Tubéreuse by Caron (2003): Bitter Dolorist Tuberose or The Lady Macbeth {Perfume Review}
Tubéreuse by Caron was composed by in-house perfumer Richard Fraysse in 2003 and is advertised as the latest of the so-called "parfums fontaines" (fountain perfumes), the more selective and luxurious range of extraits at Caron boutiques which is exclusive to both their standalone and in-store stores in Paris, London, Bahrein and New York City. The collection comprises some of the house's classics and rarer, less talked about and worn compositions, soliflores in particular, like Tubéreuse. The Baccarat fountains represent both the niche and "haute parfumerie" sensibilities of a perfume house which already retains this cachet despite having a bestseller like Pour un Homme and being distributed via Sephora. Somehow, in your mind's eye Caron remains small and exclusive. I went back to their Avenue Montaigne boutique some time ago and was struck by its quiet, provincial charm despite it being located in a prestigious artery of Paris; it could be a notions store.Their sense of exclusivity is not left to chance however, and like stepping inside further inner circles that make you feel it was worthwhile to see things in situ, they have a perfume which is advertised nowhere and bears not a name but a number.
Due to the fountains collection's goal which is to find an exclusive and faithful audience, the perfumer can take more liberty with the imperative of pleasing the crowds by coming up with a lowest common denominator like sugar (translation: vanilla) or simply happy or pleasing notes. It's a little bit like knowing in advance that in order to win your audience you won't have to put out a feel-good movie like Shakespeare in Love, which won the Oscar for Best Movie in 1998 mostly thanks to this quality: it was indeed the happiest and most hopeful one of the lot (and let's not forget thanks to aggressive industry networking.) No, here you can try something darker and less easy to smell...
Tubéreuse is a tuberose composition which manages to create a particular atmosphere and coloring without smelling like a copycat or derivative of Fracas (1948). It offers an interesting bitter green twist and a peculiar kind of heaviness and carnality, without smelling like the mentholated Tubéreuse Criminelle (1999) which by contrast seems gentler. The contrast of an austere note of what could be interpreted as Bitter Melon - one of the most bitter fruits on earth - with the narcotic redolence of tuberose leaves you intrigued. It is liquorishy, fruity, decaying, chalky (old-school aldehydes as in Royal Bain de Caron.) It manages to smell slightly putrid, like stale water and vase. In other words, the scent betrays signs of morbid languidness as tuberose can suggest the scent of rotting flesh and carrion.
The composition seems to be the result of a research on the maleficent aspects of tuberose, its interesting jarring, ugly aspects. It does not smell as ready for a social as what I see as its polite counterpart, Lady Caron (2000). This is the dark side of Lady Caron's tuberose and plays Lady Macbeth to the first, minus the signs of madness as it seems on the contrary to have an exceptional measure of self-control.
Tubéreuse is thus very different. It smells poisonous and minimally sweet. The oakmoss is pushed and bitter-smelling. It smells a bit like stinging nettle and reminds me of a similar impression as found with the stinging nettle note paired with jasmine in Prends Garde à Toi by Ego Facto (2009). Like the latter which came afterwards, it gives an impression of pairing an habitually solar floral note with a dark, figuratively sulfurous and dangerous green one, which gives it its main tonality.
Tubéreuse is an interesting bitter green tuberose interpretation with a raw edge. You can think of all the green notes that signal danger like absinthe, nettle, hemlock, and then couple it with the most dangerous of flowers and it gives a rather brooding, dark, poisonous tuberose with little inkling for plaisanterie or even seduction. I see this scent as a perfume made for a woman who wants to wear perfume for herself rather than to make an impression on others -- frankly, she doesn't give a damn. The phrase, "non-emasculated tuberose" comes to mind, so I suppose men might be interested in this bitter tuberose.
If Tubéreuse by Caron were a Shakespearean tale, it would not be the light and modern comedic rendition Shakespeare in Love. It would have to be Macbeth. And the scent would go well with the cauldron and the witches, the bloodied hands, the mossy and lugubrious castle, the heavy and barely moving atmosphere which is what tuberose needs to thrive.
Notes: tuberose, jasmine, a touch of acidity, freesia
Previous Posts in Perfume Shorts:
DKNY Pure (2010): More than just a Drop of Vanilla
A Scent by Issey Miyake Eau de Parfum Florale (2010): Lipstick Jasmine
L'Eau Serge Lutens (2010): Renewing the Mythology of Perfume: Between Water and Smoke
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