by Mark
It can be interesting to watch an artist's vision evolve as they return to the same themes again and again. Ernest Beaux was fond of jasmine, rose and ylang ylang. Bertrand Duchaufour likes incense, cardamom and papyrus. Linda Pilkington likes to open with bergamot and pink pepper and close with vetiver and cedar.
Her latest, Zizan comes on with a blast of bergamot, lime, lemon and pink pepper. Within moments, an illusory sweet peach note appears, and as quickly is replaced with the equally illusory scent of freshly cut green bell peppers. The green pepper recedes and the peach returns, now less sweet, more like the skin of a ripe peach than the flesh.
This flurry of activity happens very quickly, and then, suddenly, it all turns into a gorgeous vetiver. This vetiver is warmly illuminated by bay and cedar and evokes sunshine and heat. Normally, when I think of a sexy fragrance, it involves animalic notes; here, indolic jasmine is the closest thing present to an animal, but still, this is unquestionably a seductive scent. Hours later, musk and amber soften the edges, but vetiver remains dominant, triumphant even.
Zizan is the most brilliantly rendered vetiver I have yet encountered; it is what I had hoped Sycomore would be, and then some. An admirably beautiful construction.
The good news is, I don't think she's peaked yet.
Year: 2008
Perfumer: Linda Pilkington
Notes: Sicilian lime, lemon, bergamot, clary sage, pink pepper, juniperberry; bay, violet and jasmine; vetiver, cedar, musk and amber.
Mark: Thanks for your review and I wholeheartedly agree. One of the stand-out releases for 2008. LT's review in the latest update of "The Guide" is perplexing to me. I am frequently "simpatico" with his opinions, but not in this case. It was nice to get your corroboration.
ReplyDelete