Annick Goutal: Mon Parfum Chéri par Camille

Mon Parfum Chéri is the first fragrance I jotted down to sniff. Reading the inspiration and the pyramid featuring patchouly, plum, iris, violet and heliotropine, I was curious about it despite Isabelle Doyen's olfactory signature (parfumeur maison for Goutal and Les Nez) seldom found me on the same wavelength for it is often dull or anyway not so incisive maybe for my passionate nature. Let alone the latest trial of Le Mimosa convinced me as the occasion to concoct a radiant yellow floral with a cheeky greeness touch has turned into a boring girlish jelly-bean.
But this time don't play tricks I said to myself, mom is always mom after all!

Colette

The fragrance is inspired by the novels from Colette "Chéri" beloved by Annick but is above all Camille Goutal's homage to the memory of her mother in the thirtieth anniversary of enstablishment of Annick Goutal Parfums. So like Annick dedicated to the baby Camille back in time Petite Chérie, now the daughter launches a meaningful perfume, renewing the rich textures of the house classics like Heure Exquise and Grand Amour. This time Isabelle Doyen pours out a lesson on perfumery history recreating the glamourous atmospheres of forties and fifties and maybe a reference to Annick's modelling career, the charm of the great couture of that time to the point of recalling even only for a while the allure of the legendary Iris Gris by Jacques Fath.

Mon Parfum Chéri is a little masterpiece in the way it makes shine thousand facets around the florentine iris, precious diamond of this timelessly elegant neoretro chypre. Actually the opening straightway highlights the almost embarassingly huge quantity and quality used of it, with a slight dry and floral spicyness of cinnamon and clove warming up the herbal and vegetal tones of orris root hovering between flower, yeast and carrot. Just a while and the root immediately turns into silky petal, old days habit, soft violet scented face powder housed in that nice decorated boxes coming with the puff too. The development could seem vanishing but instead here it comes the patchouly with its rough shade, just smoothed by the plum pulp but there's nothing saucy about it: it's all naughtyness and nonchalance like a great lady that knows how to get a man at her feet just playing with a glance. Finally the softness of heliotropine, orris butter and musks gets back reminescent of old lipstics and yummy lips as in movies kisses. The result is a striking juice with a great lasting power, sexy like a pair of high-heels mules and full of whispered facets, chiseled to perfection and flawlessly fitting the body like a satin duchesse custom-fitted dress.