Comme Des Garcons Daphne Review – Antoine Lie; 2009

In a recent interview, perfumer Antoine Lie stated that he approaches scent creation in sculptural terms, in the sense that he wants his perfumes to project a distinct shape in the air. It’s worth bearing this in mind when wearing his Daphne: a collaboration with Daphne Guinness, produced under the Comme Des Garcons banner, first released in 2009, then seemingly shelved and now available again through certain outlets. It’s a work that’s often likened to Lie’s own Etat Libre D’Orange Rien (2006) and with good reason. They’re both earthy, leathery and so enormous, they could make the likes of Angel or Poison come across as timid little wallflowers by comparison. In fact, in many ways, Daphne is a sort of Rien in drag, punctuating the latter’s thunder-balls attitude with a bolt of scarlet lipstick and a hip-swaying dose of tuberose.

But perhaps the real key to unlocking its personality lies in the shape of its bottle. With smooth curves proportioned somewhere between those of a teardrop, a sphere and a lightbulb (not unlike the original Chloe), it possesses a low centre of gravity whilst somehow managing to convince you that it could float up into the clouds if it wished to do so.

And that is precisely the form the perfume takes around the wearer. The tuberose, patchouli and vanilla unfurl close to the ground, billowing like the folds of an ornate ball gown. Above them, the iris, rose and saffron create a ‘narrower’, more vertical geometry. And finally, sitting at the very top of this complex three-dimensionality, like an elegant swan’s neck, is a bright and bitter orange. You can almost trace their outline in the space around you — the distinct contours of a composition that deserves to be known and, dare I say it, seen by a wider audience.     

Persolaise

[Comme Des Garcons Daphne review based on a sample obtained by me in 2023.]

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

—