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· January 4, 2008 1:00 AM by
Colleen Shirazi
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Posted by Dain, Wednesday, January 02, 2008 12:19 AM (Eastern)
Tobacco and leather do not have popular appeal, and there is an easy reason why. There are masculines, and there are feminines, and never the twain shall meet. Oh there are scents that strive at unisex, often citrus or non-perfume-perfumes like Annick Goutal Eau de Hadrien, Hermès Eau d'Orange Verte, Issey Miyake L'Eau d'Issey, or CK One, but they lack the sort of loud-voiced potency that I, for one, desire in my fragrance. It is true, that some notes, such as tuberose, would never work on a man, but traditionally feminine notes, like the rose of Diptyque's L'Ombre dans L'Eau, would be absolutely gorgeous on a man, just wonderful and fresh.
Likewise, I like the so-called androgyny of Fumerie Turque. With a name like that, one anticipates a murky and seedy little hookah bar where no doubt a woman alone would be molested, but it is nothing like. Really, it is positively transcendent. It takes the traditional oriental themes, and the rough, "masculine" notes like tobacco and leather, and makes them soft, sneering, and exceptionally sensitive, a cozy comfort scent with the inclusion of candied Turkish rose and Egyptian jasmine, no Opium or Bandit, this. In the drydown, typical of Serge Lutens, the whole composition sweetens, honeyed and rich. Somehow, Fumerie Turque is both smoky and soapy at once, two qualities that are often overdone in perfumery, but here in perfect opposition, like a brilliant rendition of chiaroscuro, as the ponderous delicacy of Rembrandt's Philosopher in Meditation:
You almost sneeze from the dust, do you not?
I was slightly disconcerted by Fumerie Turque at first, because the raw feeling of patchouli is one of the notes I eye with disfavor, but with every sniff I warm to it, to the point that it has become a serious contender. Thankfully, this usual non-import is available at Barneys.
Labels: perfume reviews, serge lutens
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January 4, 2008 1:00 AM,
Mmmmm...that sounds lovely.
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