Inspired by William S. Burroughs' novel Junky, Jardins d'Écrivains describes its Junky* perfume as "unashamedly different and (it) invites originality and 'factualism' — to borrow the term used by Burroughs." Gray-colored juice is certainly something you don't see every day either.
Often, the name of a perfume and its advertising images do not match what's inside the perfume bottle. With Junky, Jardins d'Écrivains has gone all out (factualism!) and Junky smells like a junky...an old-school junky to be precise.
On my skin, Junky begins with the scents of old cigarette/marijuana smoke absorbed into stale clothes, clothes that have remnants of the wearer's dried sweat and last-worn perfume (applied long, long ago). These aromas are masculine (I can't imagine a woman wearing Junky). When smelling Junky up close, with concentration, I detect hemp, some galbanum, violet leaf and "smoke;" in mid-development, the embedded men's cologne accord is prominent and most likely produced by violet leaf, cade and a blurry floral note (this perfume-within-a-perfume phase is the "old-school" part of Junky).
Junky's distinct notes disappear and a sweet, fuzzy accord takes over for awhile — a bit off-putting, strange, medicinal. As the perfume develops further it smells, for a moment or two, rather "skunk-y"; this funky/musky note ushers in Junky's last gasp of worn-out vetiver, abused moss and more smoke (this time faint frankincense). Added to these base notes is the fragrance of cheap soap (our junky is desperately washing up, spot bathing). The soapy note reminds me of the industrial/synthetic-smelling liquid soaps one encounters in gas station, ferry terminal and generic "public" rest rooms.
Do you think I hate Junky? Believe it or not, I find Junky fun and interesting...a character in a bottle. Does this mean I want to wear it? No. But kudos to Jardins d'Écrivains for making something ballsy in this year of (mostly) drab perfume releases. If you want to smell what happens to our junky after his overdose, proceed to Etat Libre d'Orange Sécrétions Magnifiques and the junky's hospital ER visit. The combination of these two perfumes should shock any junky-to-be into swearing off heroin forever.
Jardins d'Écrivains Junky Eau de Parfum Mixte (unisex) is $110 for 100 ml. For buying information, see the listing for Jardins d'Écrivains under Perfume Houses.
*listed notes of hemp, rosewood, galbanum, iris, violet, gardenia, cashmeran, cedar, vetiver, myrrh, cade, moss and frankincense.
I’m sorry but this sounds totally hideous! Perfume gone mad/bonkers!
Why bother? I’ve known a few junkies in my time and believe me they don’t smell good:(( Perfume for me is a journey to the sublime not a stumble to the ridiculous!
Kate: no doubt some will find it “lovely!” HA! As I wore it I kept thinking it would be a perfect Demeter perfume…but Demeter has never gone this far out I don’t think.
I was thinking Demeter too. That’s right up their alley.
The thing that intrigues me is the cost in making this for what kind of return? I can’t imagine this really sells.
Kudos to you for giving it a whirl.
floragal…oh, it was fun! I was thinking it might be the perfect scent for someone traveling to Morocco to follow the steps of the Beats…power-spray Junky and the frankincense is very prominent for awhile…and hemp.
Ida…I bet many will fee that way. But I would be curious how commercially successful this will be compared to others in the line (my favorite being “George”).
Oy vey iz mir!
Well, at least unlike YSL Opium and Dior’s Addict, Junky says it like it is.
‘Worn-out vetiver and abused moss’ does make for a striking list of notes. They really ought to allow you to do the copy for this!
Merlin, so true re Addict and Opium…and China White for that matter!
I’m glad it turned out to be worth the skin time! Not sure I want to smell it, but I’ll try to remember to sample George, for sure. I appreciate that this line is doing something different.
Noz, right, not business as usual…still need to try their candles.
“A character in a bottle,” very good. I want to try it. Thanks for what I would call a careful and respectful review of a weird fragrance.
Donnie, you’re welcome!
But is it office friendly? (Ha ha)
nebbe: ha! there’s probably a perfect “office” for this somewhere!