel katsura leaves that have already turned red this fall season shine, followed by the fragrances of magnificent forests from nearby Jinja (sanctuary).

The inspiration for Miyako

The authors were enthralled by the natural beauty of the osmanthus flower, as well as its essence, which has a rich and nuanced aroma of apricot, flowers, and leather when of exceptional quality. Osmanthus, like rosewood, is practically a perfume in and of itself. With this in mind, the perfumers aimed to enhance the natural scent of osmanthus by adding embellishments and details to each of its features in a maximalist manner. They added fresh and juicy yuzu and sensuous peach to the inherently apricot-like opening. Floral notes of tantalizing jasmine and calming green tea blend well with a leather background of cedar and patchouli.

As a result, they created the world’s most intense osmanthus scent. Miyako is osmanthus on steroids. And I can’t deny that this is a stunning perfume, far superior to almost all other fruity florals on the market, but it fails to elicit any emotional response in me. Not even curiosity, although I am a naturally curious person. I suppose this is one of those scenarios when the partners appear to be perfect on paper, but there is simply no chemistry in reality. Unfortunately.

READ MORE: The perfect fruity floral perfume Chanel Cristalle.

The creators of the perfume are Eugene Au and Emrys Au.