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Dior Hypnotic Poison Rubis & Thierry Mugler Angel Liqueur: Sniffing Rich Orientals in Paris Lead Me to New Flankers {Scented Thoughts} {Perfume Reviews} {Perfume Streetwear}
One of the pleasures of taking a stroll in Paris or simply going from point A to point B is picking up on sillages of perfume on the streets. When a repetition pattern appears, it becomes a bit intriguing. 
Paris ca. 1925, from art.com
In early September when the weather was still summery and sunny, I started smelling Hypnotic Poison a few times. What I found anomalous was the fact that it felt as if several women had decided to anticipate the colder days and pulled out their fur perfumes, the same one for some reason, seemingly showing the same concerted impatience to get done and over with summer. I couldn't help but think several things: that Parisian women indeed like their oriental perfumes and are all too ready to stop pretending summery scents can be satisfying; it was interesting that these women were young (with one exception) and finally that maybe they could have held on a bit longer to envelop themselves with the rich, sensual volutes of this boudoir oriental. I felt pleasure at smelling the heliotrope and rich tonka but at the same time felt there was a discrepancy with the pace of the season. I somehow liked the idea that in the near future when the gray of autumn would cover the sky and mesh with the zinc roofs and coldness would be inescapable, that it would make the scent be even more irresistible. But now? Wasn't it a bit early?...
I also thought that those sillages of Hypnotic Poison smelled very much like my memory of the perfume, but as if more spruce, more contained, less red lights and more white. Perhaps an effect of natural freshness, or an influence of the age of the wearer on the perception of the scent. It felt like an Hypnotic Poison that might have received a skin lift.
After a few days, the keys to the mystery were handed to me when I stepped into a perfumery and saw a glowing edition of Hypnotic Poison partially decorated with a spray of (glass) rubies. The bottle looked lovely, I had to pick it, smell it, admire it. It wafted like the sillages from the street, like its old self, but with this feeling of a youth lift, of a new hidden secret tuck. It was the latest flanker from Dior. The bait had worked, women were buying the new rutilating red peacock-like flacon which probably attracted younger women thanks to its whimsy bottle necklace that Belle in Gone with the Wind could have worn and thanks also to Monica Bellucci's enticing gesture on the advertising.
Then later, I started smelling a divine version of Angel on two people on two different days, then three. That sillage of Angel was the best I had smelled so far and I even mentioned it in a post earlier on. I initially just thought that these people knew how to find the right perfume for themselves.
Angel has the reputation of being loud, but in these cases, it was a very present yet nuanced sillage.
Again, mystery solved a few days later when I happened on the latest Angel flanker on the shiny shelves of Sephora, the liqueur edition aged following a technique adapted from the know-how of Cognac makers. If initially the bottle of the Alien liqueur is what caught my eye with its rich citrine juice behind the gem-like walls of the bottle, Angel Liqueur is really the scent that is the mos exciting of the two, to my nose.
Angel has become deeper, more liquorishy, and as if sprinkled with dry cacao powder. The patchouli in it is quite chocolatey. The honeyed facet is also there to contribute to a dry fruit effect. It feels warm, enveloping. the only regret you have is that it does not unfold on an even deeper note. Somehow, you would like the scent to spiral down even more and you remain a bit frustrated that richness here has a limit. But besides this critique, it is a very alluring version of Angel.
And yes, I do think that rich orientals become Parisians and Paris. It brings out their literary, existential side, that inner layer of untold mysterious stories that make up Paris, only half-evoked by a perfume that has even more to say but prefers to retain a tension, a non-dit, rather than spell out everything. The art of suggestion.
Previous Posts in Scented Thoughts:
Do You Think We're Seeing a Christmas-in-July Trend with Perfumes?
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Comments
Well, I couldn't find the rubies one but this review and a previous one MADE me order Hypnotic Poison Elixir from the UK.(since I guess it will never make itt's way to the states..?!) The original is very good but sometimes a flanker is even better. I like the slight updating of a fragrance, it makes it feel more current and exciting. Just as long as they don't change it too, too much;-)Oh, to be in Paris and smelling peoples sillage... I'll never forget being at the grocery store and a gorgeous 40 something french woman wheels her cart over to the bakery, wafting the most amazing perfume I've ever smelled, she was thin and impecably dressed. Classy and sexy in a lot of black with touches of white, and she asks me if I think they will have a whole wheat baguette, I tell her I'm not sure then I look down into her cart and see numerous bottles of wine and packs and packs of raw beef. I say to her "looks like your going to have some barbque" and she says "oh this, this is for zee dog!" I didn't have the balls to ask her what she was wearing but I smelled her all the way to the check out lane and out the door!!! Oh to be french!!!
Posted by: Kayliana | October 8, 2009
Lol!!, thank you for this vivid rendering of a Paris street scene!
I like the more deeply sensual turn Dior/François Demachy is working on. They have been adding layers of intensity and voluptuous depth to their flankers instead of lightening them up. I just harbor a little more regret for Diorissimo EDT, but they are going to come up soon with an EDP. Let's wait and see.
Perfume is such a wonderful thing and offers such a wide range of atmospheres and emotions! Right when I was delighting in liqueur-like scents, I try a light, sparkling one, its opposite, and it feels just as great to be able to experience that very different texture!
There is no end to this exploring!
Posted by: Marie-Helene Wagner | October 9, 2009
I just sampled the Alien liquor yesterday and I was very pleased with it. While I've always liked Alien, it was sort of in the way I admire more kinetic, conceptual art...the whole melee of chemicals and sweet and juice in Alien was attractive as something aesthetically pleasing, if not entirely wearable.
But the liquor is smooth, rich gorgeousness. I couldn't believe how clearly some of the notes, previously lost in the muddied mess of Alien, came through so clearly and beautifully. Especially the flowers. And the little golden bottle is so pretty. It will be mine!
Posted by: Heidi | October 29, 2009
The bottle is a show-stopper, that's for sure!
Posted by: Marie-Helene Wagner | October 29, 2009