A thread on the POL forum got me thinking that perhaps it would be a good idea for me to move outside the usual fragrance comfort zone of sweet woodsy, grassy woodsy, smoky woodsy, woodsy woodsy . . . you get my drift.
Not that there’s anything wrong with woodsy, but if a miniature alien were to crash land its spaceship into my perfume cupboard, it might be forgiven for assuming that I have some kind of outlandish tree fetish: “Hello control! Come in, control! I miscalculated the atmospheric entry and ended up ploughing the ship into a glass forest filled with stinky tree goo. I’m nearly drowning in a sea of it and all the ship’s instruments are short-circuiting!”
So today I dusted off my poor neglected bottle of Cartier Déclaration, which I’ve worn only once before. I purchased it because of the terrific review Luca Turin wrote in The Guide, but it didn’t hit me right the first time around, and I never came back to it again. But there’s always room for second chances (the BF gave me way more than my fair share of second chances, and I make certain thrice weekly to pray to the cold, dark, impersonal void in gratitude), and much to my surprise, I discovered that I really like Déclaration.
I like it, like, a lot!
If I didn’t know that Déclaration was released in 1998, I’d say it was a lighter, fresher copy of the just recently released Ormonde Jayne Zizan — they both have a sweet, crisp citrus note that carries throughout the entire life of the fragrance, and both of them incorporate earthy elements in the base to act as counterweights to the bright oils fizzing and zipping about on the surface.
Yet where Linda Pilkington’s style is about drama and longevity, Jean Claude Ellena is the undisputed master of the light (if not minimalist) touch, and he’s the nose behind Cartier Déclaration, creating a fragrance that’s fresh, airy and pleasantly clean, even though it incorporates notes of cumin, cardamom, cedar, birchwood, vetiver and oakmoss revving underneath its oxygenated hood.
Victoria at Bois de Jasmin describes Déclaration as “elegant simplicity” — a sparkling citrus made smoky and dusky with a large dollop of Iso-E Super, a perfumery material that Ellena has nearly made his personal signature. The resulting work is supremely balanced between light and shadow, and effortless to wear.
I can see it working just as well for both men and women, though the citrus and spice tango lends it an almost retro male-cologne vibe.
I almost gave my bottle of Déclaration away a couple of months ago, thinking that I didn’t like it. Thank god I managed to quash that impulse. There are two flankers that Mr. Ellena created as spin-offs of Declaration: Déclaration Essence and Déclaration Bois Bleu, so I obviously have more Déclarations in my future.
Photos of the Cartier Déclaration bottle below (the heart shaped shouldering is a nice touch):
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“…sweet woodsy, grassy woodsy, smoky woodsy, woodsy woodsy . . . you get my drift.”
Drift wood?
Speaking of wood, if you didn’t have such a classy, decidedly older-than-twelve blog, there were a bunch of inappropriate comments I could’ve made. For now, I’m going to get kinda serious and perfume-oriented (which I’m hoping will redeem my eternal twelvehood):
Do you think — with this or any fragrance, really… we’re getting philosophical here — a second-chance winner is more a matter of change in taste, change in chemistry, change in focus, change in sophistication…?
Juno and I have wiled away many happy chat hours pondering this question and I’m interested in your take.
Your self-editing skills are a wonder to behold.
And re: second chance winners — yes, yes, yes and yes (to all four of your points). The Cartier benefited greatly from the piles of samples that preceded take two, as well as the realization that I might be narrowing the focus a bit too much.
Myopia isn’t generally considered a flattering character trait.
I’m also a fan of Declaration – though only the original, the flankers are superfluous and inferior in my opinion – but I’m not so sure it’s a departure from the woodsy theme, if that’s what you were looking for.
My collection’s always been a bit “wood heavy” too, but I find when I get a craving for citrus, perfumes like Declaration, Hermès Concentree d’Orange Verte and the Fraîcheur Cuir version of Dior’s Eau Sauvage can take me there without straying too far from the comfort of the lumberyard.
Anyway, I recently read your not-so-glowing review of Timbuktu. Given your change of heart with Declaration, I wonder if you’d find Timbuktu more appealing now?
You know, since you mention it, Timbuktu is probably well worth revisiting. I remember it being a lot softer and lighter than I had anticipated, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I know that a lot of people love it, and Bertrand Duchaufour is considered one of the better perfumers working today (though I gave the bottle I had to my sister and she loves it, and she and I tend not to wear the same fragrances).
But darn it all — I knew it was a bad idea to start skipping so casually down the rethinking path. Next think you know, I’m going to have to retest Yatagan, Musc Kublai Khan, Tuberose Criminelle, Lonestar Memories . . . agh! It’ll never end!
I put my foot down with Nasomatto Duro, however. Nothing will make me go near that foul brew again.