Perfumes I Respect But Fear
In my perfume fascination years, I sort of established my personal classification system. I’m sure any perfume aficionado has their own – it goes without saying. Lately, I’ve been pondering over mine, wondering if there’re any more categories I could invent. Some of this has already been covered in my Perfume Fanatic Jargon post. For instance, the easiest and my favorite category is Wow Upon First Sniff. Some other ones include: Save It For Later, Over My Dead Nose, Must Own Now, Another Fruity Floral. The most recent addition to my system is Perfumes I Respect But Fear. The usual candidates are typically perfume VIPs – flawless, unique, sophisticated, etc. Yet I find myself admiring them from afar, so to speak, for they inspire certain fear. Below are some of the scents that have been officially added to the category:
Diorling, Dior Dior, Diorama, Diorella by Christian Dior. Respect: polished, clear cut, classical accords. Fear: the scents seem too stern, in a school teacher kind of way. Stern dry florals, on the oakmoss and patchouli base.
Dia by Amouage, Gold by Amouage. Respect: opulent, rich oriental blends. Fear: the overpowering effect – the perfume wears you and dictates your being.
Fracas by Robert Piguet. Respect: a gorgeous creamy tuberose. Fear: the heady, no-escape effect.
Bandit by Robert Piguet. Respect: a most voluptuous green leather. Fear: pretty much same as above.
Cabochard by Gres. Respect: austere, classy leather, one of the best around. Fear: its old-fashioned, vintage effect. Go on, slap me now.
Oblique Rewind by Givenchy. Respect: delicious honeyed cherry. Fear: to smell like a cough syrup.
Rumba by Balenciaga. Respect: animalic, power fruity floral like no other. Fear: its tenacity.
Carnal Flower by Frederic Malle. Respect: a sultry, milky-green tuberose. Fear: simply put, headache-inducing.
L’Heure Bleue by Guerlain. Respect: a gorgeous Guerlain classic. Fear: evokes too much melancholy.
Fahrenheit by Christian Dior. Respect: hawthorne, sandalwood, cedar, patchouli – my favorite notes! Fear: the jarring, off-balance effect on my skin.
Do you have any perfumes you respect but fear?
30 comments March 6th, 2007
Muscs Koublai Khan is part of the exclusive Serge Lutens collection available only at the boutique in Paris. Its exclusivity should never be considered as an obstacle*, however, and every self-respecting perfume fanatic absolutely must try this scent. “Luminous and feline”, the only two and very fitting adjectives used in its description, Muscs Koublai Khan has become a sort of informal gold standard of stink (or, to be more appropriate, the level of animalic notes) in perfume. Fondly labeled as MKK, it is the ultimate animalic scent brought to olfactory sophistication. It is indeed the Emperor of Musks, in all its ferocious charm.
Philtre d’Amour was first released as a limited edition scent in 1999 and has recently become part of Les Parisiennes collection (available only at the Guerlain flagship store in Paris). As much as I adore Guerlain and have tried most of their perfumes, Philtre d’Amour had somehow managed to escape me. I knew it was a lemon scent, and somehow that combined with the name Guerlain didn’t sound very promising. One valuable lesson I’ve learned in my perfume addiction years is to never give in to your prejudices. In other words, smell as much as you can, smell everything, even if it doesn’t sound potentially good. The lesson is particularly priceless when it comes to limited edition fragrances – if you pass on the opportunity to smell it while it’s here, you might have to pay an arm and a leg in the future. In this case, I didn’t have to (thank goodness for eBay!) But you get my point.