Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Intense, Tauer Golestan, Clive Christian Timeless and others – Skin Time November 2022

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Intense

It’s no good asking whether we need another Petite Robe Noire*. Now that we’ve reached what must be at least the eighth or ninth flanker of Guerlain’s bestseller (not counting the many limited edition bottle designs), trying to view the growth of the range in terms of ‘need’ would surely be a case of missing the point. The black dress has become an indispensable member of the brand’s olfactory wardrobe, and if churning out variant after variant is what they have to do in order to sustain the entirety of their output, then I have no doubt that they will stay glued to their task like musk to a sleeve.

This latest addition – La Petite Robe Noire Intense (Delphine Jelk) – will almost certainly go the way of most of the others, which is to say that it will receive the assertive support of the marketing machine for a few months, and will then fade away. While it’s still around, some may enjoy the way it attempts to inject the dryness of tea into the familiar cherry-rose-patchouli accord. But others will almost certainly think they’ve smelt this sort of thing before. And they won’t be wrong – because it’s not unlike many of the other little black dresses. I can’t say I’m surprised. If the cash cow is to deliver the goods, it can’t stray too far from the pasture, if you’ll pardon the dubious analogy.

Clive Christian Timeless and Contemporary

Dubious is a word I’ve always ascribed to the Clive Christian brand, and I’m afraid their latest effort does little to persuade me to stop doing so. In order to celebrate their 150th anniversary (by which they mean the 150th anniversary of The Crown Perfumery, the company which was acquired and absorbed by CC) they’ve released two limited edition scents: Timeless* and Contemporary*. The former is an attractive woody-citrus composition, which, through a convincing sense of naturalness, more than lives up to the brand’s claim that it harks back to bygone perfumery styles. The latter is a forgettable modern fougere, overly boorish and assertive. But its their price that is their most remarkable feature. £380 for 50 ml of work that is, at best, derivative causes me to furrow my brow with very, very deep suspicion. 

Altra

The price tags are mercifully lower, but still quite eye-watering, at Altra*: an all-natural brand where each scent currently retails at nearly £170 For 50 ml. Mind you, at least their smell makes you sit up and pay attention. Stone Cold Heart evokes abandoned, ivy-covered Gothic cemeteries with its greens, mosses and cedar. Dualist feels like a walk through the ruins of Pompeii, thanks to its strange, sun-conjuring mix of salty cucumber with patchouli, violet leaf and mimosa. Jasmin XXX is an explosion of citrus-florals, super-saturated and super-illuminated, like a film crew attempting to recreate daylight in the dead of night; the brand’s use of the word ‘kinetic’ to describe it is entirely spot on. And Ghost Flower is a clove-y, peppery, mentholated carnation-lily: a noir temptress in a very tight red dress. The trouble is, they don’t last especially long, which is a high price to pay on top of the high price. 

Dusita La Rhapsodie Noire and
Tauer Golestan

Equally arresting – but far more tenacious – is Dusita La Rhapsodie Noire*, which sees perfumer and brand founder Pissara Umavijani channeling the tonka-loving likes of YSL Body Kouros and Mugler B*Men. Fuzzy-brown, bristly and completely snuggle-worthy, it contrasts the darkness of rum, tobacco and coffee with the richness of vanilla to form a delicious scented force field that is at once both welcoming and dangerous. ‘Black rhapsody’ is a perfect name for it, summing up its symphonic nature as well as its nocturnal depth. A similarly operatic effect can be found in Andy Tauer‘s latest, Golestan**, where the Swiss perfumer combines bold floral notes (rose, ylang ylang, jasmine) with characteristic skill and finesse. That said, there’s also a sense that we’ve been here before, especially when the heart begins to shift into a tuberose-inflected, patchouli-amber drydown.

Serge Lutens Bapteme Du Feu

Finally, the air of danger in the Dusita reminds me that the last few days have seen me enjoying my old bottle of Serge Lutens Bapteme Du Feu* (Christopher Sheldrake). It was something of a perplexing release when it emerged in 2016, and truth be told, it still occupies a rather inexplicable position in Uncle Serge’s oeuvre. But although it may be an outlier, its air of repressed emotion (jammy, sweet florals over thirsty, spicy leather) now seems almost refreshing in the atmosphere of sticky excess created by so many modern releases. As its name suggests, a purifying – and welcome – journey through the flames. 

Persolaise

* sample provided by the brand
** sample obtained by me

—
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please consider supporting my work
by ‘buying me a coffee’ using the panel below.
Thanks very much indeed.

—