Lightsource by Andrea Maack is amazing, and it puts me in a positive headspace for a great day. It opens with bright lemon and green fig, then moves into petitgrain, star jasmine, and crystal rose, and finishes with pink pepper and black pepper. This is a perfectly unisex fragrance.

For years, I strongly disliked this fragrance—when tested on paper, it always reminded me of a citronella candle. However, a few weeks ago, I decided to give it another chance and picked up a sample. To my surprise, it transformed beautifully on the skin, shedding the citronella-like note entirely. Instead, I was greeted with an unexpectedly pleasant bright, green, refreshingly fresh fragrance.

This experience taught me the importance of testing fragrances on the skin, as they can evolve unexpectedly and delightfully. I highly recommend sampling this scent before committing to a purchase. To provide some context, the shift between how this fragrance smells on paper versus the skin reminds me of Le Labo Santal 33. On paper, Santal 33 can have a peculiar dill pickle-like note, but it develops into something truly fantastic on the skin. Similarly, this fragrance might surprise you once it interacts with your skin's chemistry.