FRAGRANCE | Simoy ng Haraya: Proudly Philippine-made fragrances for body and home

Simoy ng Haraya, which translates to "whiff of imagination," is a homegrown Filipino fragrance house that offers a variety of scents for the body, the home, and for aromatherapy. It's been probably a year already since we first tried some of their products at Retail Lab at the Power Plant Mall in Makati and went home with an assortment of 5 fragrances (EDP, EDT, EDC—the concentrations varied) and 2 room/linen sprays. But for whatever reason, the bottles remained untouched. And since I realized it's Buwan ng Wika, I thought I'd give them some attention. Finally.

So here goes.

Gayuma EDP, Umaga EDC, and Sulyap EDP.

Gayuma EDP
Gayuma translates to love potion, so I was expecting something sensual or sexy. To my surprise, I'm greeted instead with a shower-fresh scent where pine is central to the composition. It's green with a hint of soapiness, a scent that feels familiar and by no means is bound to offend anyone. I believe it shines best in the day and in warmer temperatures.

There's a deep-seated, dry earthiness that appears after several minutes but it's barely noticeable in the air. It does grow slightly stronger over time and complements the fresh pine perfectly. Longevity is fairly good although it starts to settle close to the skin after projecting moderately for about two hours. This is marketed as unisex but personally I find that it has a very slight masculine slant to it. If you like freshies without any citruses or marine/aquatic notes, then Gayuma might be up your alley.

Umaga EDC
In Umaga (Filipino for morning), Simoy ng Haraya associates mornings with a garden, more specifically a vegetable garden. The scent is vegetal with a prominent but sweetened tomato leaf. Unlike Memo Paris's Italian Leather, more so Sisley's Eau de Campagne, there's no bitterness here, which the sweetness does a good job of masking without being heavy or syrupy. The sweetness is likely coming from something floral or fruity, maybe both.

This combination of green and fruity-floral sweetness follows the same vein as Hermes's Un Jardin Sur Le Nil and its cousins although Umaga feels a lot less complex. It's a pretty good all-around pleasant frag but it weakens easily. Also, there's a mildly salty, sweaty vibe that appears in the background after close to an hour, which I think ruins the late drydown hours later. Nevertheless, it's a nice and much cheaper alternative to any Un Jardin release.

Sulyap EDP
Filipino for glance, Sulyap is another freshie anchored on a vibrant, lemony and powdery character. There's a mild soapiness to it, along with a light sweetness. After several minutes, its herbal and green mossy background is ever so slowly revealed and is completely bared only after most of the lemon and powder have lifted off several hours later. That said, longevity is pretty good, its generally moderate projection peaking at around the two hour mark.

This is probably my favorite of the bunch. Although labeled as unisex, for me it's masculine-leaning, reminding me a lot of Geoffrey Beene's Bowling Green, which is a really good old-school citrus freshie. It's more of a warm weather and daytime type of scent but it's a must-try in my opinion.

Alon EDT and Buwan EDT.

Alon EDT
This is marketed as a men's fragrance. Consistent with the waves it's named after (Alon is Filipino for wave), Alon is a marine fresh scent with a bit of a citrus zest and saltiness. The saltiness increases after several minutes but then a mild sweetness comes through later and takes a bit of that lovely saltiness away.

It doesn't strike me as a blue frag, though, but more of something with a marine green vibe. It's off to a promising start and unlike some marine or aquatic frags, it never gets sharp and screechy. Unfortunately, however, its strength wanes easily. I'm not much into aquatics and such but I kinda like Alon. I just have to make up for its lack of power by spraying more and respraying constantly.

Buwan EDT
Now I don't know what the moon smells like but Buwan (Filipino for moon) opens sweet and floral fresh with a mild powdery facet set against a woody background. The wood, however, is completely "dressed up" by the sweetness, so I don't get any sharpness whatsoever. My nose could be playing tricks on me but I somehow get a very faint trace of smokiness buried deep in the scent.

Buwan becomes a little more powdery over time but more like a powdery musk reminiscent of The Body Shop's White Musk. I could be wrong, though, since I don't have White Musk on hand to compare but at least I remember the vibe as similar. There's also a wee bit of woody sharpness peeking but is only noticeable when I dig my nose into where I sprayed. Buwan has fairly good projection for around two hours before it gradually declines. However, it does last, leaving you with a soft vanilla skin scent after several hours when all the other notes have died down. Perfect for either day or night, warm or cold weather, this is worth a try for me.

Panaderia and Takilya Room/Linen Sprays.

Panaderia Room/Linen Spray
Panaderia (bakery) is aptly named, as it does smell like bread. I can't quite decide whether it reminds me of freshly baked bread and butter or of dough that hasn't made its way to the oven yet because there's some sourness to the scent. Sourdough perhaps? Either way, it's warm and comforting like Serge Lutens's Jeux de Peau but with a sourdough-ish twist. I'm not sure if I want this as a wearable frag but it sure works as a linen spray.

Takilya Room/Linen Spray
Filipino for box office, Takilya picks one particularly joyous aspect of the movie theater experience to interpret as a scent. Instead of reminding us of the smell of a theater or of film for that matter, Takilya takes us to the snack bar with the mouthwatering aroma of buttery sweet popcorn and caramel. And the smell is quite realistic, so to speak. It's yummy and addictive. While it's perfect as a room and linen spray, I could totally imagine this as a wearable EDT or EDP that would appeal to gourmand lovers. Really good!

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Just a general note, though: the bottles don't come in boxes. Also, the sprayers aren't the best, so producing a proper mist might elude you. However, as far as scent goes from a collective standpoint, these are pretty good offerings. Just bear in mind that available concentrations vary. In terms of price point, they're more or less at par with another local fragrance brand, Whiff Artisanal Perfumes. All in all, I'd say Simoy ng Haraya is a brand worth checking out. And yes, support local.

For more info:
simoyngharaya.com