Paloma Picasso launched her first fragrance in 1984, a chypre composed by Francis Bocris for L’Oréal and now sold as Mon Parfum. The house describes it as a powerful floral: angelica, carnation, rose and bergamot on top, jasmine, hyacinth and patchouli in the heart, and a base of sandalwood, musk, oakmoss and amber.
Elena Vosnaki of Perfume Shrine found it in 2007 a spicy, animalic chypre to be worn sparingly; Aaron Potterman of ÇaFleurBon discovered it in 2015 as a magnificent chypre, whose 2014 version he still considers worthy of the original.
What critics say
Perfume Shrine, a chypre of fire
On October 25, 2007, Elena Vosnaki described a green, dry opening that lands like a blow, from which a cascade of spices bursts, clove and coriander, with flowers sensed from afar. The rose, musky and dusty, plays with patchouli and a powder that recalls Aromatics Elixir.
The base grips her: a rich, almost masculine castoreum, evoking hides at a tannery on a warm day. She wonders how she could have loved it so much, now advises a sparing application and prefers the extrait, to be dabbed rather than sprayed.
ÇaFleurBon, a late epiphany
On November 6, 2015, Aaron Potterman recounted having long ignored a fragrance sold everywhere, before discovering a magnificent chypre in it. His oldest bottle, in white frosted glass, seems to him the best built: peachy aldehydes, citrus, jasmine, civet, carnation and clove, with a pronounced tobacco.
Then come a dark rose, labdanum and hyacinth, a honeyed effect and castoreum, before a base of patchouli and oakmoss. The 2014 eau de parfum seems to him worthy of the original, rich and opulent within the limits of current regulations.
More perfumes from Paloma Picasso
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