"When I think of flirty scents, I imagine something that combines youthful innocence and purity with a more carnal sophistication. To me, that's what tuberose smells like. It's the Lolita of the fragrance world."
Revisiting some of the older Allure magazine articles I came across this interesting take on scents for Valentine's Day classed by their projected character (sexy fragrances, flirty scents, romantic perfumes, secure etc) by none other than Frederic Malle himself, of Editions des Parfums.
Of particular note is how he classifies tuberose as flirty (rather than femme fatale) and therefore recommends a liberal use of it, something with which many perfume enthusiasts might argue for or against!
Read the whole article here.
Also catch Allure's slideshow (with short descriptions of many fragrances we have reviewed on Perfume Shrine already) of the top 10 Sexiest Fragrances.
painting of Eros & Psyche by Jacques Louis David via wikimedia commons
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Some of the scents that he listed I wouldn't consider fun, flirty, or romantic. Classic romantic for me would be straight up floral perfumes like Vera Wang for Women or Vera Wang's Sheer Veil. Flirty would be Andy Tauer's Une Rose Vermeille. Sexy/sensual I would agree with him on Shalimar but I would add Bal A Versaille maybe even Cuir de Russie.
ReplyDeleteEld,
ReplyDeleteI think I prefer your picks even more!! Bal a Versailles especially is something I really love. I wonder why I haven't written about it yet. Hmmmm....
Tuberose and Fracas "not particularly heavy"? Oh my. I love tuberose, but I can see that advice leading some poor dears astray ...
ReplyDeleteAnd Chanel No 19 he has classified as romatic, with a bunch of scents he describes as 'light and watery'. I do happen to agree that the EDT of No 19 can be worn fairly lavishly, but light and watery? Lord o' mercy!
ReplyDeleteI love Frederic Malle, but oh my god ... Fracas and tuberose fragrances should not be applied liberally unless you want to kill your poor Valentine before the day even gets started.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to the article, though, Helg.
E,
ReplyDeleteyeah, isn't it totally unexpected to hear him say so? I think he's talking about parfum, or else spraying such a typhoon, oh my!
It's enough to fill a room and people nowadays in the US are so very non permissive on anything that invades their personal space, don't you find it so?
AM,
ReplyDeletelike I said above to Elise, I think he's not thinking particularly with his US-visiting shoes on. This is a very European, French attitude (spay and then spray some more).
I do wear No.19 lavishly in the heat, but it's quite powdery and "clean"-ish in the EDT. Haven't received negative comments or glances ever.
As to aromatic, I think this needs clarification in a seperate article here on the Shrine.
Suzanne,
ReplyDeletethanks for dropping by and commenting and overjoyed to see you here!
Yeah, it's a bit too much for someone to be hugged and fondled by someone wearing somthing as va va voom as Fracas. Maybe a few strategically placed drops have more potential...I do find it a sexy smell though myself, even I simultaneously find it loud. There's just something about it.