Whilst Vyrao isn’t strictly Australian, it is the brainchild of Australian Yasmin Sewell who resides in London. It is also touched by the hands of the Estee Lauder Innovation Lab and as such, we hope, pray, or spell that the formulas here aren’t dabbled with too much through a commercial vein either now or in the future.
In saying that, it seems that Estee Lauder Companies saw Yasmin's vision and invested in that future. It is strange (to me at least) that Vyrao is pretty hard to get your hands on. Like, it took me a while to realise that the range wasn’t discontinued and in Australia seems to be exclusively available at Mecca. When checking Mecca's in-store availability, it is listed as low stock at best and not available in your worst but most common case scenario.
If you want to spend some decent coin on the 50ml bottle, you will be blessed with a Herkimer Diamond Crystal swimming about at the bottom, that has been "supercharged by our Quantum Energist to amplify the mood boosting formulations". That job was never an option when I was at school but I bet it pays well.
One thing I will say for this range is the longevity is low, which comes with the natural scent territory. The chances of a full bottle purchase based off the back of availability is very slim, but regardless.
Let’s get into it.
Georgette
By far my favourite; if memories were liquefied and bottled, this comes in as a huge bag of musk sticks. I adore musk sticks and the fact that I can spray Georgette on and walk around like a big pink ridged sweety is not bad thing. It may surprise you then that the scent profile of Georgette does not profile musk at all (but then either do musk sticks) it’s all Turkish rose and a catch of pink pepper, and thankfully very little to no patchouli to me.
If I could find a full bottle of this, I would definitely consider it.
Free 00
This fragrance is the reason why I beg people not to make assumptions from a first spray. After an initial slap in the face, Free 00 quickly settles into a light citrusy scent bath. Hidden in amongst the orange blossom and lemon is a very slight petrichor accord and I couldn’t love this more, but c’est la vie, it doesn’t last. If you like citrus scents reminiscent of Maison Margiela’s Under the Lemon Tree, you would like this – just give it an hour or so to settle.
Magnetic 70
Phwoar. Cedarwood, vetiver straight off the bat even though to my novice nose these are primarily bottom notes. This is a super masculine fragrance, not surprising given the wood profile but what I love most about this is the incense and pepper. This has a strong and spicy black pepper top to middle note that is not to everyone’s taste.
It does dry down to a clean soapy accord, coming from the juniper so tread carefully with this one, it’s not at all shy and unassuming.
I am Verdant
I love green fragrances, or at least the idea of them. Italian Bergamot is present in the top with I am Verdant but its the black pepper and frankincense that really comes through and I love it so. There is a whiff of juniper present but it dissipates quickly and you are left with a clean floral from cyclamen and iris that is not at all overly sweet. It's nice for a change. But all good things come to an end and before you know it, everything is gone again.
Witchy Woo
This gives me less forest nymph on a dewy crisp morning, and more Nimbin nymph after a three-day marathon bush rave. I like the cinnamon notes in this but they are fleeting and you're left with a dusty patchouli like Nan's linen cupboard and a lingering incense. Such a polarising scent because it has rave reviews - you either love it or hate it, I'm definitely in the latter camp.
What is great about this set is the bottle size, sure you will pay for it in dollar value but these 7.5ml bottles will last you ages. Hooray for Georgette, and hoping that Witchy Woo macerates over time and becomes something entirely different. Each to their own, spell casters.
A long-held frustration of mine are web sites that have an opportunity to showcase their wares and particulars, regardless of any e-commerce functionality and they end up being a graveyard of broken links. The only product available to view on the Vyrao site, at least at the moment, is a branded cycling shirt. I don’t cycle.
I do frequent Mecca, both in-store and website, and I put limited trust in their fragrance notes so how does one compare their experience? Well, maybe that’s the idea? Maybe you have to work through your own experience with the Vyrao range.
Vyrao is exclusive to Mecca here in Australia.
This post is created without the use of AI
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