A powerhouse floral mossy-animalic in the style of Miss Balmain, Aramis and Azurée, Paradoxe pulls no punches. It starts off with a soaringly sour-sweet bergamot/galbanum and gardenia opening and lands with a powerful castoreum-rich animalic-leather base, inside of which are lush florals my Haarmann and Reimer guide describes as "sultry." I mean, just take a look at the list: gardenia, jasmine, tuberose, rose, and ylang-ylang. Sultry is right.
Top notes: Aldehydes, bergamot, green note, spicy note, gardenia
Heart notes: Jasmine, orris, rose, carnation, tuberose, ylang-ylang
Base notes: Leather, sandalwood, moss, patchouli, cistus, castoreum, civet, musk
The greenness and freshness of these white florals is pushed to the fore of Paradoxe, and helps to illustrate the perfume's name. Paradoxe is bracing and energizing rather than indolent and narcotic. And although there's civet, castoreum and musk in the base — an unmistakable leather accord — Paradoxe, reads as fresh, green, and even "feminine." I'm loving the mossy, spicy base, too. Feminine, in this case, does not mean demure.
Paradoxe is more of a 1960s or 1970s green leather-chypre than it is a purple power-suit wearing Giorgio-esque fruit-floral monster. More Charlotte Rampling than Joan Collins.
I'm hoarding this stuff...
Paradoxe ad courtesy: HPrints
Good to have you back!
Posted by: Barbara | July 02, 2013 at 11:13 AM
Thanks, Barbara. :-) Many more vintage perfumes to write about!
Posted by: Perfumaniac | July 02, 2013 at 11:20 AM