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Perfume Review & Musings: 1740 Le Marquis de Sade by Histoires de Parfums
1740 is the year the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814) was born. As with the other eaux de parfums in the collection by Histoires de Parfums it is the name of one of their historically-inspired perfumes. The memory of the sulfurous Divine Marquis is said to have inspired the composition of a fragrance meant to convey the essence of seduction. The French text likes to stress that this is the scent of the most libertine of all the seducers and proposes itself to be the instrument of limitless seduction. This program will be carried out with the help of a "woody and leathery alchemy". Head notes are Italian bergamot, South Indian Davana Sensualis. Heart notes are patchouli, coriander, cumin, Indian cardamom. Base notes are patchouli, cedar, birch, Spanish cist labdanum, leather, vanilla, Everlasting (Immortelle)...
The perfume starts off with the notes one might expect to smell upon walking into a gentlemen's smoking room. It is boozy, then sinks into tar and leather. There is the smell of leather rubbed with sweet dry fruits and tobacco as well as that of an Eau de Vie in which dark prunes have macerated. It is a somber and smoky scent whose composition evokes all the traditional masculine vices, smoking, drinking and enjoying the pleasurable company of other men (still in a heterosexual atmosphere). It smells more of a men's club than a boudoir hence an idea of seduction that is very much held in check as a hidden feral force or a potentially threatening lethal weapon only. It is not fully displayed. For instance, no animalic notes indicate the sexual act. It is an intense scent with a certain masculine roughness to it. Since there is little allusion to the feminine universe in this perfume we are therefore reminded of the metaphysical trappings of the seducer: intense and deep solitude. Despite these facts, I find it eminently wearable for a woman.
The composition is creative and gorgeous or so I thought unreservedly at first. As I was already planning ahead to get a bottle of the marvellous perfume it started to smell somewhat cheap and synthetic in the dry-down giving out those unnaturally strong notes that hurt your nose just like neon lights might hurt your eyes. Some perfumes just make you think of bad nylon. I have waited for two months or so to see if it might need to age a bit in order to quiet down. It does seem to have improved a bit but it still betrays some of the red fire engine subtlety I was referring to. I must add that I discern that garish olfactory coloring in other perfumes by Histoires de Parfums. I have to conclude for now that the composition is superior to the materials used.
Histoires de Parfums has a website in both French and English. The Four Seasons carry part of the line but they are currently out of stock on all their HdP perfumes. I recently saw Sweet Chic was carrying some of their fragrances as well; although the perfumes don't appear on their website currently, Sweet Chic has confirmed to me that they carry 1804, 1826, 1873, 1876, Noir Patchouli, Vert Pivoine, and Blanc Violette. You can read my previous post on Histoires de Parfums here.
Previous Posts in Perfume Review & Musings:
Perfume Review & Musings: Mandarine Mandarin by Serge Lutens
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Oh! Another one to try! It sounds just wonderful, even if it's a little brassy in the drydown. And that bottle! BTW I am having trouble with new posts (including yours) failing to load. Sigh.
Posted by: March | September 28, 2006
I'm SUCH a fan of the Marquis...
And the notes are alluring !
Posted by: chayaruchama | September 28, 2006
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Posted by: Pierce Mundy | November 17, 2006
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Posted by: Trenton Bracken | November 25, 2006
"(still in a heterosexual atmosphere)"
?????
Je ne croix pas de tout!
Posted by: supermarky | June 21, 2007
This scent is a wonderful example of being a unisex fragrance that I would say takes a man's nose to appreciate. For a man who craves depth to his fragrances, this one is amazing.
I do get the wonderful boozy/dried prune topnote, a note I happen to love. It rounds out to a labdanum/patchouli/cedar combination that I could see being labeled "leather" in broad perfumista parliance, but this is no leather fragrance to me! Tobacco!
Its evolution leads to one of the best showcases I have experienced for one of my favorite baseontes: cured tobacco leaf, in a form that I have not detected to shine through like this in any other fragrance.
I would go so far to say in its own way it rivals Creed Tabarome Private Label, which takes an oakmoss/musk spin on the same subject.
With its tobacco/prune/labdanum evolution, 1740 offers only the most transparent of white musk notes, which allow it not to become a thick, gooey, opaque mass of basenotes.
My only criticism of this wonderful scent, and it is a minor one, is that it evolves into a slight powderiness, which I don't like, perhaps from some amber or ambroxan used in the composition.
This powdery quality, which follows its boozy fruity opening, are what allow it to remain truly unisex. I could imagine a woman eating it up on her man.
Posted by: James | January 7, 2008