Performance Flunkers
Typically, I judge perfume not only by its olfactory characteristics and lasting power. I also examine its performance: what it does on my skin, where it takes me, how much it opens up, etc. In my perfume pilgrimage, I’ve encountered quite a few exceptional scents that have had but one pesky yet substantial flaw - they failed the performance test. The most recent ones standing in shame with their heads down are the new Kelly Caleche by Hermes and Strip by Agent Provocateur. I don’t think it’d be unfair to say both project rather high expectations. Yet I find myself shaking my head in disapproval and going “tsk-tsk” every time I test them (and believe me, I’ve given them a few chances to redeem themselves).
Kelly Caleche. First of all, named after the Kelly bag and said to smell of leather. Secondly, a Caleche. Thirdly, Jean-Claude Ellena. The result: a beautiful scent, with a lush, almost fruity beginning, and smooth, creamy, floral heart (built around the notes of iris, lily of the valley, mimosa, tuberose, climbing rose). The drydown is rather disappointing: it smells simultaneously like Rose Ikebana from the Hermessence collection, with some hints of Jardin Sur Le Nil, and even Terre d’Hermes. All of these are nice scents, no doubt. But do I want to smell them again, in a brand new creation? I’d rather not. Thus, Kelly Caleche flunks the performance test on my skin - it doesn’t deliver what it promises. That also includes a complete lack of leather. At some point, in top notes, I get a faint hint of it but it’s more like a ghost hovering around in bewilderment, wondering why on earth did they kill him off.
With Strip, the situation is almost ironic. I mean, come on, the name is all about performance, right? Yet Agent Provocateur hasn’t played the game quite right this time. The scent is supposedly built around all the base notes of the popular Agent Provocateur perfume - ylang-ylang, iris, geranium, hot amber oils, vetiver, precious exotic woods, and musks “that react to your body temperature and exude from your skin to release the sexual attractant within” (agentprovocateur.com). Um, how do I say this nicely… let’s just say it did none of such things to me. When I first sprayed it on, I got soft, warm amber with a slightly dirty accord, and at that point it did get me euphoric. And then it just sort of stopped. As in, pretty much vanished from my skin. I kept waiting for some intensity (come on, Strip!), some boudoiresque action, some performance, after all. Alas, it was all but a tease without the strip part.
To sum it all up, I’m still in the state of olfactory ennui. I really hope this passes soon, and the fall season will greet us with truly exciting performance (and action!).
Image source: sybarites.org, agentprovocateur.com
25 comments August 7th, 2007