Persolaise Review: Cuir De Nacre + Perle De Mousse from Ann Gerard (Bertrand Duchaufour; 2012)

The effect of these two elements coming together is highly commendable. The iris is as luxurious and aspirational as it should be; the steam catches the light and crackles with near-imperceptible flashes of electricity, not unlike the eponymous mother-of-pearl glinting beneath a ray of sunshine. A leather note comes through too, but it’s subtle and – there’s that colour again – extremely white, as though wishing to draw attention not to its visual appeal, but to its downy, suede-like texture. Indeed, it’s this ivory sheen that is CDN‘s most endearing feature, a delightful olfactory evocation of a picture-perfect figure clothed in milky wool, standing against a backdrop of freshly-fallen snow. Countless modern mainstream releases are described with the word ‘creamy’, but their allure is decidedly semi-skimmed compared to that of Cuir De Nacre. A languorous thumbs up.

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As it happens, ‘creamy’ could also be applied to Perle De Mousse, another Duchaufour creation for the same house. This one sees the maestro delving into Diorissimo territory and emerging with a bunch of tiny flowers displaying the sort of paradoxical contrasts of which only perfumery is capable. They’re pale and unblemished – you can almost see the little bell shapes hanging off the stems – but they also convey darkness, as though they haven’t lost all contact with the mossy earthiness which gave birth to them. The reference to Roudnitska extends into a green, stewed vegetable component, which then settles into smooth, bejewelled, floral luxury. Another must-try, especially for fans of Vero Kern’s Mito.

[Reviews based on samples of extrait provided by Bloom in 2013.]

Persolaise.