halfwhiteboy

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.

(Updated August 28, 2020) Grapefruit Amber EDP by ScentSmith Perfumery. When was the last time you bought a locally produced fragrance here in the Philippines? If ever, the most common culprits would be anything from Bench or Penshoppe and their many sister brands, right? I've had my share, too, of bottles of Celio , L'Amoureux , and the long-defunct Penshoppe EDTs Dusk and Ice . They're all cheap and I enjoyed them. However, I've always pined for an upgrade both in terms of quality and presentation in our local fragrances, for someone who can seriously elevate the state of our local perfume industry. Hayden Kho made an attempt years ago with his own line of fragrances but that endeavor was unfortunately short-lived. But my, was he able to come up with some pretty solid fragrances! To this day I still miss his Amber Woods and Rose Petals EDT .