Today we're helping Carolyn, who wants to find a new perfume — she says she keeps thinking there's some vintage gem out there that she hasn't discovered that will evoke an eccentric woman covered in glittering jewels, sitting by the ocean, in the sun. Carolyn just bought Jour d'Hermès and wishes she could find her dark, mysterious, bad-ass sister. She can pay up to $300 if she's sufficiently obsessed, and she has excellent access to perfume stores. Here is what we know about Carolyn:
She's in her mid 40s, is Cuban-Dutch-Lebanese and lives in Miami.
She is semi-retired and manages a high-end consignment boutique.
She says she has tan skin, blue eyes and a lion's mane. She describes her style as St. Tropez rich hippie meets Tom Ford 70s Disco vixen meets nerd.
Carolyn loves Hermès 24 Faubourg, Narciso Rodriguez for Her, Guerlain Mitsouko, Eau de Sisley, Nikki de St. Phalle and pure patchouli oils (the dirtier and more hippie B.O.-smelling the better) to mix. She likes odd, dark scents with some sparkle and brilliance, preferably exotic and elegant to boot. She likes notes of incense, leather, oakmoss, bergamot, patchouli, violet, gardenia.
Carolyn doesn't like anything sweet, too gourmand, too vanilla, too citrus, too "eau", too shopping mall. She loves Tom Ford's perfumes but finds that the sillage and longevity are non-existent.
What say you?
Note: top image is Number 24 [cropped] by thristian at flickr; some rights reserved.
Since you love 24 Faubourg and Narciso Rodriguez for Her you must like orange blossom — please try By Kilian Sweet Redemption (OB+ vanilla but not too sweet) and Seville a l’Aube (OB + lavender and incense). Or maybe Jour Ensolleile from Sonoma Scent Studio for a white floral chypre with a lovely woody base.
For gardenia, try Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia. And if you like tuberose, Carnal Flower.
Estee Lauders Private Collection – a tuberose gardenia, is not “odd” nor dark, but does include one note you like and would be appropriate for a woman wearing glittering jewels under the ocean sun.
Ormonde Jayne woman is an odd dark scent which is luxurious, and within your price range. However, it would make sense to invest in the “sampler set” from this fine line, since you might like the sparkle of Ta’ff or Tolu as well.
Maybe SL Fleurs d’Oranger? Maybe not as dark or mysterious as you’d like, but I do think you’d enjoy it if you don’t mind some cumin.
Bond Chinatown for the patchouli plus gardenia and tuberose.
Odd, dark and gardenia? Une Voix Noire by Serge Lutens comes to mind. Caron’s Nuit de Noel is a great classic that, to my nose, is dark yet sparkles and is definitely elegant. It’s too beautiful to only wear at Christmas!
wow! Carolyn, you’ve got great taste & an excellent attitude – fearless. So dark side badass? I think you should at least smell Yatagan once – wormwood, substantial ingredient of the notorious absynthe. And Bandit, the vintager the better I suppose (I’ve got a fairly recent version which I love). And as for incense – L’air du desert Marocain by Andy Tauer, and Avignon by Comme des Garcons. (And also – experiment with mixing up the stuff. The most complimentgetting fragrance I wear is Yatagan & L’air ddM combined. Fragrance blasphemy, but intoxicating blasphemy)
Also – I think you should check out Vero Kern, maybe especially Onda.
I second this. She just might really rock that Onda. Rubj in EdP might be good bet, too.
Each of the Guerlain Deserts du Orient trio have true depth and richness and excel in the heat – the least “dark” of these three, Encens Mythique, is the dirtiest “clean” skank I have encountered and is the one I would recommend given that feminine floral musk NR for Her is on your list. Also, really good longevity.
Guerlain’s Coriolan/L’Ame d’Un Heros is not sufficiently skanky but with leather, oakmoss, bergamot, patchouli, and ylang it checks too many of your boxes not to be mentioned, could be tszujed up with the oils you mentioned. The new one in the square masculine bottle is much more about amber than the original, if that helps.
Lastly Amoureuse has a rep for being a sultry white floral; I found its chocolately white musk base kind of atrocious but I only see positive reviews of it online so I’m throwing it out there.
Carolyn, you intrigue me.
I thought of 2 fragrances…
L’Enfant Terrible from Jovoy Paris. I sampled this over the weekend at LuckyScent’s Scent Bar. It’s a strange and compelling scent. I still find myself thinking about it. ( You can order a sample from LuckyScent. )
Here’s part of the description from LuckyScent:
Unorthodox, trouble-making, pioneering, and often polarizing, the figure of the l’enfant terrible, or “bad child, ” takes risks in order to express something new and bold. In Jovoy’s L’Enfant Terrible, the love-it-or-hate it cumin note prominently on display exemplifies the perfume’s expression of olfactory boldness. Musky, spicy, exotic, and even erotic — it’s often compared to the smell of ripe, bodily sweat — cumin in scent is not for the meek.
L’Enfant Terrible Notes
Nutmeg, coriander, cumin, sandalwood, cedar, orange tree, dates, musk
My second suggestion is Cartier’s L`Heure Mysterieuse XII.
Another compelling scent.
L`Heure Mysterieuse XII is a very sensual and personal moment which will intoxicate you with aromas of jasmine, patchouli, coriander, elemi, incense and nutmeg.
Have fun and hope you find a scent that blows your hair back.
~Dawn
Second the L’Heure XII.
Oh Carolyn you must try Voleur de Roses!
I’ve been hunting a “dark” patchouli forever, and this is the only one I’ve found.
try for odd and dark- exotic: Le Labo Oud 27
odd and dark- sparkling: Etat Libre Orange Rien
smooth elegant Patchouli: Coromandel
violet: Serge Lutens Bois de Violette
bad ass mystery: By Kilian Back to Black
It is great to have someone here who is not afraid of the dark and a fellow patchouli-lover! My suggestions for Carolyn are By Kilian Cruel Intentions, Caron Narcisse Noir, Chanel No.19 extrait (vintage!), Estee Lauder Youth Dew Amber Nude. Sisley Eau de Soir takes you on a strange journey for hours, So does Soir de Lune but the middle part contains a lot of honey and roses and might be a little bit too sweet. But if you are a fan of Narciso Rodriguez for Her, you should think about it.
I wanted to suggest Yosh Trompeur and Omniscent. I don’t believe they have the notes you mention, but I find them both dark and moody, yet sparkling. It looks like Sombre Negra might be another possibility, but I have only sniffed that once and never tried it on my skin.
Bottega Veneta for sure:).
Carolyn might also want to try Serge Lutens Boxeuses. Jolie Madame might be worth a try too if she likes violet.
Amouage Jubiliation 25! It’s a chypre, like Mitsouko and Nikki de Saint Phalle, and it’s made with super quality ingredients and has a vintage-y feel, somewhat like Rochas Femme. It definitely says eccentric woman covered in jewels sitting in the sun–at least to me. God, I love it. Since you’ve got such a large budget, check out others in the Amouage line as well, maybe Gold, which is also a vintage-y extravangaza of a perfume.
Black Afghano, Yatigan or anything by, oh good God, I am away from my perfumes and drawing a blank. French perfumer, living in Italy, converted to Islam, all natural scents for the most part, I believe, has incredible fragrances, so earthy and rich. Dang it. Anyone???
Also, Rich HIppie is a fun line, though they can be somewhat sweet. Nice and rich, though.
Dominique Dubrana aka AbdesSalaamAtta, company Profumo. Get some samples, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
I’ll second the Vero Profumo suggestions, too; I enjoy them all. Rubj is especially delightful to me.
Via del Profumo – exactly! I love Sharif and Mecca Balsam, and there’s one call Gypsy Queen…
Salutations fellow lover of the funk! I think you would love Yatagan. Estée Lauder Aromatics Elixir and Paloma Picasso Mon Parfum are the other two chypres besides the Niki de St Phalle that I wear. I think you might also try Cartier Declaration EDT. Also Gorilla perfumes Breath of God might be worth checking out. I see you do not care for gourmands, but Angel is so dirty patchouli on me and many others, it might swing that way for you too.
Leather and incense? Try to find Mona di Orio’s Nuit Noire if you can, it’s the ultimate bad girl fragrance. If not, you can find “Cuir” on her website – well, her partner’s website now.
Serge Lutens’ “Cuir Mauresque”is also sexy and leathery.
Le Labo Patchouli 24 is good and dark, as is Histoires de Parfums 1740 and Montale Oud Cuir d’Arabie. Pascal Moribito Or Black and Ormand Woman and Man are also worth a shot.
Gucci Rush. The notes read like a fruity, floral patch., but it comes out spicy and dirty. It is the perfect night out fragrance. Sillage is good and longevity can be days on your clothes. It was developed when Tom Ford was in charge at Gucci. According to Luca Turin (who gives it five stars) it was approved by Mr. Ford on the first try. It isn’t as popular as it used to be, but can still be found at Sephora.
I love leathers, incense, chypres and “skanky” perfumes too!
I second the others above who mentioned Etat Libre d’Orange Rien and Paloma Picasso. Rien is amazing but seriously intense and it sounds like you have the confidence to pull it off! Paloma Picasso is dark and smoky and sexy to me… I just love it. You should explore the Etat Libre d’Orange line in general. The ad copy is pretty silly but the scents are really interesting.
For a leather you should definitely try Carner Barcelona Cuirs. This is fairly new on the scene, high-end, and terrific.
For incense, please check out Comme des Garcons (especially Avignon, which someone mentioned above, as well as Standard). You may also like Heeley Cardinal.
For skanky/cuminy scents you should sample Serge Lutens Muscs Koublai Khan and El Attarine. I adore MKK! I also get a cumin note from Annick Goutal Les Nuits d’Hadrien… I think this could be a go-to for you for summer if you’re into Mitsouko.
Best of luck finding your new perfume!
Just remembered I also wanted to recommend L’Artisan Parfumeur Al Oudh. It falls into the “skank” category and features (among other notes) cumin, leather, musk, civet, incense and patchouli.
Second Voleur de Roses. Adding Bandit.
I second Black Afghano. It’s dark and rich and has roughly the lasting power of uranium…in a good way. China White is another great one from the Nasomatto line. It’s a bit lighter and doesn’t have quite the lasting power but it’s spicy and incensy and really gorgeous.
You might also like the MDCI line.. I’m thinking Chypre Palatin or Invasion Barbare but Enlevement au Serail is a beautiful jasmine.
Rossy de Palma (also called Eau de Protection) by Etat Libre d’Orange is a sexy dirty dark rose, and Cuir Venenum by Parfumerie Generale is orange blossom and leather.
Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles is an interesting piney incense that you might try as well.
For gardenia you might check out Arquiste Boutonniere no.7.
Check out En Voyage Go Ask Alice for patchouli. Peche Noir is also great.
L’air de rien! (or maybe some Motales, e.g. black oud)
Odd, dark, leather, oakmoss……..with a vintage feel…….Bandit by Piguet! It’s dark, dirty, dangerous and fabulously sexy.
I would recommend a thorough investigation of Andy Tauer’s range, quite frankly! They have strong sillage and I expect will last on your skin. Try his amazing Incense Extreme, Une Rose Chypree, Le Maroc Pour Elle and L’air du Desert Marocain. I haven’t tried his new Noontide Petals fragrance, but by all reports it is apparently incredible.
For violet, I would recommend Angela Flanders’ ‘Josephine’ and ‘Millefleurs’. They have a wonderful vintage feel, and Millefleurs has a strong patchouli base note.
I’m not taking into account any of the notes you like – but only the description of blue eyes, tanned skin and blonde mane. It immediately made me think of Tom Ford’s Violet Blonde – just because of its glamour and presence!
Now I’v looked and seen you like violet and Ford’s perfumes. Have you tried this one? My skin eats perfume but this one has great sillage and longevity. Unfortunately I’m not glamorous enough to be comfortable in it myself….
If you like Mitsouko, then you must try Guerlain’s Vol de Nuit. Find vintage bottles (shiny gold box with black at the top) on ebay. The vintage parfum is a masterpiece.
Guerlain’s Nahema, very rich and over the top, might work as well.
Solange Cosmic is another very interesting perfume that I think you’d like.
Vintage Rochas Femme is a great skanky scent. Also on ebay.
And finally, the best leather made (imho) – Chanel’s Cuir de Russie.
Ineke Field Notes From Paris has everything she’s looking for: orange flower, tobacco, patchouli, leather… But for some reason I’m thinking she’d really like Hothouse Flower (same parfumeur, Ineke) which is a fabulous gardenia-dragged-through-the-woods scent with an elegant musk drydown. She should order the sample set from this house, it’s only $25 and then she can try all eight.
I second the Serge Lutens frags others have suggested, because so many have that funky cuminy Middleeastern drydown – and our guest is part Lebanese, right? There must be somewhere in Miami that has the complete line – she should just go in and smell her head off.
I think JolieFleurs’s suggestion of La Via del Profumo is brilliant. In terms of vintage perfumes, I have to agree with Rochas Femme and would also suggest the old Lanvins, especially Scandal. Also worth trying By Kilian Pure Oud.
I’ve read interesting reviews of Montale Leather Oud and Black Oud; I haven’t explored the Montale line myself – but I don’t have a lion’s mane, either!
I just remembered an obvious classic that might be a good fit: Bal a Versailles. The notes are flowers, musk, civet, patchouli, sandalwood and amber. It is dark, sexy, vintage and available at discounters in small bottles for next to nothing. Reportedly favored by Elizabeth Taylor back in the day… need I say more?