How do you bite your thumb at the stream of cynical sub-scents that emerge every summer? Here’s a pretty good, two-word answer: Like This. Need more detail? Well, you start with a radiant flash of citrusy ginger, paired with a glassy lavender and the quietest hint of sweet saffron. Then you unveil a full-bodied immortelle, giving it plenty of room to show off its woody, spicy, fruity complexity. Next you introduce a well-measured scattering of bitter almonds and rose petals, lightening them with a temperate breeze that almost feels aldehydic, not unlike the effect created by Rive Gauche. And finally, you tell the world’s perfume critics that your scent also contains a ‘pumpkin accord’, and you watch as they scratch their heads and decide if they really can detect anything vegetable-like in their sample, or if a fairy godmother has waved her wand over it and turned it into a silvery-gold bauble. You balance all these elements with immaculate precision. You name your fragrance after a Persian poem. You choose Tilda Swinton for your advertising campaign, sending out all the right messages about androgyny and eccentric English cool. And then you watch as the other inconsequential little aquas and sport lites quiver behind their multi-million dollar marketing campaigns and marvel at your impressive longevity. Or to go back to that two-word answer, the best way to do it is Like This.
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I reckon nearly all UK-based perfume-lovers are aware of London’s Les Senteurs, which is why I haven’t felt it necessary to sing the shop’s praises. But just in case there are still a few people out there who haven’t made their way to Elizabeth Street (or, indeed, browsed the shop’s comprehensive website), this is a timely opportunity to state that stepping into the place is like walking into the most welcoming little perfume world where the staff couldn’t be more helpful and the goods on offer couldn’t be more enticing. Most importantly, there isn’t the faintest whiff of pushiness in the air and you’re allowed plenty of time to spray on blotters, make notes and think.
It is thanks to Les Senteurs that I’m able to offer a sample of Like This to one lucky Persolaise reader. If you’d like to enter the draw, please leave a comment on this post.
Please note: i) the draw will be open only for a few days, after which the comment facility will be disabled temporarily; ii) the winner will be selected at random and announced on this blog; iii) readers from anywhere in the world are eligible to enter; iv) by entering the draw, you indicate that customs regulations in your country permit you to receive an alcohol-based perfume posted from the UK; v) if the sample is lost in transit, it will not be possible for a replacement to be sent; vi) the address of the winner will not be kept on record, nor will it be passed to any third parties; vii) Persolaise takes no responsibility for the composition of the scent, as regards potential allergens and/or restricted materials
[Mathilde Bijaoui is officially credited as creator of Like This; review based on a sample of eau de parfum obtained in 2010; fragrance tested on skin.]
Persolaise.
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Sounds extremly promising. Although I do not distest every "fresh and sporty" perfume, I still prefer perfume which smells like perfume and not like fabric softener.
Please let me join the draw. Thank you.
i am so intrigued with fruits. Whenever I make perfume – they stick out so not good… 🙁 Would lvoe to try this one.
I agree with you wholeheartedly again – Les Senteurs is a fabulous place, run by genuine perfume lovers for perfume lovers. I also love their website but I also love getting their brochure and browsing through it from time to time.
I'd love to be in the draw too.
Regards
Michael
Christof – I don't dislike all fresh scents either… but I don't have much time for the ones that feel like they're produced on a soulless assembly line.
Bellatrix – Which fruit notes do you find particularly tricky? The citrus oils tend to be very easy to work with, I find.
Michael – If Les Senteurs were closer to me, I reckon I'd be much poorer!
Thanks to all three of you for writing; you're all in the draw.
Please enter me in the draw for Like This. I've read a lot about it and would love to try it. Thank you!
I don't like a lot of ELDO, but this one sounds pretty neat, so please can I be in the draw also.
Queen Cupcake and Wiscard: you're both in the draw… which is now closed.
Thanks to everyone who entered. The winner will be announced tomorrow.
To find out if you've won the draw for the sample of Like This, please go to the latest post on persolaise.com