On my visit to the niche perfumery Cherry Garden in Budapest, I tried a few perfumes from Munich-based Philly & Phill and bought their Little Lovers discovery box. The eaux de parfum in this series are known as The Essences of Love, an expression of the love between the founders Tanja Bublitz and Stefan Cozma. Per Fragrantica, all were made by perfumer Jérôme Epinette.

I suppose my experience supports the idea of initial attraction being visual—I was already biased positively in what I was expecting from the fragrances when I saw the deep colors of the liquids: purple, blue, pink… The name also reminded me of My Little Lover, a Japanese pop band from the late ’90s, which rang a nostalgia bell even though I wasn’t a fan of most of their music. The alliteration played to me as well (no eye rolls, please).

The box itself is nicely designed, as a cube with enough volume to hold a full bottle, making it feel more substantial than a flatter box would containing the same 8 sample vials. I personally like the glossy-on-matte style, though more for the abstract line art than the marketing blurb copy in tiny font on the back. The magnetic closure and ribbon strap also elevate the tactile experience.

Some of the perfumes I smelled in the store were not part of this discovery box, such as the musky amber Faith for Fantasy and spicy woody Railway to the Rooftop. The stronger, bolder ones drew me in.

Here are my impressions, per the order in which the fragrances are meant to tell a story of finding love and breaking free.

Boudoir Belle

Powder. Baby powder, cosmetic compacts. Quickly followed by liquefied sweet fruits. A musky cloud forms around the wearer, a blend of comforting vanilla and sour benzoin. Once the giant puff of powder dust, carried by the initial blast of aldehydes, settles closer to skin, this becomes more like watercolor pink and yellow florals (rose and ylang). However, the talc and stains of cold aldehyde won’t let you forget them.

Romeo on the Rocks

Brief zest, then citrusy soap. Romeo just had a shower. A mildly floral musk is hiding right behind him. It goes through a stage of plain magnolia and then the bergamot becomes prominent, which I found surprising given its usual role as a top note. The drydown is a faded musky orange, giving the overall impression of a low-fat orange creamsicle. This one is short lived—I used up the whole 1.5-mL vial in one day without intending to, just by frequent reapplication.

Date Me in Downtown

Opens flirty and fruity, with listed notes of apple, peach, and plum. A pinch of saffron quickly adds warmth, joined by white flowers and a chorus of dark woods. The oud note reveals its smoky facet as the sour fruits eventually calm down into something musky and powdery, becoming creamier over time.

Out at the Opera

This specimen of the warm amber style opens with cherry syrup and a spicy plum, immediately familiar and rich in a “feminine” way. Fruity and rosy, it could be masking an illicit cigarette break. Instead of oud, I smell the drier cypriol with some saffron. The background is pleasantly musky vanilla and the sillage is mostly floral with plum. This is described as a “leather” fragrance, so I was looking for that note, and it turned out to be hiding at the base along with the wood, carrying a slight sourness. Even there, the plum persists. Out at the Opera is my favorite of the set and one of the more complex.

Midnight on Max Street

Prune juice? Saffron? It’s plum again, this time flanked by pink pepper and orange. Spiced by nutmeg and cinnamon, rose and oud notes are strolling hand in hand on Maximilian Street as promised. They may be wearing leather jackets. The charm seems more effortless and it’s growing on me, if I can get over that challenging sour note and the later prominence of nutmeg.

Easy for Ecstasy

At first spritz, this offered a citrusy musk reminiscent of several Le Labo releases. Soon brightened by cedar, it ends up separating into individual musk molecules like Ambroxan, Ambrettolide, etc. (my guesses). The notes list is straightforward—musk, amber, cedar, and did I already say musk? These are cool musks with a tinge of something spicy, but mostly cold Ambroxan…

Punks in Paradise

The name recalls to me the haunting and dramatic song “Child in Paradise” by crossover pianist Maksim Mrvica. The blue color of the liquid gives this perfume an edgy visual introduction, followed by the distinguishing feature of a supposed cannabis note. I know this because the sales associate told me, and it’s listed on Fragrantica, though not on the brand’s own website (not sure if it’s because cannabis has not yet been legalized in Germany, although it is anticipated in 2024)—but I can’t smell it. The opening is a sharp citrus woody amber with a mouthwatering fruit juice like pineapple. Then some green and a spicy note by way of nutmeg, which makes the fragrance lean “masculine” despite a bit of ’90s-style warm amber in the background, which reveals a plum note. This leads the fruity heart phase along with a powdery leather—again accompanied by a sour undertone, which could also be from the sandalwood. Punks in Paradise has a structural feel, as though there is space between a network of solid notes, but it’s not airy. I would probably like it more if it weren’t so dominated by nutmeg throughout the wear.

Eve goes Eden

Cherry, but not syrup. Plum? A juicy fruit medley including orange and apple. Fruit tea. The middle phase is more powdery—hello, violet! This flower presents itself in a classic, cosmetic form. The fruits are tart as they dry into a woody leather and become, well, more like dried fruits. In the drydown, this fragrance becomes a classic floral. I don’t perceive the dark base notes of patchouli and birch, but they seem to be well blended in the background.

Do some of these appeal to you more than others?