by Musette
The notion of degrees of virginity has always mystified me – imo, you either are or you aren’t although apparently I am Jurassic on that one. I get a giggle with olive oil descriptors, too, imagining that the olives in extra virgin olive oil aren’t even touched by human hands (or other parts)! let alone relieved of their oil. Instead the Archangel Olive comes down and poof! The Immaculate Pressing. Yeah, I know…but it is funny. Oh, c’mon…
So I was disappointed when I met with The Different Company’s Pure Virgin. I was hoping for a way more interesting name (or at least an olive note). Celine Ellena is supposedly leaving the company and this is her swan song. It’s such a departure from the line’s original trend that, at first, I thought she might’ve been mad at them – the equivalent of my friend peeing in her husband’s Aramis when she found out he’d cheated on her. Then I got a little scrab of de Bachmakov which to me feels totally different from the early scents so I started rethinking the motivation for PV. Perhaps deBachmakov signals a different direction for the House and Pure Virgin is simply the next step. March and I discussed the early scents – Rose Poivree is magnificent, smelling like (according to March) butt (she’s right). Sublime Balkiss took the fresh/fruity genre and crunched it up with that marine note, like blackberries packed in kosher salt with a touch of vinegar. Charmes and Leaves hews to the silver/green motif, combining the bracing freshness of mint with that greeny/slimy galbanum thing – all of those are a bit weird and definitely not for everybody but there’s no mistaking the spare elegance that I equate with The Different Company.
Pure Virgin? No weird or strange going on there. It’s a pretty, sweet, powdery scent, like a sugared-up vintage 22. It’s selling briskly, much to the delight of those SAs who make their living selling perfume and probably have to hump to sell some of the other, stranger offerings (and can you blame them?). Notes are: Evanescent Musc, Light Wind, Linen Flower,White Rose Cedarwood, Calisson
alrighty! we’re going to stomp right on past the “Light Wind’, eyes averted, and head straight to Calisson. According to Wikipedia Calissons are a traditional French candy consisting of a smooth, pale yellow, homogeneous paste of candied fruit (especially melons and oranges) and ground almonds topped with a thin layer of royal icing. Calissons have a texture not unlike that of marzipan, but with a fruitier, distinctly melon-like flavor.
And you know what? That’s Pure Virgin in a candy-coated nutshell! It has a pale yellow-white feel to it, like sunshine through dotted swiss curtains. I don’t get much melon but I do get the crystalline sweetness of powdered sugar. I was going to snark on it because it’s not all complicated and philosophical but it’s not supposed to be. It’s a powdery, sweet, skin scent done well. I’m just surprised it’s come out of The Different Company. I would classify it as a less terrifying Teinte de Neige. And impure virgins can wear it, too! Just not this impure virgin.
So…have any of you tried this? What’s your opinion of powdery scents? I like mine to have a whiff of rotting meat, myself. Others go the route of the funnel cake. What say you?
I spritzed this at Barneys where, after 3 days of sniffage, they were heartily sick of me!
I’m going to run out and make a scent that is light wind, cumulous essence, thunder throat and heart of rain. I’ll price it at $300 per 100ML and call it Wave by Pansy.
Off to the tap..
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 8:58 am
Don’t forget the effluvia! just for that little ‘off’ note, eh?
xo
March Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:39 am
I’m going to start calling you Thunder Throat, is that okay? Because it makes me laugh.
– Maleficent
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
Him, right? Not me. Right?
…just checking..
xo
annie Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
I TOTALLY agree…from now on it’s Thunder Throat…it makes me laugh,too!…AND OK,I’ll say it:light wind means light GAS;got it??
Fleur du Male is my favorite powdery scent, because it’s not too sweet. I like to smell it on men, but I like to smell it best on ME! Kenzo Power also has a powdery aspect that contrasts with the citrus top, another men’s cologne that I like better on myself. They both should have been marketed as unisex, imo.
Haven’t tried Pure Virgin (because if I wore it I wouldn’t be able to stop laughing at the irony!), but my favorite TDC is definitely that icy Russian thing. That stuff’s amazing.
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 9:00 am
I got NO ice from deBachmakov!
Fleur de Male is gorgeous!
xo
Marla Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 10:00 am
Isn’t de Bachmakov weird? It smells all snuggly and warm on my Slavic hubby, but cold and icy on (tropical) me! You’d never guess it was the same perfume if you sniffed us both…(not that I’m recommending anyone do that).
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:29 am
why not? Sounds like you both smell GREAT! Different, but GREAT!
xo
Funny, funny post, M! Once again, you had me spewing my tea!
I haven’t tried any of their scents, so guess I’m a TDC “virgin,” and likely to stay that way because nothing grabs me from the line. But maybe, just maybe, I’d try the de Bachmakov or the Charms & Leaves thingy if a sample fell from the sky into my lap.
Not much on powdery scents because if I’m going to wear something, I want it to have some oomph to it.
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 9:03 am
Hey, doll! Happy Memorial Day weekend!
If you want ‘oomph’ in a powdery scent there are a couple that spring to mind: L’Heure Bleu in perfume will stop you dead in your tracks. Ditto vintage 22.
xo
Gretchen Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:07 am
Ha! I happen to be wearing no 22 today myself. I love it madly, but there are times when I can’t handle all that oomph.
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:29 am
That Gurrrl packs a whallop, doesn’t she? Esp. the vintage
xo
Powdery is fine as long as their are some other hefty notes. Many of the vintage aldehydics have a good dollop of powder. Teinte de Neige? Yep, a little scary, but a touch of it on a cold winter day isn’t a bad thing. On occasion.
But Pure Virgin just has so many things going against it. The name, musc featured as a main player, “light wind” among the notes…I almost don’t care whether it smells good. It annoys me! Not my favorite scent category anyway.
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 9:05 am
I KNOW on the ‘light wind’. That, more than anything, really threw me – it’s just so ‘not’ the TDC I thought I knew.
But maybe they decided to go a bit mainstream (you would expect to find notes like that in other, more generic lines) – I do know that PV is selling like hotcakes!
xo
Elisa Reply:
May 31st, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Yes, it seems like the Serge Lutens L’Eau of the TDC line, doesn’t it. I did a double take on “light wind” which seems to be an unfortunate back-translation of the Frenchified “Courant d’air” on the label (surely better translated as “air current” or “breeze,” no?).
I haven’t tried the Russian one yet, but I must admit I find this line disappointing and overpriced, except for Rose Poivree, which I LOVE. It smells like rosy salami.
I’m betting I’ll be in the minority, but here goes. I tried it and I liked it very much, but then I really like skin scents. And this is a really nice skin scent – a musk with a twist: the calisson and a bit of rose. Would I buy a bottle? Probably, IF I had lots of money. As it is, I’m not sure. I still have a bit of my sample and will thoroughly enjoy wearing it while thinking about a bottle!
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 9:21 am
Oh, I can certainly understand you liking it – especially if you like skin scents. I think it’s very well done – it’s just not ‘mah thang’ because I am not into skin scents. I’m so glad you commented – it’s great to hear what someone who does like skin scents and has tried it thinks of it!
xo
Hey, baby :d
Virgins, indeed.
I like powdery plenty.
But this one is insistently linear and won’t wash off;the list of notes alone makes Tom and I wither up .
Pretty, boring, safe- and $$$.
Not for Mama :-?
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 9:25 am
Petunia Pie!
It’s been YONKS since we’ve see you here! SO glad to hear from you.
Yeah, it’s really not my thing but no skin scent is. That said, it’s nicely done, I think but to be honest, I didn’t give it enough time to be anything but linear. It wouldn’t wash off?
The notes are funny, aren’t they? That, more than anything, unnerved me. It’s just so ‘twee’ and NOT TDC.
xoxoxo
Rappleyea Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 9:48 am
Chaya – I was just thinking about you the other day, and it occurred to me that I hadn’t seen you around the sites for a while. I miss your light! Hope all is well with you.
Musette: I always put my coffee safely down BEFORE I read one word of your reviews! I don’t care too much for powdery scents and if I sniffed this one, my nose would probably pick up on the melon in the Calisson note since I heartily dislike melon. And I’m sure they thoroughly enjoyed your company at Barney’s!
Ann Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 9:16 am
I second Marsha on both the beverage AND the melon note. Yuck! And I agree that they probably loved you at Barney’s — kept them on their toes and laughing all three days!!
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:33 am
aww, you guys – you put me to the blush! Thanks!
I don’t think I got one whiff of melon out of PV but I’m not as much of a melon-hater as a lot of you – I don’t love it but I don’t run screaming in the opp direction, either.
Re Barneys:
Day One: Delight (it was Sunday, dead as a doornail in there and I came with a group)
Day Two: “Oh! hi! (mingled delight and curiosity) – I think there were only 3 of us
Day Three: “You’re here AGAIN?” (these are my peeps – they can say that
xo
Call me old and cranky, but I refuse out of hand to try (or buy!) anything with “light wind” as a note!
And on the subject of degrees of virginity – my rude and irreverent brothers call me a reconstituted virgin, due of course, to the lack of a love life!
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 10:20 am
Love that! Of course, I am the opposite….
…since I consider Sleep to be the New Sex I am probably the sluttiest broad on this board!
xoxo
Rappleyea Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:12 am
Oh yeah! I’m with you on the sleep! I am sooo thankful that, as a woman of a certain age, I’m not bothered with insomnia, which I understand is something that accompanies waning hormones and sagging skin!
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:35 am
So I have heard – like you I am blessed with the ability to sleep most of the time. A friend in menopause woke up every. stinkin. night with an anxiety attack about retirement monies (she was well-funded but worried, I guess). Hellish. Out of it now, thankfully.
xo
Melissa Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Envy!!! I wake up every couple of hours, worries or not. Doesn’t matter. Just can’t sleep. Yes, I think it’s that “certain age” thing that hits a lot of people.
Marsha Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
I’m right there with ya on the sleep!
Marla Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Sleep is the new sex, yes, it’s so true, we’re all lusting after real sleep, aren’t we??
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 5:41 pm
I am ashamed to say that I would trade a hot night with The Rock for a week’s Really Good Sleep.
xo
nozknoz Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
Whoa, Musette! Danger, Will Robinson! I’m worried that three days of Pure Virgin has affected your brain – don’t make any major decisions until you’re sure that stuff has worn off!
Musette Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 11:21 am
I’m okay – it’s just that I’m just so BEAT all the time. But you know…..
a hot time with The Rock might result in some major ‘afterglow’ sleep …..but since I look more like his mother these days than a potential inamorata, that ‘time’ is unlikely. I’ll plump for the sleep….
xo
Marsha Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Isn’t that just like a brother? I have one of those things too!
Rappleyea Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
One?!? I have four!! And the fact that they’re all successful adults with children of their own hasn’t seemed to mature them one darn bit!
Wait, so the “Light Wind” isn’t a pooty note? Cause, you know, I might be more interested then. It’s a shame that’s where my mind went to upon reading that, what’s worse is that I’m now contemplating how much better the perfume might be (for many various reasons) if it were true….
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:37 am
You know you are not alone in that, right?
March and I riffed on the fart-note for awhile (alas, no. we guess it’s just some wind out of the south or something……
Tom’s got storms in his but he has to put some farts in, too, to make it truly worthy of consideration, don’t you think?
Your mind is just fine – that’s why you’re on this blog!
xo
March Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:41 am
Lol, someone else as lowbrow as we are with the “light wind.”
Pure Virgin … meh. I like skin scents too, but not ones that are so powdery. Not surprised to hear it’s selling well.
FragrantWitch Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:49 am
I went there on ‘light wind’ too! Maybe a UK thing? I also thought it might be better if that was the note – only here could I admit to such a thing! ;-)
I’m with Rappleyea – sometimes you just have to stand on principle. “Light wind” I can sniff for free (especially today!) And Musette has a point with the sleep thing….:-)
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:38 am
oh, yeah! Sleeeeep.
xo
Maybe if it were called impure virgin or “light wind” meant baby farts or something….
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:38 am
or Half-Virgin
or Virgin Lite (wind)
xo
I’m starting to love powdery scents. The favorites that I own are Guerlain Cologne du 68 and the Chanel No. 5 body powder. But my absolute favorite is Mona di Orio’s Amber. I recently tried it, and it was instant love, not only from me but also from my partner. I don’t own it yet (still have a bit of sample to go), but it’s the first fragrance I’m going to buy this year.
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
You are the Number One Mona Fangirl! Have you tried 22? Hyper-powdery but with substance. Read what Luca has to say about it – it’s hilarious. Also L’Aimant, which you can get on the eeeB for a song (do NOT get the stuff out of the drugstore – go vintage). It’s a fabulous powdery aldehyde, with just a whiff of rotting meat that I have come to adore (because I am weird like that, I guess
)
xo
Catherine Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 4:56 pm
YES YES YES to No. 22! I have a big ole bottle of it, and I adore it. ADORE it. I might be my favorite Chanel after No. 18. Funny, I always think of incense when I wear it, rather than powder, but you are right!
Can’t stand the name. I personally feel that the fetishization of virginity is a vestige of a time when a woman’s sexual status was the most important thing about her. Let me know when they come out with the flanker, “Whore”. I’m sure it’ll smell a lot more interesting, anyway.
Melissa Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Yes! Then we can have “Whore Absolute” and “Whore Extreme”! So much more interesting. And still skin scents!
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
Yeah…..
….and you already know where my silly mind is going re the ‘skin’ in that skin scent.
I’m voting for Pure Whore myself.
xo
Melissa Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
My mind was right there with you!
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
We are just
xo
Marla Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
I loved learning about the ancient Celtic women who would compete (in literal pissing contests) to see who got to bed the handsome stranger visiting the village. Those ladies knew how to party! No cult of virginity there.
Musette Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
Count me in!
xo
mals86 Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Way to bring in some outside genetics, too.
nozknoz Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Ha, ha – I hope they read this in time to change the name of the upcoming oud scent by the new nose, Bertrand Duchaufour. :-)
nozknoz Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
The was a response to Ari’s comment that Pure Virgin deserved to be flanked by Whore, LOL.
I already ragged on this at NST. One more sign of the decline and fall of civilization. Please pass the skank!
Marla Reply:
May 29th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
You mean you want BD to name it “Pissing Contest”, or “Who Beds the Stranger”? hee hee
“Light wind,” I think not.
Having been both a virgin and a born-again virgin, I think it’s highly overrated!
And further on the subject of fatuous notes: I just noticed an Ineke ad in a sidebar that listed the notes for Evening Edged in Gold, one of which was “Midnight Candy”. The mind boggles at the possibilities! lol!
mals86 Reply:
May 28th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Apparently, Midnight Candy is some kinda flower thingy. Night Phlox, or something. (But it sounds wacky, no?)