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.
Olfastory’s review
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.