Perfume Pen Pals: Carthusia 1681



Katie,

I'm wearing a spicy masculine this morning (I'm talking about perfume), Carthusia 1681. It's a robust peppery incense that smells a little like Amouage Jubilation XXV on a budget.

It's the kind of thing more men should wear, if only because it smells alive, it refers to things in the natural world, unlike all that designer shit in the blue and black bottles. Carthusia's bottle is clear and plain-looking, the juice is a pale watery yellow, and there's a lesson in that for men.

I'm not going to spell it out, because I'm not sufficiently invested in either this topic or men in general. And besides, men don't want to listen to me anyway. But 1681 is a terrific-smelling perfume and I'll include it in your upcoming decants, which will mail tomorrow morning.

Dan



Dan,

Re your "men should smell alive" position: I've never thought of it that way before, but you're right. Although you're a fine one to talk with your Comme des Garçons Odeur 71s and 53s and Humiecki & Graef Skarbs and Laudamiel S-exs.

Katie



Katie,

And that's only the tip of my non-living iceberg.

But S-ex and the rest are art, like Eno and Kraftwerk! The blue crap that most men wear is neither natural nor artistic. It's Train. It's Justin Bieber! And I'd tell them to their faces, if they didn't smell so gross.

Fun Fact: Justin Bieber is factory preset with no odor.


Hey, check out the blurb for Nobile 1942 Ponte Vecchio (part of the decant package I sent you):
With Pontevecchio, we have embodied the traits of a man of strong, dynamic character, yet non-aggressive and always in balance; a man that seduces with a confident, magnetic allure, surprises with moments of tenderness and vulnerability, with a genuine vitality that never compromises his inner strength, which comes through in every decision, including his choice of fragrance.

I simply can't imagine a perfume more suited to me. Except maybe something that says the opposite.

Dan

13 comments:

  1. I was very puzzled by the reference to Train until I clicked on the link and looked at the song list. Drops of Jupiter. Instant depression. I considered calling in sick to work, but the smell of blue perfume started to permeate my thoughts. Even Justin Bieber might crawl under the covers and sob a little.

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  2. I want to listen to you.

    And I'm comfortable enough in my strong, dynamic character, (yet still non-aggressive and alwaysin balance) to say that.

    Because I'm a man who seduces with a confident, magnetic allure, and surprises with moments of tenderness and vulnerability BUT, with a genuine vitality that never compromises my inner strength.

    I could go on.

    But this Carthusia - I like it. Any scent that approaches Jubilation XXV, that Holy of Holies, must be sampled, doused, rolled in as I were a fine young spaniel on the dark moors of time.

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  3. Carthusia?... too bad those bottles all look the same..;)...Karen

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  4. Wow Dan, the opposite? Here's a guy we all want to date and smell:

    With Pontevecchio, we have embodied the traits of a man of weak, stagnant character, yet aggressive and always in chaos; a man that skeeves with a unsure, pushy repulsion, surprises with moments of harshness and guarded nature, with an entirely false vitality that never compromises his inner weakness, which comes through in every decision, including his choice of fragrance.


    Where can I get me some of that?

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  5. Maggie -- I think I used to be married to that guy.


    Karen -- Wait - did I already complain to you about this? Something about the ye olde script and the sameness of the Carthusia bottles fills me with instant apathy. I don't know why this is so - pretty much all niche lines are packaged in identical bottles. I blame the ye olde font. It took Dan spoon feeding me 1681 to get down with it.

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  6. melisand61 -- Sounds like Dan owes you an apology - and a happy pill.


    Stefush -- I'd watch it if I were you - the dark moors of time have pretty strict leash laws.

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  7. Katie of the Hill People:

    My barbaric yawp cannot be leashed, bound, or silenced. It can be, however, asked to leave the bar.

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  8. "rolled in as if I were a fine young spaniel on the dark moors of time" -- oh Stefush, that's just terrific.

    And Katie, I'm not certain that even spoon feeding could help me overcome the apathy induced by the Carthusia packaging. I lose my will to live just *thinking* about facing a bottle like that in the morning.

    Now, where's my powdered wig and knee breeches . . .

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  9. nathan -- It's funny how little it takes to test our will to live at times.

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  10. I have this same beef with the Carthusia bottles! I've never even picked one up. But you and Dan could convince me to sample a line with comic sans as its house font, so next time I see Carthusia I'll give 1681 a sniff.

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  11. I like the bottling! Of course, I'm also attracted to the way Diptyche (sp?) does their offerings. I'm not one for collecting flacons (yet), and seriously y'all - how many times has someone put more energy into bottle design than into the juice itself? (Gaultier, Armani, etc.)

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  12. The bottle matters. I don't hate the Carthusia 1681 bottle. It wouldn't stop me from purchasing. It's simple, Dyptique-esque with a fancy cap. But then I like simple, minimalist packaging. If every bottle on my counter could look like the Heeley line or Christian Dior Eau Noire's glass cylinder (or even better, like Lalique's Encre Noire (homme) bottle with its black glass and simple white etched lettering), I'd be perfectly happy.

    The only fragrance I couldn't bring myself to buy because of the packaging was Santa Maria Novella's Nostalgia. It's not the bottle so much as the label on the bottle. I loved the fragrance in my cheap little 5ml plastic decant sprayer, but took one look at that watermelon pink label on the actual bottle and fell out of love immediately.

    If you've never seen it, here it is:

    http://www.lafcony.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=lafcony&Product_Code=10572

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  13. rkf, you are so right about the lameness of that Nostalgia packaging. And the scent is marvelous!!! It doesn't deserve such a school project-looking label.

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