Scents & Scentsibilities

February is a month of hearts and flowers during which we are pursued by arctic fronts and a naked, chubby toddler armed with a lethal weapon. 2008 is also a leap year; traditionally, women could propose to men on February 29, and the object of her affection or obsession had to pay a fine of some sort if he refused her proposal.

Perfume, like love, is a peculiar blend of chemistry and chance, mystery and memory.

Its greatest allure is that you never know how a scent will smell once it touches your skin. What smells heavenly on your best friend may smell infernal on you. Or, a much-loved fragrance may suddenly fall out of love with you, leaving you feeling like an old friend snubbed you at a party.

I find the fickle moods of February rather unsettling, so I seek comfort at the perfume counter. There, I can flirt with new fragrant loves and rediscover past passions.

I am madly and passionately in love with the following fragrances, which leads me to wonder if Cupid was armed with a perfume bottle, rather than an arrow, the last time he came my way!

Black Orchid Voile De Fleur
Black Orchid Voile De Fleur (which means Veil of Flowers) Eau de Toilette, follows Tom Ford’s 2006 release of his first fragrance, Black Orchid Eau de Parfum.

Voile de Fleur is advertised as a lighter, more floral version of Black Orchid, but it is not a daytime version of the grander more intense Black Orchid, which I liked but for the fact that it gave me a huge headache. Voile De Fleur is, to my mind, more wearable, and essentially quite a different fragrance from Black Orchid.

Don’t let the marketing description fool you into thinking this is one of those light, overly sweet concoctions that are so popular at present; Voile De Fleur is a luscious floral … and I fell deeply in love at first smell.

The top notes are black truffle, ylang-ylang, bergamot, and black currant. Heart notes are honeysuckle, gardenia, lily, black plum, black pepper, and lotus wood. Base notes are succulent fruit, warm milk, vanilla tears, cinnamon, patchouli, balsam, and sandalwood.

Voile De Fleur opens with a burst of white floral, with an undertone of citrus-y bergamot, and just a hint of earthy truffle. This isn’t a huge, intense floral, but a rather subtle seduction that moves gradually into the darker, spicier middle notes and lingers there for a while. Vanilla makes its appearance during the dry down, but is tempered by the rich balsam and aromatic sandalwood, so that despite all the “bakery” notes, I didn’t smell like a biscuit, which I hate.

On the other hand, some research has shown that men love the bakery notes. My beloved, generally oblivious to perfume other than the occasional “I like that” to a light floral, murmured “mmmm, why don’t you wear that all the time?” when he smelled Voile De Fleur on me. His response proved to be the typical male reaction to this fragrance.

My scent double loved it too, saying that it was “truly outstanding, a mix of feminine and sweet, mysterious and strong—made for a mature, confident woman.”

I don’t know that I’m all or indeed any of those things, but Voile De Fleur has become my regular fragrance for day and night. It’s not light, so spray once—you and others will still know it’s there.

The bottle is the same as the original Black Orchid, sleek and deco inspired, but without the gold label on the front.

Eau de Toilette, $65- $90. Available at Nordstrom, 1-ounce spray available at Sephora.

Fracas
First released in 1948 by couturier Robert Piguet and reformulated in 1996, Fracas is the original Tuberose perfume, the one against which all other tuberose fragrances are judged (and generally found lacking). I think of it as “Death by Tuberose” and what a way to go.

Top notes are bergamot, mandarin, hyacinth, tuberose, gardenia, jasmine, lily of the valley, jonquil, and violet, with heart notes of neroli, rose, orange blossom, white iris, and base notes of musk, vetiver, cedar, and sandalwood.

From the first spray, the tuberose and gardenia dominate, sweet and imposing but tempered by the citrus of bergamot and mandarin which prevent Fracas from becoming sickly sweet and cloying. The heart notes gradually calm the fragrance down with neroli and lily of the valley adding a touch of lightness. Sharp vetiver and the other base notes make the dry down warm and earthy, but the creamy tuberose is always at the fore in this fragrance.

Fracas is a huge floral, not for the faint of heart or nose, but it’s not heavy or old fashioned. It feels feminine and romantic with a dark edge of passion and sex; but choose your partner wisely, because this is a love it or hate it fragrance. Forget the two-spray rule: use a sparing one spray and don’t wear it in confined spaces—other than your bed—because it will waft around you for a long time. The French have a term “sillage” which refers to a boat wake, but also the trail your perfume leaves behind you. The great opera singer Beverly Sills may have worn Fracas, but unless you’re a great Diva, use a little caution with that wake!

I loved this perfume from the first sniff, and have remained devoted, not even giving away my bottle when my asthma got bad. Through the miracle of modern asthma meds and a little discretion on my part, I can again wear Fracas. I look forward to winter days when I can wear it; the cold bite in the weather somehow makes Fracas all the more alluring.

My fragrance double is not overly fond of florals and so she was not a huge fan. That said, she got many compliments when she wore it. She thought it a classic scent, flirty and highly feminine, and I couldn’t agree more!

The bottle is square and black, with a hot pink border around the label. Very forties, very sophisticated.

Eau de Parfum, Parfum, and matching products, including Solid Perfume, Body Wash, Creme, Lotion, and Powder, $40–$105. Available at a wide variety of retailers including Luscious Cargo.

Parting Note: The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed. Carl Jung

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