Saturday, June 21, 2008

Prattling Violet


According to the American Heritage Dictionary, to prattle is “to talk or chatter idly or meaninglessly; babble or prate.” (And you, dear reader, already are thinking that this is going to be a bad review. Patience, s’il te plaît.) Annick Goutal’s singularly impressive Duel, conceived by Isabel Doyen in collaboration with Annick’s daughter Camille, constellates its elements –– birch tar, green maté leaf absolute, Paraguay seed, orris, and musk –– around a dusky violet heart. It is a strange effect, to say the least; strange but not unwelcome. Indeed, Duel is a misnomer of sorts; for the fragrance transports me not to a scene of drawn pistols at dawn, but, rather, to the slapping of gloves that preceded it. Duel reeks of the libertine and his illicit “freedoms,” the panoply of liberties he’s taken with his rivals’ sweethearts. His britches make the ladies (and a few of the footmen) swoon, while gentlemen of his rank and station affect quizzical expressions at the violet spray in his lapel. Rumor has it, he’s no shrinking violet.

4 Comments:

Blogger chayaruchama said...

Particularly, in this heat-
This is a very delicious scent.
It's a pity that you need to load it on, for some reasonable longevity...

Another thumbs up.

June 22, 2008 at 2:37 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Like Chaya, I love this scent, especially in warmer weather. It holds a bit better on me than some of the other AGs and I love wearing it with a femme dress -

Great review! Thank you.

June 22, 2008 at 7:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Duel, as far as I'm concerned, is one of those charming outlaws (and sometimes ex-noblemen), derring-do, cloak, sword, smile and dimples. Charming and wooing the ladies he robs, and seemingly not a worry in the world. Gérard Philippe in Fanfan La Tulipe, I think. Although Burt Lancaster in his Crimson Pirate days would do nicely as well.... Possibly a young Belmondo? You gotta love Duel, there's no way to resist all that charm.

June 24, 2008 at 4:07 AM  
Blogger Perfumeshrine said...

Assurement pas! (re: shrinking violet)
Maté is being hailed as the new "in" thing for some time and this one is showcasing it well. If only the libertinage was continuing on other scents as well...

July 3, 2008 at 2:34 AM  

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