« Penhaligon's Amaranth… | Home | Celebration »

Does 'in like a lamb' mean 'out like a lion'?

Well, February certainly left like a lion here: pounding rain and gale-force winds. Yesterday, however, the 1st of March, was sunny and calm. Weather's supposed to be the same today. Wonder if that has some sort of mystical meaning: reversal of the cosmos etc. According to the BBC website, we're in for a bouncy ride over the next week, though.

The wonderful woman who enabled me regarding my big decant of Dior Eau Noire (I've got 30ml of the juice, which will hold me for a good while, I think) also sent along some surprises, including a sample of Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Soie Rouge. Now, every MPG I've tried until now hasn't loved me, which is fine by me. The less I yearn for perfume-wise, the better.

I don't love Soie Rouge but it is interesting and not a little surprising -- at least to start out with.

This was released in 1988. Created by Jean Laporte it is powdery, but this powder has absolutely nothing to do with babies.

Notes include peach, exotic fruits, pineapple, carnation, iris, heliotrope, apricot, jasmine, musk, sandalwood and ambergris.

When I was looking around for a notes list, I happened upon a very brief review on the Bois de Jasmin blog from 2005. The comment in her post that stood out to me is that the characteristic musk of MPGs overwhelmed this. I kept that in mind through the development of Soie Rouge on my skin.

To start off with, this is peppery carnation on me and, indeed, very powdery -- and, there is something papery and rough, like fur smoothed the wrong way. I think the powder is the work of the pepper-carnation combo. It isn't unpleasant. It is, however, very heavy for a top of a perfume.

From the get-go, this is decidedly carnal. Carnation can have that aspect, but I haven't experienced it so up front in a fragrance.

After around an hour, the papery (iris-heliotrope?) aspect settles down somewhat and I get an inkling of pineapple (really, I do). And, this becomes more strongly musky. I think the muskiness interferes with the carnation, which is too bad.

After a good 4-5 hours, this falls off a cliff. It just becomes a soft peppery musk scent. Close to the skin, a bit silky, this has lost all of its initial power and uniqueness.

Even though I could never see myself buying this, at least at the beginning it had some oomph and distinctiveness.

This comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.  With regard to weather, that's a good thing. As to perfume, no, it's not. Too bad. Really too bad.