Review: Anya’s Garden Fairchild and Pan

Continuing with sharing my impressions of the beautiful Anya's Garden fragrances. Today I am sampling Fairchild on my right wrist and Pan on my left. I love to try two at a time because it allows me to see how they mingle together, as well as see the nuances between them. It also helps me know if they might layer well.

You can find my review of RiverCali and Temple here and my review of Moondance and StarFlower here. See also my review of Kaffir.

Anya's Garden, led by owner Anya McCoy, is a natural perfumery.

Fairchild
Fragrance Family: Floral-Animalic-Marine
What could be better than sand and salt, flowers and citrus on the air, and the smell of sea shells, not to mention oakmoss and ambergris!

Near the tip of the Peninsula of Florida, where hurricanes ravage, the sun bakes, and steam is visible as it rises from the ground after a downpour, the Botanical Garden of Fairchild exists. This perfume, created in honor of that garden is a lush, intoxicating perfume that mimics the sensory experience. For the wild child - chaotic, exciting, sensual, giving in to the forces of nature. Anya's Garden

Fairchild has enough floral to take it out of the strictly marine category, which is a good thing, so far as I am concerned. If I were to give it a color, I would say, deep blue, not azure. I'm not sure what smoked sea shells would smell like, but I like it in this. Yet, the fragrance is not smokey. There is a brightness to it, like a clear day at the beach. It is not pungent, rather it is sunny. I love how it comes together and embraces me.

This is both a daytime and an evening fragrance. It is as suitable for work, as it is for an assignation of two lovers. There is a controlled wildness to it. As I continue to wear it, the saltiness comes forward, yet the floral is still there.

Top notes: pandanus and rare tropical flowers
Middle notes: jasmine grandiflorum, jasmine sambac and jasmine ariculatum, white and gold champacas, ylang ylang, citrus leaves and rinds and flowers
Base notes: seaweed, ambergris, smoked sea shells, oakmoss

Anya says this about it:

Narcotic, hypnotic, changeable tropical passion, sparkling with flowers and salty from sea spray.

Parfum Extrait 3.5 ml for $60
15 ml edp $100
Sample $7

Pan
Fragrance Family: Woody-Fruity-Amber
Once upon a time the god Pan was worshiped in a way that we tend to worship the great outdoors today. But Pan had religious accoutrements surrounding him, as well as a temple.

Top notes: lavender, white lotus
Middle notes: cedar
Base notes: ambriene, hay, patchouli, billy goat hair

I vaguely remember hearing about this fragrance, because who could forget the addition of the smell of 'billy goat hair' in the notes! I wasn't sure this was something I would want to experience. Never fear, this is not that animalic. I suppose that is what gives it a musky quality, yet not quite musk.

The patchouli is evident from the beginning to the end. It begins with lavender, but doesn't stay there. There is some movement to the fragrance. It is very well blended.

Anya says about this fragrance:

A cult favorite among perfumistas. An homage to the Pan of Tom Robbins novel Jitterbug Perfume.

Parfum Extrait 3.5 ml for $60
15 ml edp $100
Sample $7

My take
I like both fragrances, but my favorite of these two is Pan. That should not surprise you, as I am a patchouli kind of girl.

Could a man wear these?
Absolutely. Pan is warm and patchouli-y. Fairchild is bright and a little bit spicy.

Have you tried either of these? Do you wear them? Do you have a favorite?

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2010-05-14 08:44:44.

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