By Dane
Let's get the bad out of the way. The bottle is hideous. With all the white plastic and hot-glued crystals, it's easily one of the tackiest things I own. It claims to contain 5 absolutes - rose, mimosa, iris, ambrette seee, and galbanum. I smell only one those. It's also a reissue and apparently bears no resemblance at all to the original (although I can't verify this). Those of you who may be hypersensitive to the synthetic rasp of lily of the valley may also have some difficulties midway through the development.
Now the good. The bottle is based on the original as well, but has changed from black to white. As tacky as it is, it makes me smile. The juice, while not actually smelling like its author's masterpiece, Chinatown, has more than a few things in common with it (again good...more on that in a minute). What it doesn't share with Chinatown is also good...original, creative, and while feeling a bit retro at times, truly modern.
For the Chinatown haters, I'll first say that any comparison is more to do with structure and inspiration. Chinatown is like the quitessential ripe peach, picked at that exact moment of perfection when the sweetness and tartness are in perfect balance. Couture plays on a different fruit, mango to my nose, and plays up the idea of not-quite-ripe. Slightly bitter, vegetal, and with a green, poisonous bite.
Where it veers away from Chinatown is in the floral elements. Rose plays the star role here, and although the green elements could be attributed to the advertised galbanum, I just don't catch any whatsoever (ditto on the mimosa, iris, and ambrette). The rose is truly a stunner though, so it easily makes up for the lacking support.
Overall, Couture has a bright, sunny character that I find irresistable. Although much lighter than Chinatown (quite a bit lighter actually), I wouldn't say that it's any easier to wear. In fact, the sharp edges, green fruit, and raspy wood notes make it slightly uncomfortable. Naturally, those elements are what make it a truly fascinating creation.
Year: 2008
Perfumer: Aurelien Guichard
Notes: Bergamot, Galbanum, Mimosa, Rose de Mai, Jasmine, Iris, Ambrette Seed, Patchouli
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