Perfumer Mathilde Laurent is the talent behind some of my especial favorites in the sumptuous sniff department: Guerlain Attrape Coeur and Cartier's Les Heures du Parfum line. Minty men's frag Roadster (2008) marked Laurent's release from Cartier's velvet-lined V.I.P. playpen, where she'd been toiling behind the scenes on bespoke fragrances for clients of the luxury house.
In Baiser Volé, Laurent marries a photorealist lily with the clarion call of cleanliness in the shape of a rosy-musk drydown. It's all flowers, all the time, without resorting to to the "Please like me, Teenagers!" practice of inserting a token berry or vanilla accord.
Etymological note: when I mentioned the name "Baiser Volé" to a French-speaking friend, he reacted with a dramatic clutch-your-pearls gasp. He wrote to me:
"'Baiser' can mean 'to fuck' as well. To say 'kiss me', you'd say 'embrasses moi'. 'Baises moi' means 'fuck me'. However, 'un baiser' means a kiss. It's a slightly loaded word."
For another take on Baiser Volé, see Denyse Beaulieu's Grain de Musc post, here. The French film clips she chose to illustrate her points are trippy, particularly Donkey Skin, a musical featuring Catherine Deneuve and purple fairies.
So how does this stack up against Laurent's past pre-Cartier greats like Attrape Coeur(I actually own the original Guet-Apens - just a glorious Samsara + Mitsouko hybrid !) & AA Pamplelune?
In the "powdery floral ambush" stakes, I'd say that this one uses a similar degree of force to Kenzo Flower Essentielle, which I also like a lot. But I agree that Baiser Vole has that soapy / cold cream vibe going on as well, and your vanity table analogy is spot on!
See, as someone who knows that in French, 'baiser' used as a verb without a 'le' or an 'un' means to well, er, hmm... in the vernacular... boff, this is a perfume name that means essentially 'whack a mole' to me or conjures that infamous unfounded allegation about Richard Gere.
Consequently I'll have to get over my infantile sniggering dumbass self and go and try this.
So how does this stack up against Laurent's past pre-Cartier greats like Attrape Coeur(I actually own the original Guet-Apens - just a glorious Samsara + Mitsouko hybrid !) & AA Pamplelune?
ReplyDeleteBaiser Vole isn't as symphonic as AC, and it's friendlier than Pamplelune. As a composition, it's not as challenging as either of those.
Delete"...he reacted with a dramatic clutch-your-pearls gasp."
ReplyDeleteWell, those pearls don't just clutch themselves now do they?
Ha!
DeleteIn the "powdery floral ambush" stakes, I'd say that this one uses a similar degree of force to Kenzo Flower Essentielle, which I also like a lot. But I agree that Baiser Vole has that soapy / cold cream vibe going on as well, and your vanity table analogy is spot on!
ReplyDeleteHave you try:
ReplyDeleteChopard Noble Cedar
Van Cleef & Arpels Aqua Oriens
See, as someone who knows that in French, 'baiser' used as a verb without a 'le' or an 'un' means to well, er, hmm... in the vernacular... boff, this is a perfume name that means essentially 'whack a mole' to me or conjures that infamous unfounded allegation about Richard Gere.
ReplyDeleteConsequently I'll have to get over my infantile sniggering dumbass self and go and try this.
Thanks for confirming what my friend told me about the slipperiness of 'baiser'. Haha, "Whack a Mole" is funny translation.
DeleteIt lives up to it's name! I just bought it and my boyfriend literally can't peel himself off me :) I love his reaction to me when I wear it lol
DeleteYes! Whack a mole!
DeleteKiss my Vole. aw.
ReplyDeleteI love how playful and funny you are. My seven-year-old son and I were cracking up over your faux-lighter scenario.
ReplyDeleteI love that your 7-year-old gets the reference.
Delete