Due to the charms of the owner of the Perfume House, for a while it seemed every perfume lover in Portland had a bottle of Caron Parfum Sacré on her dresser. In the 1990s, if you were lucky enough to be at the store when the owner was there, he might pull you into a tiny side room and ask you to sit on one of the two ice cream parlor-style chairs against the wall. Then, he would present Parfum Sacré, "the greatest memory perfume" and "one of the top 10 fragrances in the world".
When I heard the story more than a decade ago, I remember the owner, grey suited and speaking with a Europe-tinged accent, gesticulating fervently. Backed by a glass cabinet full of Annick Goutal bottles, he talked about Parfum Sacré's launch in Portland. At the end of the story he said, "I told them, 'Wait'," here he touched his wristwatch, "In 37 minutes—" (or was it 67 or maybe an hour and 47?) "—they will be back. Thirty-seven minutes later so many of them came back to buy the fragrance the police had to close the streets!"
Did the Portland police really turn out to control traffic snarls caused by manic perfume buyers? Who cares? I love a good story told with passion. Plus, Parfum Sacré is a gorgeous scent. I bought a quarter ounce of extrait on the spot.
Perfumer Jean-Pierre Béthouart created Parfum Sacré for Caron, and it was released in 1990. Its religious imagery and rich oriental feel leads me to suspect Parfum Sacré was intended to ride the trend started with Yves Saint Laurent Opium and continued just months before Parfum Sacré's release by Guerlain Samsara. Caron's website lists Parfum Sacré's notes as rose absolute, musk, myrrh, pepper, and cinnamon.
Parfum Sacré Eau de Parfum opens diffusive and lemon-peppery. The lemon vanishes quickly, but the black pepper endures as dark rose and chocolaty wood take over. Although rose holds the throne at the center of Parfum Sacré, I wouldn't call it a rose scent. I dabbed on some Frédéric Malle Une Rose, the darkest rose I have handy, and Parfum Sacré's rose is drier and blacker and heaped with myrrh and spice to the point that it's almost obscured. Underlying its spicy floral heart is vanilla and musk. Parfum Sacré has a touch of incense, but it doesn't smell like a blockbuster Amouage. Instead, its French side shows with a hint of powder.
Parfum Sacré isn't a difficult scent — it doesn't take years of sniffing perfume to appreciate. Yet it doesn't smell like anything else I know. On February days when warmth and romance wear thin, Parfum Sacré is an easy answer. (I bought my Eau de Parfum online about four years ago. I'm not sure if or how it has changed since then.)
Parfum Sacré extrait is a far step above the Eau de Parfum. The extrait tones down the Eau de Parfum's vanilla, ramps up its complexity and longevity, and finishes with a persistent, sultry musk. If Parfum Sacré Eau de Parfum is a thick blanket of spicy, woody, peppery rose, the extrait details the fascinating pattern woven by these notes. It lasts through a bath and a night's sleep, leaving narcotic musk as its goodbye. If the extrait were still in production, I wouldn't bother with the Eau de Parfum.
This year, Caron released Parfum Sacré Intense. I only have a few drops of the extrait left and hoped the Intense could replace it. Testing the Intense next to the extrait gives a quick answer: Sorry Charlie. Parfum Sacré Intense is more aldehydic and slightly greener than the extrait and seems to use only half of the extrait's olfactory vocabulary. While the Intense is recognizably Parfum Sacré, it feels simpler, smoother, thinner, and oilier than the extrait. It has less pepper, too. Instead of a sexy musk, I get flat vanilla and wood in the Intense version's dry down. Plus, it doesn't last much longer than the Eau de Parfum.
In recent years, the Perfume House's owner has applied his tantalizing storytelling skills to other scents, leading to fragrant waves of Amouage Gold, Rancé Joséphine, and, most recently, Caron Montaigne washing over dinner parties in the ritzy West Hills. For me, though, it's all about Parfum Sacré.
Sadly, Parfum Sacré extrait is no longer made. The Eau de Parfum and Parfum Sacré Intense are in production, and rumor has it Caron has added a Parfum Sacré spray oil for hair to its line. For information on where to buy Caron Parfum Sacré, see Caron under Perfume Houses.
Such a lovely review. I have got to get myself a bottle of this. I’ve almost bought a bottle a few times in the past, but just haven’t for whatever reason. I feel like I need to rectify that. And here I was saying I wasn’t going to buy anything else for a while.
Have you tried it yet? Not that the height of summer is the best time to wear this one…
Not the best time? Whatchu talkin’ about, Willis??
Kidding. Even I put my PS away for the summer.
After wearing all these different formulations on and off over the past week, I speak from experience!
Really?? Et tu??? It doesn’t seem that bad to me. Then again, it’s rarely above 72 degrees here lately (grumblegrumble)…
We had a string of cold, cloudy mornings, then–POOF!–that disappeared and it’s been mighty warm.
Angela, thanks for the review! I have the feeling that I might like Parfum Sacre, especially as it was recommended to me on the Monday Mail. However, I can’t do too sweet and opulent scents – how does it compare to Paestum Rose, my HG when it comes to rose, myrrhe and spices?
Paestum Rose is thicker and woodier than Parfum Sacre – that’s the best way for me to describe it. I find PS has a structure more similar to Magie Noir than PR. Perhaps that is too vague, lol. I hope it helps. I can tell you that PS is not in the very least sweet – it is more dry than anything. The rose accord is “sweet” like the rose accord in Lyric for Women is sweet – soft, pillowy, but rich.
But not that it’s a match for Lyric! Lyric has lots more incense to me, and is a little wetter.
Oh, yes! Lyric is a completely different fragrance. I was just referring specifically to the rose parts. Lyric has that light sweet rose, but it is indeed a more “wet” fragrance. Certainly not as dry as Parfum Sacre. I find that PR wanders a bit over to unisex/masculine territory – the warm and cuddly kind. I’d not say that Lyric or Parfum Sacre are cuddly. PR also reminds me a bunch of FM’s Noir Epices or Rosine d’Homme as they are both so wonderfully thick in that “rich” sense… For some reason, I find woody roses to be hard to compare – they are all so different, even though they are the same too!
It’s so true–woody roses are definitely diverse! Besides the roses you mentioned, I thought of Cabaret, too. Yet another woody rose with a different personality.
I feel like Parfum Sacre is dry and peppery. I wouldn’t consider it sweet at all. I don’t really care for roses, but it’s not an overtly rose-y scent. I think of it as sort of that musty, dry, woodsy scent you get when you dry out a bouquet of roses. The sticky sweetness is gone– sort of like the obnoxiousness of youth has left the bloom, and now it’s more refined and elegant.
That’s a great description. It’s not a wet rose at all.
You have lots of views here to help you decide! Of course, nothing beats testing them side by side.
I find Parfum Sacré definitely opulent, and to me it is a little sweet from its vanilla, especially in the last third of its wearing. But it’s not a candy or fruity sweet, but a creamy sweet with a pinch of powder–but not much!
They do have similar notes – but I fell (HARD) for Parfum Sacre edp first and had many months of wearing it before trying Paestum Rose. I thought Paestum Rose, while very nice, was a bit pale compared to PS, and I found myself wishing that PR had either more rose or more incense. For some reason, it felt very lukewarm to me, neither hot nor cold, and I didn’t perceive a magic nexus in it between rose and incense, the way I perceive it in Lyric.
Not that I’m trying to talk you out of loving Paestum Rose. I’m just saying that the preference you’ve already developed for PR might keep you from appreciating Parfum Sacre. It’s worth trying, though.
FWIW, I’m *in love* with Paestum Rose. It is a crisp, clear rose over light incense when what I want is transparent not dense. There is a note in Lyric that does not work on my skin and so I stick with the roses that speak to me. And for that matter, to my nose Lyric is too dense to be interchangeable with PR. Now URC…. Now I’ve never tried PS, but it sounds very different from the PR I know and love… 🙂
You remind me how many rose/incense scents there are! It sounds like you’ve done a thorough exploration and have found your favorites.
Angie, you’re the one that got me hooked on this in the first place. I honestly don’t think I would have given it a chance if I had only sniffed it on paper. The EdP of yours that I tried seemed a lot different than the new bottle that I bought, so I’m thinking that there has been some tinkering with the formula. It took me a while to appreciate it, as it does seem a little less… full. I don’t have the extrait to compare anything to, but the Intense did come closer to the depth that I had initially expected from PS. I’ve actually tried to keep myself from going to the Perfume House and buying it. (Because we all know that’s not the only thing I would come home with…)
The extrait is like the EdP heard in stereo with really good speakers, especially the woofers. It’s great. I’m sorry to hear the newer EdP isn’t holding up as well!
I have heard that it’s been reformulated, though I don’t know for sure.
Lovely review, Angela. Parfum Sacre was one of the first not-so-mainstream perfumes that I tried. I was still fairly new and drawn to anything that mentioned rose 🙂 I’ve since realised that I’m not much of a rose perfume type of person but I think that for anyone who is, this is a must try alongside Nahema, Joy parfum, Une Rose, Ta’if, etc.
And, speaking of Ta’if, I think that one is the closest to Parfum Sacre, another peppery rose.
You name my favorite rose perfumes!
I think they are all fabulous too, even if not something I’d own whole bottles of. I did have a bottle of Joy parfum but I mostly got jasmine (the poopy type) from it and in the end I had to let it go because it simply wasn’t getting enough love. I hope the new owner is treating it better 🙂
The closest I have to a rose perfume is Lyric but to me it’s very abstract and so much more than just a rose scent.
You were so good to give up Joy parfum so it can get more love elsewhere! I hope you’re right, and someone is loving it.
I’m a big fan of Lyric, too, not as a rose scent, but simply as a terrific fragrance.
PS and Ta’if reminded me a lot of each other until I wore one on one wrist and one on the other.
Wanna take a WILD STAB at which one I just enjoyed and which one had me in a swoon?
I know a rhetorical question when I hear one!
😀
Angela : thanks for the thorough review and interesting story from the Perfume House! I can imagine Hawthorne getting clogged up with PS fans waiting to buy some – it’s a cute picture in my head now. I have some of the PS edt which I do enjoy, but I agree that the rose is so wrapped in spices and woods that it is almost hidden – but it does give some amazing structure. I was fortunate to smell the Intense version when I was at the Perfume House in May this year. I found it to be very stunning – the rose is so prominent, yet soft and shimmering. It reminds me a lot of the rose in Lyric for Women. And it lasted many hours on me. I’ve not had the chance to ever smell PS extrait, so I will take your word it is more beautiful. I did buy a bottle of the Intense version and I am really looking forward to wearing it a lot this fall and winter. At the very least it will remind me now A LOT of Portland!!!
It’s so great to have a scent that is linked in your mind with a place! Portland could sure do a lot worse than be linked with Parfum Sacré.
I love Portland, so I am happy to actually have three fragrances that remind me of it. 1 – Mariella Burani which I bought on a big splurge at Nordies when I was just a mere secretary. It always reminds me of the gorgeous PDX summertime and the debut of the Mercury rag. 2. AT’s Maroc pour Elle, because my husband who is a native Portlander says it reminds him of of the long gone Ozone record shop on Burnside, so that makes me happy, and 3. Parfum Sacre intense which reminds me of my first visit to the Perfume House, how much I love dreary wet Portland, and my first in-person visit with another frag hag: Miss Kitty.
I remember Ozone! Maroc pour Elle is a great fragrance to link to it.
Miss Kitty is a good person to be reminded of, too!
Ann! I have been getting out that little sample of PS Intense and looking at it and thinking, Good Lord, not in this heat! But I should. I must, really. Thanks again… (and look for an email from me, too).
Well, since you are a PS fan, I can’t wait to hear what you have to say! I found the edt that I have, which is most likely the current and not as rich version, a bit thin. No surprise – it’s all pepper and that sheer weird dry woody base that reminds me of whiskey for some reason. I found the intense to push the rose, so I really like it!
A- You are right about Parfum Sacre being easy to love. I have only tried the EdP but now I will have to try and track down a sniff of the discontinued extrait. Wish me luck!
Good luck! If I had more than 5 drops (and I’m not exaggerating) I would send you some myself.
You are sweet! Enjoy every drop my dear. You know, someone sent me a drop of the extrait in a swap I THINK- a few months back. I will hunt (and surely at least come up with a dozen things I have been meaning to sniff if not this).
HV: Your sample pile (more like “bins”) sounds as if it resembles mine. It’s a travesty, really. 😉
The only part of Parfum Sacre that’s “dark” on my skin is the peppery opening, which is rather short lived for me. Everything else is a beautifully smooth rose/vanilla combo with a bit of powder. Hardly any spices or woods here. Weird, huh? I had the older version of the EDP. I’ve never tried the old EDT version, but there are quite a few bottles of it floating around on eBay along with the new EDP in the taller bottles.
No dark, spicy wood? I get the smoothness–especially in the Intense version it smells really smooth to me, like a piece of polished driftwood.
Rodelinda – I know what you mean! I always thought my sniffer was off, but now that you mention it – there is something I get in the current edt version I have that really reminds me of the rose/vanilla of Tocade, which a generous dose of pepper up top. It never got as dark as I imagined. I still like it, but I never understood it’s dark and wonderful woody qualities – I just never smelled them. I should try and get my hands on some older PS or some extrait.
The extrait is truly heavenly, if you ever stumble upon it.
Just so you know, the good stuff (pre-reformulation) in edt is in the gold box and edp in the black box. Both are wonderful!
If you buy it in the white box, the newer formulation, it will not smell much like Angela’s description at all. It is not that great (imho).
Ahhh! Thanks for clearing that up!
Right now on ebay, you can find both the vintage EDT and EDP at totally reasonable prices. I bought one of the bottles of EDP (black box, with round bottle), and it was exactly as advertised.
I’m not reading this, I’m not reading this, I’m not reading this… (Hands over eyes.)
LOL! Thinking the exact same thing!
Another good tip!
Thanks for adding that! The original PS had a different bottle, too, than the tall, polka-dotted Caron bottle that it came in for several years (which is not, as far as I can tell, the bottle in the picture above on the right side.)
I have the EdP in what I assume is the reformulation, a tall bottle with raised dots on it and a purplish label. I like it, it’s a nice, candied, vanillic and powdery rose with some (faint) spices and a tinge of incense, but it’s not earth-shattering. I am afraid to hunt down the older version, that road only seems to lead to heartbreak.
Yeah, I’ve been down that road, that’s for sure. It seems like if you really want to go on a hunt, go for the extrait.
Thanks for the great review Angela. I had a bottle of the EDP a couple of years ago, bought at a discount when I still made impulse buys un-sniffed. Unfortunately, all I got from it was the black pepper. In the end, I gave my bottle to a friend who loved it. Too bad about the extrait, I would have liked to try that. Perhaps I should give the Intense a whirl? I’m getting a little jaded these days about perfume. Every time I look forward to trying a fragrance, new or old, I end up disliking it. It happened with Escale de Pondichery, with Orange Star, and recently with Acqua Di Gioia (fruit cocktail syrup on a dryer sheet). I guess they can’t all be meant for me!
The extrait is pretty peppery, too, so you might not have liked that.
I was disappointed by Escale a Pondicherry, too, and found Orange Star terrific, but not for me. I’ve still been able to drop a load of cash, though, on Amaranthine and Nuits de Tubereuse. I’m sure there’s some bottle of something out there calling your name…
I didn’t like Escale a Pondichery either and gave it to my brother who was happy to take it off my hands.
Angela how timely that you review one of my favorites of the summer. PS in a way reminds me of Amouage Lyric but only a tad and I have to admit I love PS more.
I sometimes put so much PS on before bed , I almost OD on it but it never makes me feel ill or is cloying. That’s the magic of it.
I adore the dusty, spicy scent. The roses are really just whispering it’s presence here, they are the soft , creamy bed that holds up the rest of the notes. Our Wa. summer took so long to amp up, I was spraying this left and right. Now that it’s finally getting warmer I still have to try this beauty in the fall. I agree with Dea all the way.
I have tried the newer formulation of this and it was soapy, scratchy and turned me off it completely.
It wasn’t until sweet Dea sent me a vintage sample of the edt that I smelled the loveliness of it.
I now own pre -mutated versions of edt and edp and I love them.
Opening my gold box with the splash bottle was the moment I felt like a bona fide perfumista and everyone here remembers that special moment that a perfume did that .
I’m happy Parfum Sacre was the one.
I, too, love to wear Parfum Sacre to bed. It is beautiful, calming, and comforting all at the same time.
I can definitely imagine it as a good bedtime scent.
I wear it to bed in cool weather as well!
Sounds like true love! It will be wonderful to wear again when the weather cools a little.
How lucky for you to prefer the bargain one! Unfortunately, the pepper I get from my PS sample is that of green bell pepper… *Sigh*
Green bell pepper can be a charming note as a supporting player, but it would be hard to take in Parfum Sacré I’d guess.
Lovely review, Angela. Sounds wonderful.
It’s worth trying, in my opinion.
This really does sound pretty and I’ll have to try it at some point. Add it to the list! The only Carons I’m familiar with are Bellodgia and Nuit de Noel – and it’s been forever and a day since I’ve smelled those classics, but I have fond, though vague scent memories of them.
Caron is a great line to get to know, although the Perfume Guide gave a big thumbs down to the reformulations. I like Tabac Blond, Sacre, and Farnesiana the best, probably.
I really like Montaigne and I am sure I only have the current version. It has this strange deep floral, bitter, sexy sandalwood thing going on. It is hard to explain – I don’t wear it often, but there are times when only Montainge will do! And I have some of the current Nocturnes – and this is gonna sound really strange – but upon recently wearing some Chanel Bel Respiro I thought: why do I smell like Nocturnes? There is a weird similarity between the two of them, esp. after the opening of Bel Respiro when it runs through the orange blossom accord for a long time. Someone out there can do a comparison: try it sometime, it is really astonishing. So I say: save your money on Bel Respiro and just buy some Nocturnes, lol. Well, BR does have a stunning opening. Nocturnes smells to me like Florida – clean, green floral orange blossom.
I am one of the few people who really does like Nocturnes, so I’ll try the Bel Respiro comparison soon!
I picked up a bottle of vintage Bellodgia – probably 60’s or very early 70’s for 50 cents! The top notes are off, but it’s still beautiful!
You are such an enabler, Angela! Thank you for a lovely review that as always sends me off to sniff/ buy something new! This has been on my to- try list for a while but now climbs to the top. I am so much of a ‘fall’ scent person that this sounds just gorgeous!
I think it’s definitely worth trying. Let me know what you think when you do!
Parfum Sacre was one of the first full bottles I bought after my interest in perfume developed. I bought a big bottle of edp (in that honkin’ ugly standard purple Caron polka-dot packaging) from an online discounter and paid about $45 for it. And then I heard that it had been reformulated… so I went trolling ebay, and snagged two small bottles of clearly pre-reformation edp (black box). I must have hit the discounter jackpot, because my purple-box stuff smells exactly the same as my black-box stuff, and they all smell the same as the original sample.
I LOVE it. I think it’s a real morpher, from lemon-pepper to that dry rose+incense and into that very creamy soft woody base. Somehow it manages to be both comfortable and very, very sexy, and although I think it’s dry enough that a man could wear it, I feel like the epitome of womanhood when I wear it.
I managed to get in on a split of the extrait some months ago, and that too is gorgeous. You’re right, it’s more peppery and woody, with perhaps less rose; it’s richly plush and detailed like a very fine oriental carpet. AnnS sent me a sample of the Intense recently, but I haven’t tried it in this weather. Maybe I’ll crank up the AC this evening (we usually keep the house at 78F) and have a go, though.
Isn’t that extrait gorgeous? I love its musk, the way it sneaks out in the end.
Do let me know what you think of the Intense compared to the others if you get the chance to try them together!
Will report on the Intense… and meant to ask, what is UP with the pebbly purple bottle? I’ve complained ad nauseam about the Caron polka-dots, but that purple thing is even worse, from the photo. At least the polka-dot bottles have a satisfying weight and shape in the hand.
Whining. Sorry.
Ugh, C, the weird purple flacon they sell with PS Intense gift set isn’t any better in person. It looks like a Xmas ornament you can buy at the dollar store (and I buy decorations at the dollar store!). The “regular” bottle I have is just this dark purple/maroon color cylinder with a crystal charm around the neck. Good enough – plain and easy to store.
I haven’t seen these in person. I have to say, Caron seems to have a split personality, marketing-wise. Their fragrances say one thing, the bottles another, and the website something else again.
My first fb Caron purchase was Narcisse Noir extrait, and I have to confess I was in awe of how gorgeous the little bottle looked in the case. It just looks old-fashioned and suits the perfume so well… I’m thinking I ordered the newer formulation of PS, and oddball that I am I love the sharpness. I got a decant of the older formulation and it is pretty, but I do like the current version… At least until it’s reformulated again, which it surely will be.
I love Narcisse Noir extrait! I agree–the bottle is well suited to the old-fashioned, dark glamour of the fragrance.
It’s so nice to find you like the reformulation rather than pine over something discontinued.
Hi Angie!
I am now wearing PS extrait, older EdP, and Intense…and it’s all your fault ; ) There is a bit of sneezing action here…
My favorite, rarely worn because I also have so little is the extrait. It is by far the pepper-iest at the outset, and the quietist on the drydown. The rose is a bit sweeter than it’s mate’s and it’s all around “rounder” as I’d expect in extrait. Gorgeous.
The edp stays spicy and sharp on me, with big sillage and only a dab of vanilla, and lovely dry wood. The Intense also makes me happy-it’s rosier, medium sillage, and a bit more vanilla.
The extrait is the winner, but I think the edp and Intense are well made and lovely. And yes, I love PS in the heat!
You’re a champ for doing the comparison and writing in to tell about it! You’re also brave to be wearing it in the heat. As much as I love it, it soured a little on my skin when I had it on outside. Some people (like you!) are so good at pulling off blockbuster scents during the summer. Me, not so much.
Hi! I enjoyed your review. Coincidentally, I tried Parfum Sacre (EdT) for the first time just a few nights ago. It’s beautiful, if a little heavy on the vanilla for me, and I can only imagine the extrait! I’m a big fan of pepper with roses (Rose Poivree, Ta’if) and with carnations (Poivre is a real favorite of mine).
I meant EdP!
The extrait is extra peppery and better articulated, I think, compared to the EdP. If you like rose and pepper, you should definitely try it (if you stumble upon it, that is.)
Wowza, Angela! Great review, and great stories.
Once again, I’m dumbstruck to learn that this perfume is much younger than I’d assumed it was… just barely out of teenage years!
I can’t believe PS extrait is no longer in production! Why are such heinous perfume crimes perpetrated upon us??! This makes the precious few milliliters of it that I own that much more precious — and I can tell you I can’t wait to get home this evening to dab a bit on. I was only introduced to PS edp within the last nine months or so, and had the opportunity to get a bit of the extrait soon after (I’m wishing I’d nabbed more). Really, it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to read everyone’s comments; I know it has a lot of other fans.
Sometime you’ll have to come to Portland and sit a spell with the owner of the Perfume House, if you can. It’s a real treat. In the meantime, enjoy that extrait! I love it best about 12 hours after it’s first applied.
Twelve hours???!!!!! Angela, my dear, I’d have to saturate my skin with Carnal Flower in order to even be able to huff a slight floral vibe after twelve hours!
I put on a couple dabs of PS two hours ago and it’s pretty darned subtle at this point.
Too bad! As long as you get that great musk, I guess.
Oh Angela, I’m mourning the loss of Parfum Sacre extrait even more. *sobs* I fell in love with PS when I first tried it thanks to a swap earlier this summer. It was instant, intense head over heels love at first dab. I’ve been able to try the older EdP and newer, and oddly enough like the newer version more. It seems to have more of a peppery opening and feels a little more spicy and less floral. I’ve got a bottle of the newer EdP en route and was so excited to read your review of the Intense.
While I wouldn’t pass up the chance to smell the Intense, it sounds like I’ve thankfully been spared from another lemming within a lemming, which is always good for the bank account. 🙂
I loved your story about the gentleman from the Perfume House. It is such a far cry from the usually bored SAs I’ve encountered. Though I do have my one go-to SA here who not only shares my passion for perfume, but loves to hear my suggestions on what new frags I’ve discovered (not that our tiny Macy’s will ever stock them), calls me for a heads’ up whenever there’s something coming along she thinks I’d like and is amazing when it comes to making up samples and adding extras. She and I both wish I were able to go work with her as I think we’d have a deliriously fragrant and fun time at it. But until then, she gets all my department store frag business as her love for her job is infectious. Not that I need much prodding… 🙂
I know the Intense has its fans, but if you really like the sharpness of the pepper, you might prefer the EdP or extrait.
You’re so lucky to have such a passionate SA! That’s terrific. It sounds like he’s a real perfume buddy, too.
A lovely review! Thank you! 🙂 I have yet to try this one. I love the bottle shown in the ad (the woman is a little iffy with her tribal makeup).
It’s worth trying!
Angela ,thanks for your review, Parfum Sacre is one of my all time favorites, I have the edp in the round bottle/black box. Now I will have to try Ta’if, when the money is available. Also loved your story about the Perfume House, I live in Vancouver and am still dreaming about going to see it. I don’t dare go in fear of finding too many perfumes that I love.
Oh, you’ll have to come down sometime! I understand the heartache of not being able to buy everything you love, but it’s so nice to try something and really enjoy it.
Out of curiosity, has anyone spotted similarities between Parfum Sacre and Noir Epices? If you overlook the candied orange and clove, Noir Epices smells very close to Parfum Sacre. Anyone?
Hi Trebor – yes, I do sense a similarity. Although I think that NE is a bit “thicker” in structure and it has a patchouli base. But Parfum Sacre has that rich middle part that gets all warm and wonderful, much like NE. I think along these lines, Parfum Sacre is closer to Magie Noir. Have you ever smelled that? All these woody roses have close similarities and differences. It is a fun genre. Above there is conversation about the simiarlity/differences with Paestum Rose too.
It’s been a long time since I’ve smelled Noir Epices, but I remember it as cooler and wetter than Parfum Sacré. I’ll have to try them side by side soon.