What am I thankful for this day after Thanksgiving? Fragrance companies that don’t cheap out, wimp out or fake out.
After gritting my teeth and trudging through Ava Luxe, Boudicca and Neil Morris on Wednesday, it’s my pleasure to spend today awash in Frederic Malle and Roja Dove, two high-end lines that take the task of perfume production seriously.
DANS TES BRAS: You know how the Malle Vetiver Extraordinaire was earthy and excellently crafted yet, in the long run, just not distinctive or interesting enough to cause my credit card to spontaneously burn a hole through my wallet? Well, Dans tes Bras is earthy and excellently crafted and if I don’t get my wallet out of my pocket in about two seconds, I’ll need the entire Dallas fire department to hose down the inferno.
I’ve admired the Frederic Malle line for its uncompromising commitment to quality, even though I had yet to experience an “Oh, okay — this belongs on my trophy shelf, like, yesterday” moment while sniffing away at sample vials. Dans tes Bras, however, belongs on my trophy shelf, like, yesterday!
Right from the start, Dans tes Bras leaps from the bottle in a big old schnozzful of roots and spice with a subtle ambered sweetness hovering in the background. What would ordinarily be a soft powdered iris root is butched up with an injection of dry clove spice, camphorlicious patchouli and the high, sharp stab of violet leaves, then smothered in a special sauce of smooth musks and resinous woods that hurts so good you forget to say “Ouch!”
Shake, bake and slam-dunk.
I now know what Simon Cowell must feel like when, at the tail end of a full weekend of torturously deluded performances, in through the door walks some genuine, honest to god talent: “Finally! And thank you!!!”
Perfectly suitable for both men and women — classy on the guys, striking on the gals. The white musk drydown may be soft and subdued, but it’s still hanging in there.
Maurice Roucel is the name you’ll find on the label. He’s also the perfumer behind Gucci Envy, Bond No. 9 New Harlem, Hermes 24 Faubourg, Shalini Shalini, Le Labo Labdanum 18, Lolita Lempicka L and a long list of other accomplishments, not to mention Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur.
ENSLAVED: I hate the name, but the fragrance is terrific –big, bold, dramatic and completely over the top, but in a hedonistic and decadent fashion rather than hyper-fussy or muddled.
With a roster of scent notes that reads like a Who’s Who manual of “Ingredients Guaranteed to Get Up in Your Grille,” Enslaved is a throwback to the glory days of the classic orientals, stuffed with so much awesome awesomeness that you wonder how they could even fit it into a bottle, much less on planet Earth. Bergamot, Orange, Lemon, Geranium, Orange Blossom, Rose, Ylang-ylang, Jasmine, Carnation, Clove, Oakmoss, Cedarwood, Vetiver, Patchouli, Labdanum, Ambergris . . . is there anything this fragrance is missing? Besides subtlety, manners and good breeding, I mean — but who cares about good breeding when you’re having so much fun?
More powdery sweet than Dans tes Bras (likely due to the inclusion of ambergris, plus the laundry list of fruits and blossoms), and ten times stronger as well, Enslaved is the prime accessory for towering heels, updos, slink-a-dink dresses, push-up bras and Happy Hours that lasts all night long.
If I smelled this on a woman, I’d think she was dragging a full luggage rack of bravado behind her. If I smelled this on a man, I’d think he was insane. Or a screeching drag queen. Or both.
Wrap it up: Frederic Malle Dans tes Bras — high class in a clear glass bottle; Roja Dove Enslaved — Vero Profumo Rubj‘s loud, boisterous cousin. No one’s sayin’ that’s a bad thing.
{ 7 comments }
Nathan, I totally concur with you re the wimpiness of so many perfume companies, niche and mainstream. I’m afraid the aesthetic that I tend to prefer is of a bygone era. Ellena, Jo Malone and others of their ilk have left an indelible (yet transparent) mark on modern perfumery. Couple that with the fact that we live in a very clean age, olfactorally speaking (everyone’s noses have become so attuned to odor since there is so little around us that’s unpleasant or even masking anymore), and you get these washed out, simplistic excuses for perfume. I am very much a fan of old school perfumery: beautifully rich, saturated scents that say “here I am!” not “I am afraid to offend you.” I am glad to see that here’s at least one other person out there who shares my perfumed worldview!
Say what you will about Malle, but I find all of the line very daring, even if there’s only one I like enough to own. (Iris Poudre. Big surprise, huh?) I feel like no expense is spared with that line. And one day, I WILL get to the Dove boutique. I will…I will…I think I will…
Anyway, I’m intrigued that you describe–and so many other people describe–the Dove scent as “powdery-sweet.” To me, powdery and sweet are two different scents that can and do converge sometimes, but not always. (For instance, Mecheri’s Loukhoum–powdery sweet; Royal Secret II or Bois de Paradis–powdery and not at all sweet.) Is the Dove truly sweet?
Laura — Roja Dove Enslaved is sweet in the way that genuine ambergris mixed with labdanum is sweet, which means, yes and no.
There’s an animal secretion/wood resin undertone to the sweetness that keeps it from being overpoweringly so, if that makes sense. Yet the powder still hangs lightly in the air, accompanied by a vaguely sugared note that smells raw and unprocessed. The florals are also big, but leaning dark, as in true Jasmine from Grasse dark. When I was testing it, I actually did think of you and figured this would be something you would definitely enjoy.
Enslaved is less overtly feminine than Solange Stoned — I mean, it’s less traditionally “pretty” than Stoned. Enslaved is extremely feminine, but it’s got a whompin’ kick of earth and animal that gives it some teeth. It most certainly qualifies as one of your “beautifully rich, saturated scents that say, ‘Here I am!’”
High five! I am so glad to hear you loved Dans Tes Bras as much as I did. This scent just blew me away – I had Barneys on the phone to order a 100ml bottle as soon as I got through my first official day of testing it. It is utterly fantastic. Another home-run for Maurice Roucel, my hero.
The Enslaved sounds great too, I hope to make it back to London some day so I can visit the boutique again. I was supposed to go last year, but fate intervened and I never made it.
I do have to admit that it’s so nice to spray on a sample and not have to sit there for hours thinking, “Do I like this? Will it ever get any better than it is now? Is there anything positive I can say about it? Anything at all?”
Dans tes Bras was a perfect yes from the first second. Beautifully done from top to bottom and front to back.
And let me know when you’re gearing up for your maybe, hopefully, sometime in the future Harrod’s excursion — I have a list . . .
I have a list too – I am dying to smell Le Labo Poivre 23. I think I’m going to order a sample of that one and the Vanille 44 tomorrow.
As for your comments about spraying things and having to wrack your brain to analyze whether you like it or not or if it has any redeeming qualities, I totally agree.
I love it when I spray something on and get a deep and immediate “yes” feeling in my heart. Doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s magic.
I’m crossing my fingers and hoping really hard that you’ll tell me Indult’s new Reve En Cuir fits within the “magic” category.
Just waiting for it to sail in… site says early December. I am tapping my foot impatiently.