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· April 24, 2008 8:19 PM by
~Joy~
· April 24, 2008 9:05 PM by
Dain
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Posted by Dain, Thursday, April 24, 2008 2:25 AM (Eastern)
It's been said before, a thousand times, tuberose smells like sex, like human flesh post-multiple-orgasm, and there's no tuberose quite on the level of Fracas. Either they are tuberose soliflores, all honey and butter, or, they are inspired by Fracas. An excellent example of the latter camp is Serge Lutens Tubéreuse Criminelle, which isolates the two most salient characteristics of Fracas, the harsh synthetic accord and the lush, rubbery tuberose heart, and places them in strident counterpoint—a wonderfully modern reinterpretation that gives the famed aphrodisiac a sinister bent. It always reminds me of that scene in The Magic Mountain when Castorp regards his dead grandfather, tuberoses piled over his casket.As we continue through this series, I've attempted to associate each flower with a female icon (Grace Kelly for rose, Marilyn Monroe for jasmine, and Audrey Hepburn for orange blossom) for the sheer conceit of it. And, as I believe sex should be about female empowerment, as unthinkable and inexpressible as that is outside of slutdom, it seemed just to pick Marlene Dietrich, of whom Angelina Jolie is merely a latter-day iteration. I love this Milton Greene portrait of her; there are no breast implants (though I think Fracas is a bit plastic), but it's dead sexy.
Also: I covet her shoes.
Fracas is an immediate and heady dive into a floral bouquet, after a brief nod towards a bergamot-green top: tuberose the diva against a skillfully blended backdrop of orange blossom, violet, lily of the valley, jasmine, and iris. It's as if white florals have hit you over the head, though the questing nose can detect a sugary violet and a tinny, sharp-tongued lily of the valley. There's a synthetic overlay that bears a horrifying resemblance (my sister and I agree) to perming solution, which is itself embroidered with a sugary-fruity note, which emphasizes the tuberose to a neon-bright florescence. The tuberose never lets up, though it becomes mossy and gently animalic in the drydown. Fracas is strong stuff, one of those women-in-furs perfumes, imposing its will on all passerbys.
Labels: beauty notes, perfume reviews, robert piguet
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April 24, 2008 8:19 PM,
I'm far from being a fur-wearing femme fatale, but I've loved it for at least 20 years. It's one of the only scents I've ever gotten endless admiring comments on.
April 24, 2008 9:05 PM,
There's nothing better than a woman carrying off a perfume that's a surprise. : )
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