Here’s a tale of Dilettante‘s adventure to my door that involved perseverance from Hiram Green and patience on my part. It took three attempts for my sample to arrive intact. The first time the package winged its way in my direction it was lost somewhere in Neverland much to my dismay. The second attempt successfully reached me and I could smell the fragrant delight rising through the packet. This is not a good thing. The vial was broken and its contents emptied in the pack. One thing was certain though. Dilettante smelt drop dead gorgeous and I knew this was a perfume to love. The third time, the sample arrived and was in one piece. Hallelujah. It was as they say, worth the wait.

Another perfume with a similarly convoluted travel journey was Salome from Papillon Artisan Perfumes. This perfume journeyed from England to France and back to England again. With a little wizardry Salome eventually found a path to Sainte Maxime via a perfume mule from London. Suffice to say that these two perfumes have something in common. They are both best in show works, that occupy very different scentscapes that smell absolutely fantastic.

Hiram Green has an intuitive feel for perfumery. He creates natural perfumes and is a singular talent. The inaugural fragrances in his collection Moon Bloom and Shangri-La were well received and are on my list of must tries. His third release, the limited edition heavenly vanilla centric Voyage was included as one of my favourite perfumes for 2015. If you love perfumes in all shapes and form,  his collection must make it onto your sniff list. If you love natural perfumes, his range will herald fragrance nirvana. You can read more about Green in an interview with Megan In Sainte Maxime here.

Dilettante is one of the best perfumes I’ve smelt so far this year. It will make it onto my list of favourite perfumes for 2016 without question. I have a thing for orange centric scents and you can read about a few of my favourites here. Dilettante has something fresh to offer though and even if you have a few special orange blossom perfumes that you don’t think can be beaten, I would strongly advise everyone to give this a go. It’s my new orange crush.

The bizarre thing is that Dilettante is an all natural scent and to be honest it has such great longevity that I’m often a little in awe at Green’s mastery of the craft. Generally speaking, natural perfumery is not known for complexity or long lasting scents. It is however emerging as a genre that is worth paying attention to. So get ready to put your prejudices aside. Another natural perfumer who is creating beautiful fragrances is Tanja Bochnig with her April Aromatics line. These fragrances are well worth seeking out too.

Dilettante EDP : Hiram Green : Nose : Hiram Green : 2016 : Category : Floral, Crisp, Citrus Fruity :  Notes : Orange flower, petitgrain, essential oil of orange

“Inspired by such simple pleasures as a stroll through a luscious garden after a rain shower, Hiram Green’s latest perfume, Dilettante, is an enchanted and light-hearted celebration of summer.

“Based on a triptych of orange flower, petitgrain and essential oil of orange, Dilettante is an all-natural fruity and floral eau de parfum that is fresh and sweet throughout.” (Hiram Green website)

The opening salvo heralds bright, glorious orange blossom assaulting the senses at first sniff. It veers to the narcotic side with a jasmine like intensity. It’s riotous in a really happy clappy way. From the first moments and in fact right throughout wearing Dilettante I want to splash more on and literally bathe in it. To be covered head to toe in it. Drink it even. The scent actually smells better than the bitter orange tree in the garden. Well equally as good at least.

There is a green, fresh quality to Dilettante that keeps it brimming with energy and away from soapy territory. The petitgrain adds a somewhat dusty layer to the proceedings but at all times a juicy orange sappiness gives a ripe and succulent quality. The dry down reveals a velvet like texture with hints of resins and smoke. A honeyed goodness is smouldering too. This is perhaps my favourite part of the perfume and a phase that lasts and lasts.

Dilettante is one of those perfumes that seems simple at first but reveals new layers and depths when worn repeatedly. When writing my thoughts on this perfume it’s the only scent I’ve wanted to wear. It also fills a gap in my orange centric fragrances that I didn’t know existed. The name Dilettante is perfect for this fragrance. In Green’s own words “Who needs another expert. Dilettante is here to delight.” Sometimes we just love a perfume. It smells great. It makes us feel happy. This is enough. Enjoy and wear it like a Debbie Harry smile.

The Low Down : A riotously happy riff on orange in all its glory. Pulpy, citrus and green facets all work to create a joyous showstopper and a new orange crush. 

Read More About Dilettante On :  The Scented Hound, Chemist In The Bottle, The Silver Fox and EauMG. 

For Where To Purchase : Please see the Hiram Green website for further details. A 50ml bottle is 135 Euro.

Notes : Images : Featured : Debbie Harry Orange Smile by Mick Rock : Sample by Megan In Sainte Maxime.

Disclaimer : Sample gratefully received from Hiram Green. Opinions my own. Fragrance categories from Fragrances Of The World by Michael Edwards.