Last week I stopped by the Goodwill boutique and found a gorgeous old pair of Gucci loafers. Their black leather was thick and shiny, and the creases from use only made them feel more luxurious. Someone had lovingly resoled them, probably many times. An abstract version of Gucci’s classic horse bit strapped the toes.
Did I buy them? No. As beautiful as they were, the shoes didn’t suit me. They would have been right at home in a (literally) well-heeled matron’s closet, and someone with Margot Tenenbaum’s chic could have pulled them off, but they weren’t for me. That’s how I feel about Houbigant Quelques Fleurs Royale. It smells pretty and not cheap, but it belongs in someone else’s perfume cupboard.
Quelques Fleurs Royale was released in 2004, and according to the Houbigant website, it’s a modernized version of a Houbigant fragrance made for Princess Adelaïde d’Orléans in the beginning of 19th century. Its notes include blackcurrant, grapefruit, jasmine absolute, rose absolute, violet, tuberose absolute, beeswax absolute, sandalwood, cedarwood, vanilla and musk.
Quelques Fleurs Royale starts out with tart-juicy blackcurrant that fades as a powdery, jasmine-dominant floral heart takes over. Thanks to rose and violet, the flowers stay in second-soprano register — just high enough to be resolutely feminine but not screechy. Once the top notes vanish, Quelques Fleurs Royale is pretty, if predictable.
Quelques Fleurs Royale’s dry down is soft. If it were wine, some might call it “flabby.” Gentle sandalwood and vanilla ease the fragrance to a silky, inoffensive denouement. But be warned. If applied too liberally or worn in muggy heat, Quelques Fleurs Royale’s grapefruit-tinged powdery flowers can hint at diapers.
To me, Quelques Fleurs Royale would be a natural choice for an older woman with good manners and understated dress. She avoids controversy, glows in blush rose silk, and secretly reads romance novels, but not the smutty ones. Her grandchildren love to sit in her lap because she smells so good.
And now for an aside on royalty-inspired perfume. Fragrances named directly for royalty (like Rancé Josephine) or inspired by royals (to continue the Josephine theme, Parfum d’Empire Eau Suave) aren’t quite as numerous as perfumes named for celebrities, but there are plenty of them out there. Other perfume houses cash in on the glamour by tacking “Royale” or “Impériale” on the end of a fragrance’s name.
Well, I have an idea for a perfume named after royalty. Has anyone heard about the Princess Irina scandal that broke out last week? It turns out that a Romanian princess has been living with a retired sheriff in the eastern Oregon desert, and they may have been running a cockfighting ring. I’ve seen photos, and although Princess Irina may be correctly referred to as “Your Highness,” I’m telling you she drinks beer from a can and she’s no stranger to tater tots. Once the reality television show launches — surely we can expect one — Eau de Princess Irina must follow.
Houbigant Quelques Fleurs Royale Eau de Parfum is $150 for 50 ml and $200 for 100 ml; there is also a 15 ml Parfum for $260. For information on where to buy it, see Houbigant under Perfume Houses.
I don’t think I’ve ever found anything interesting in our local Goodwill. Maybe I need to try a different part of town.
Quelques Fleurs Royale sounded interesting until I got to hint of diapers? Blech!
And as for Eau de Princess Irina…Eau My Aching Sides. This just cracks me up!
Isn’t that hilarious? I couldn’t believe the Irina story, either. Somehow I doubt she could pull of f the Gucci loafers.
Princess Irina drinking from a beer can and tater tots made me spit my tea out. Lol! Although I kind of like tater tots myself. I have heard this was one of Princess Diana’s favorite perfumes the original one. She truly acted like a princess and probably never heard of tater tots. I’m still laughing. You have a great sense of humor Angela.
Oh, I like tater tots, too–make no mistake. I can skip the can of beer, though. Tots plus martini is more like it.
I was just about to ask what is so scandalous about a princess living with a retired sheriff in Oregon, and then I got to the cockfighting part.
I imagine a very green and mossy perfume, in honor of Oregon’s forests, with a horrid top note of blood, for the pour poultry..
A that part of Oregon is all desert and ranch land. And cockfighting, I guess. Not super royal.
I am from Oregon, the east part of it is really ugly desert. The west side is green and purdy:D.
There’s something wonderful about the desert–especially at night–but I do love the ocean side of the state.
If only I was so lucky to find Gucci loafers in Goodwill!
Keep looking!
You may laugh at the thought of eastern Oregon, but if “Princess Irina” smelled like the sage in John Day country ( NE OR) I would buy a gallon of it!
That really is a wonderful smell!
I am in NV and I smell sage all the time, I don’t really care for it. LOL, I was allergic to it when I came from OR even though, I did live on the east side of OR for a while. Must be NV sage. lol. I am appreciating the desert more, I kind of hate it though..no trees and *tons* of wildfires. Tons of smoke covers my area as we speak.
It seems like every time I turn on the radio I hear about another wildfire! Scary, and surely rough on people with breathing issues.
Gawd…..the wildfires terrify me. It is hard to not think of those poor firefighters (Hotshots) who died this summer in Colorado— every time the weather channel or the news, shows another wild fire clip I cannot help but tear up for them.
They terrify me, too. I’m astonished at how brave firefighters are. Regular city firemen, too. And the Coast Guard! The other day I was riding my bike home when the city’s Coast Guard team for the river (at least I think that’s what they are) leapt into action to save someone trying to jump from a bridge. Their valor had me wiping my eyes.
Ooh ouch! Those prices! ‘Smells pretty and not cheap’ – I should darned well think so.
Patricia de Nicolai’s Number One is my favourite for sunny, relaxed elegance. It has some notes in common with the Houbigant . Smells expensive but isn’t.
I like that price-value ratio a lot!
This post had me snorting with laughter at the thought of smelling like diapers on a hot, muggy day, and flat out guffawing when I read about Princess Irina. Googling images now
My favorite image is the royal family’s official photo. With a glass of wine and a couple hours of discussion, I bet we could plot a thrilling novel from it.
I don’t enjoy Houbigant’s Quelques Fleurs Royale & I even less enjoy the fact that everyone finds the Princess Irina story so amusing. The cruelty involved in those Cockfights is appalling. The Cocks have blades attached to their legs to make the fight more interesting. Nothing amusing in that. Princess Irina is a shame to the human race, never mind the Monarchy. This makes me want to up my morning coffee!
Sure, but no-one said that the cock fighting was amusing.
I don’t think that anyone gave it much thought really, other than the ‘amusing’ combination of a ‘princess’ being involved.
I would say it is partly amusing because of royalty being now engaged in such a ‘low-class’ activity. If it was a report on fox hunting, or other regal modes of animal abuse it wouldn’t even make the news!
There’s an interesting discussion about cock fighting in a book called ‘Some we Love, Some we Hate and Some we Eat’. The author ‘befriends’ some of the people involved in cock fighting and even attends some of the fights as research. His conclusion is that if one had to choose, a life as a cock fighter is incomparably better to that of a battery chicken.
The reason that such poor conditions are legal in the farming of poultry and that cock fighting has been made illegal has quite a lot to do with the fact that it is generally an economically impoverished class that engages with cock fighting while the poultry market is backed by massive wealth. Its an interesting perspective:
ttp://www.amazon.ca/Some-We-Love-Hate-Eat/dp/0061730858
Angela, please remove link if it’s a problem!
And that being said, I obviously do not endorse cock-fighting…
@Merlin….we humans make the world a wonderful place for animals. What a sad choice! Cock-fighter / battery chicken!
I agree. But its funny how we single one out and not the other…
Humans are really rather revolting in the treatment of animals. Cockfighting….dog fighting….don’t even get me started (they all belong in some sort of punishment program!)
….because then I’ll probably go off about royals too (sorry, haven’t any use for the lot of them) . But I can also see the irony in the juxtaposition of princess/tater tots/ cockfighting.
By the way….a nice crispy tater tot smothered in cold ketchup is guilty little pleasure!
Angela dear, you are so kind even as you dole out the big thumbs down.
I’m not so nice — this is horrid stuff. Horrid. Did I mention horrid? It is.
Now, their Orangers en Fleurs is whole different story…..
arrgggg! this was not meant for this spot!! delete?
I’ve always been curious about this one….Angela, what is the sillage and longevity like ?
Both the sillage and longevity are good, I’d say. Not too close to the skin, and not too overwhelming. That said, the first day I tried it I really wet my arm with it. It was a muggy afternoon, and I was sure everyone could smell me down the block.
I love the portrait you give of the ideal QFR wearer: dignified and ever-so-slightly-prim:)
It is NOT Vivienne Westwood, lol!
Definitely not! Hey, I guess Westwood did her own version of a royalty perfume with Kingdom. A very different perfume, that’s for sure!
Angela dear, you are so kind even as you dole out the big thumbs down.
I’m not so nice — this is horrid stuff. Horrid. Did I mention horrid? It is.
Now, their Orangers en Fleurs is whole different story…..
It’s the powder, isn’t it? That, for me, is the killer, even though I do love certain powdery perfumes.
Oranger en Fleurs is divine! I agree, and I’m usually on the fence about orange flower fragrances.