I love the idea of a "cusp." In astrology, this means the date when two signs converge, or when one sign transitions to another, sharing the attributes of both.
Cusps in perfume and Zodiac signs toggle between the signature characteristics of the era/sign they're leaving and the ones they're moving toward. For example, I'm a Leo/Virgo, which means, on the one hand, that I am extroverted, need attention, and have energy to burn; and on the other, that I need time away from the madding crowd, that I don't need others' opinions, and that I occasionally need to tunnel under the bedcovers.
Although Jil Sander's first perfume, Woman Pure, is a cusp perfume, it is very much a 1970s scent.
It joins the austere green chypre elegance of Givenchy III (1970) (with its soupçon of fruit) with the arid, "I'm not F$%cking around" dryness and bitterness of Scherrer No. 1 (1979).
Its powdery, mossy and perfume-y base is by turns strident and soft, and gives the bracing greenness of Woman Pure's beginning a brocaded opulence in the dry down in the form of resins, leather and animal notes. (Smelling the residue on the cap of the honkingly huge bottle I Smell Therefore I Am blogger Brian Pera gifted me brings home how much civet and/or castoreum must be hiding in this bottle.)
Top notes: Leafy green, aldehyde complex, galbanum, coriander, bergamot
Heart notes: Rose, jasmine, carnation, ylang-ylang, tuberose, lily of the valley, gardenia
Base notes: oakmoss, cedar, styrax, leather, benzoin, vetiver
I've been intrigued by Jil Sander fragrances. (I've written about her later fragrances, Jil Sander Woman 2 [1983] and Jil Sander Woman 3 [1986].) Did Sander herself have a part in picking the perfumers or the styles of perfume? Does she have a particularly deft perfumista consultant? Why are her fragrances, even when I don't like them, consistently challenging and in-your-face? It's odd, considering her designs seem so minimalist. You'd expect her fragrances to be clean and neutral, the olfactory equivalent of beige or grey...
(Please note: the ad is from 2003 and features a more contemporary bottle. If you'd like to try a true 70s green floral with kick, find the bottle I've shown below the ad. There seem to be quite a few reasonably priced ones on eBay.)
category: floral/green
You're an introvert, welcome to the club.
You think it might be Ilias Ermindis and Nathalie Lorson tag teaming on this perfume?
Posted by: Hugo | August 16, 2014 at 09:36 PM
Maybe too early for those two to get involved.
Posted by: Hugo | August 16, 2014 at 09:38 PM
Hi Hugo,
I'm not sure who composed the perfume. But I know I am definitely not an introvert! :-) Thanks for stopping by. I'll see if I can find out who created this beauty...
Posted by: Perfumaniac | August 17, 2014 at 01:52 PM
My apologies for my knee jerk labeling. For every hour I spend with people I need equal time with a good book and blog. I'm an arrogant introvert. :D
Posted by: Hugo | August 21, 2014 at 12:48 AM