When I receive a large debut collections from a designer, I find it difficult to give a good assessment. This was the case three years ago when I received the first set of fragrance from Rag & Bone. I thought they were well done but one, Oddity, stood out far above the others. Which leads me to unfairly think of the others as lesser. It is nice to get a second chance as Rag & Bone release two new fragrances Monoi and Genmaicha.
Marcus Wainwright
Creative director Marcus Wainwright wants the Rag & Bone perfumes to mirror the fashion side of the business. In his vision it means putting a focal point ingredient on the bottle and “accessorizing” it. In the first collection that generally meant one prominent note and another slightly less prominent note. At the time I thought it was a good concept. Now with Monoi and Genmaicha it proves to be durably so.
Monoi is a lightweight white flower style of fragrance. It takes a tiare accord of frangipani and gardenia to represent the creaminess of the white flowers. A green banana leaf, crisp pear, and sandalwood are the main accessories. It is finishes with a set of white musks to build in the expansiveness over the long run.
Genmaicha is a citrus blended green tea type of fragrance. A tart yuzu sets up the sharp green tea note in the heart. Nutmeg is used to tease out a toasty nuttiness underneath. It blunts a lot of the roughness of the green tea if left on its own. It all ends on a clean cedarwood platform.
Monoi and Genmaicha both have 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.
With only two to assess this time around I see what Mr. Wainwright wants his fragrance collection to represent. Both Monoi and Genmaicha rise to his vision.
Disclosure: This review is based on samples provided by Rag & Bone.
–Mark Behnke
