I like perfumer Mathilde Laurent, but we are not besties. I am pretty sure she first came to my attention in relation to her 2003 version of Shalimar Eau Légère, and when I have absolutely nothing better to do, I sometimes wonder what Guerlain would be up to now if she, instead of Thierry Wasser, had been appointed the house perfumer, and whether I would have ever gotten the (admittedly ridiculous) Shalimar Eau Légère Extrême I wanted. Instead, Ms. Laurent ended up at Cartier, where she has done plenty of respectable work without stressing my budgetary arrangements in any significant way: as I said, we are not besties. My favorite so far, on the women’s side, is the lily-ish Baiser Volé. The gardenia-ish La Panthère did not please me so much, other than the fantastic bottle. Now we’ve got Baiser Fou, inspired by “lipstick kisses” and said to be orchid-ish:
To capture the elusive aroma of lipstick, Cartier perfumer Mathilde Laurent was inspired by the intense powderiness and sweetness of the orchid. The bloom’s delicious balmy accents of white chocolate add to the addiction, lingering on the skin for hours.1
Hmm, sweet powder — sound familiar…