Pretty Smoky, Classic, Dirty

It’s definitely warming up, although not hot, and we’re very close to the date it’s considered safe to leave tender plants outside, although I always keep an eye on the weather, so changeable here. Last night it poured for about twenty minutes, despite rain not being in the forecast at all. It’s been weeks since it rained, so everything looked sparkly and lovely this morning.

“Pretty” is a word I used dismissively a few years ago if describing a fragrance. The word “merely” was sort of implied, a merely pretty fragrance, as opposed to delightfully strange or heartbreaking or ground-breaking or brain-melting. You know what? There’s a range of what “pretty” can be in any well-curated fragrance wardrobe, as I was reminded recently.

CB I Hate Perfumes’ 7 Billion Hearts — I don’t see this on the CB website any more. How do I not own a bottle of this? Well, Carolyn does, and it’s in our perfume closet now, so I get to play with it. It’s vanilla and smoke, the bottle’s at least a few years old, and if anything it’s gotten richer. It’s just so pretty, a smoky vanilla without a bunch of decorative flourishes.

Serge Lutens La Dompteuse Encagée– after reading Cinnamon’s review I got busy and scared up a decant. Notes are allegedly frangipani, ylang-ylang, almond, to the extent that any of that is discernible from either sniffing or reading about it. It is indeed very, very pretty, without being … insipid?  It’s not one of the oddities, it doesn’t open with a huge blast of cumin or camphor, and it’s not syrupy like others of my favorites from the line. My experience was quite similar to Cinnamon’s – other than a brief vegetal/camphor note at the beginning (don’t let that scare you) there’s not a ton of development on me. It is the best possible fruity floral, the fruits being maybe in the citrus vein (lemon? Yuzu?) and that … almost-waxiness you get from breathing in heady white flowers in real life. It’s a little more musky toward the end, and longevity is excellent. This, to me, smells like the ideal first taste of a ”classic” (and probably very expensive) fragrance in some lovely atelier, when the clouds part and you realize what all the fuss is about perfume. I … may need a bottle.

Surrender to Chance Surrender – I threw a sample of this in my cart with a recent order. From their website: “…created by La Via del Profumo/Dominique Dubrana of AbdesSalaam Attar, Surrender is a rich jasmine floral that blends different jasmine absolutes with licorice, carrot, myrrh, gourmand notes and hyraceum (the crystallized and petrified form of Hyrax urine.). A plush, slightly naughty perfume…”. Oh, man. So, the jasmine is lovely, and how much you enjoy this is likely going to depend on your tolerance for “naughty” – … isn’t there some French phrase (I believe it’s a compliment) about unwashed panties, or maybe dirty gussets? Yeah. But it’s underpinning that gorgeous hit of jasmine; the dirty bits veer more barnyard the more I wear it, and I get a smoky, leathery note in the drydown. Huh. If Bal a Versailles launched a flanker, it might smell like this. I think it’s pretty fabulous, although I’d give some thought to any plans for the next few hours, because I wouldn’t describe this as office-friendly.

What fragrances are pretty to you?

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