Review of Œillet Pourpre by Yaroslavna Lasytsya

"Oeillet Pourpre" (Purple Carnation) is one of the undervalued gems of the Guerlain's L'Art & La Matiere line. it is one of the smoothest and expensive sounding leather and wood unisex blends. Top note is a clove sweetened by pear. Its spicy character in unmistakable and golden pear adds a smooth delicacy to it. Carnation blooms on their background, elegant and expressive, reminiscent of the decadence of the roaring 20s, when she was in vogue and on everyone's dressing table. In this fragrance it is delicately spicy and slightly powdery, not a cold red, but a deeper, magenta-like hue, with burgundy streaks across the petals. benzoin warms the heart of the composition and lifts carnation to the new level, helping it to open up in a new spectrum, contrary to popular opinion this flower being past its prime and sounding vintage and stale. Here we see the genius of Guerlain - they took a flower that many have forsaken and brought it back to life in a completely different "attire", sound and expression. Vanilla amplifies the sweetness of the heart very lightly, at the same time allowing smokey suede (I know that the pyramid says leather, but the execution is so warm and velvet-like, that sueded is the truest sensation I get) and light wood serve as a backdrop for carnation blooms. "Oeillet Pourpre" is what I would call a true solifloral - as there is only one flower present in the entire composition, and it is presented ever so masterfully and uniquely that one feels as carnation has been rediscovered all over again as a lost continent or planet in the vastness of the olfactory floral universe. The scent is warm and seductive. Projection is very good, and extra sprays will create a notable sillage, if one so desires. When it melts into the skin after some hours, it brings up Tamara de Lempicka "Reclining Nude I" from 1925, with the woman in a languid pose, half way between dreaming and awareness, of effortless sexuality of her bare skin and free falling blonde curls. Decadent. Classic. Irresistible. "Oeillet Pourpre"