Elegant: 198 posts

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

He brings the sunshine. That’s how Etat Libre d’Orange describes its latest fragrance Fils de Dieu, du Riz et des Agrumes. “Son of God, rice and citrus” was brought into this world by perfumer Ralf Schwieger, who took the idea of a classical oriental and made it new and memorable. What drew me to Fils de Dieu from the first inhale was how well it played on the contrasts: the effervescence of citrus cologne and the plush richness of vanilla, the spring-like brightness of green leaves and the sultry darkness of musk, the clarity and the complexity.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

As I wrote in Running with the Boys, some fragrance types seem so quintessentially masculine that I find it hard to wear them. The fougère style fragrances combine herbal notes with the rich sweetness of amber, tonka bean and musk and are among the most classical of masculine perfumes (think Calvin Klein Eternity for Men!) I have used words like virile, burly and hair-chested to describe this genre, but it is a gross generalization. Manly though this style is, it can also be elegant and polished. I only need to reach for Tom Ford Lavender Palm and Penhaligon’s Sartorial to find two recent examples.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

A lily that flirts with vanilla, Cartier Baiser Volé took me by surprise. After experiencing the pretty, but overly timid Cartier de Lune, I expected that Baiser Volé would fit its name, which means “stolen kiss” in French, by possessing a delicate and fleeting character. I was right about delicate, but fleeting and limpid it is not. For all of its soft and caressing presence, it has a distinctive and vivid character. While its start is sparkling and bright, Baiser Volé becomes warmer and richer as it develops, turning from a gauzy veil to a comforting cashmere wrap.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Whenever I hear a reference to elegance in perfumery, I invariably think of Christian Dior Eau Sauvage, because few existing fragrances are as exquisitely refined as this composition by the great perfumer Edmond Roudnitska. Of course, elegance can be achieved in a number of different ways, but the effortless, streamlined sophistication of Eau Sauvage has an immediate appeal. In many ways, the beauty and the genius of this fragrance lie in its perfect balance: a balance between different elements of the composition, between simplicity and complexity, between artistic merit and pure pleasure. Eau Sauvage is one of those rare perfumes that have plenty to say, but that are easy to understand.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

“Prosperity, pleasure and success, may be rough of grain and common in fibre, but sorrow is the most sensitive of all created things,” wrote Oscar Wilde in his moving essay “De Profundis,” which inspired Serge Lutens’s wistful and delicate creation. De Profundis, which also refers to Psalm 130, means “from the depth” in Latin, and it is from the depths of sadness and despair that Wilde wrote his epistle during his imprisonment. Knowing the background story can easily color one’s perception of a perfume, and this is especially true in the case of Lutens  who is fond of complex and eclectic imagery. So, having learned of the origins of De Profundis, one might expect a somber composition of funereal darkness. Nothing could be further from the truth—De Profundis is a soaring, ethereal vignette of green flowers, full of surprises and such magic twists that I once again have to take off my hat to Lutens and his perfumer Christopher Sheldrake.

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