Blind Sniff Roulette #2: Donna Karan DK Unleaded

Fragrance number two, like the last year is a discontinued vintage. But whether I picked that in the '80s with Phileas, this time we talk about the fashion designer Donna Karan in 1995. We talk about DK Unleaded, DK Man's younger brother, the fragrance with the weirdest bottle in the whole perfume history: a crome tinged glass cloche (bravo Memory of Scents, it's just quicksilver colour) designed by her husband, the sculptor Stephan Weiss.
For sure it's a juice that caused different reactions on you, even opposite ones. Nobody noticed the aldehydic metallic opening getting then fresh, almost juicy with ananas that's a classic contrasting match with the leathery base since the time of Jean Patou Colony. The fragrans then gets more aromatic with basil and cardamome introducing the floral heart (rose, jasmine, ylang, carnation) soapy and slightly salty (bravo Florence) given by benzyle salicilate (have you in mind the smell of Ambre Solaire?) halfway with the warm facet of ylang ylang and the sundrenched skin (body cream etc, bravo Salvatore). Also a good dose of musks contributed for sure to give you the clean impression of something simple, fresh (squirrel, rat musqué, intervallo, folk music, Marie Antoinette). But the base later gets more modern, sensual with just tanned suede, a pinch of woods (vetiver, cedar and sandalwood, bravo Gretel and Florence), tobacco, tonka and a citrus shade (bravo Memory of Scents) for a modern man, dynamic and adventurous (007, sci-fi) with a dark hint, almost fuel-like that some of you got (Solaris, the great Gatsby, Caravaggio's boy bitten by a lizard, Les Liaisons Dangereuses).
Here we go with your very interesting interpretations...

Florence
First of all, I must admit that even if I can't identify the notes, I feel more comfortable with this perfume than with Pomegranate Noir, the scent corresponds with my tastes, I like it, I think it's original and sweet, I could wear it. It's a subtle scent that we could associate with autumn or spring. It seems pretty classic and nevertheless it's different from any other scent.

• if it would be a colour? Ecru (or greyish beige), the milky and soapy notes remind me of white colour, but this colour may be a bit aggressive and cold sometimes so we need to choose a neutral, soft and elegant color.
• if it would be an animal? A squirrel because this perfume is not so common, there is a little bit salty note, the perfume seems mischievous and I smell something that is reminiscent of dried fruits ( hazel-nuts? peanuts?) or of figs. That's also a lovely, childlike scent which is sometimes a bit elusive (with the top notes, I can smell lavender but I don't think there is lavender! It's rather an impression of freshness)
• if it would be music? Maybe a folk song, a soft melody with a feminine voice (creamy aspect), a poetic and almost fairy song, (I smell a slighty woody aspect in base notes)

• if it'd be a place? A feminine but simple tearoom! It's a very soft, mellow scent ,notes seem warm (sandalwood? Maybe some cinnamon?) , it make us feel good and quiet.
• if it'd be a cloth? A trench, the scent is not vulgar at all, it's smart and elegant and it has something solar... I think that, in a rainy day, we could feel protected wearing it.
• if it'd be a movie/book? It's difficult... Maybe "The great Gatsby" because the soapy notes and the sandalwood remind me of a cosy and peaceful world, a "bourgeois" world where life seems smooth and easy. But the woody and slightly spicy notes tell me that there's probably something secret and darker.
• if it'd be a personality (storical, pubblic,...)?  Audrey Hepburn, this perfume seems to be delicate and fragile with a kind of purity (I think it's not white musk, but a note reminds me the cleanness, the washing powder, the fresh sheets). But it's not insipid or mawkish at all! (no sugar) On the contrary, the salty note makes it surprising and sophisticated.

Gretel
Terrriibbble!!! It's not for me hands down: it's a sort of masculine aftershave the old barbers used to keep in their old windows, a mix my nose classify as marshy (like rotten white flowers) with notes of white musks german-style, probably sandalwood or vetiver or a note everybody gets but not me that generally is one of the above stated. Maybe there's also a leathery trace but it's so faint. It reminds me the classic Palmolive shaving foam, that's all.

• if it would be a colour? Grey or pastel light blue, something dull and livid, nothing gaudy. At maximum a mix with sand and brown.
• if it'd be an animal? A safe rodent, like a rat musqué.
• if it'd be music? The famous intervallo of italian national television, the one showing portraits of the various italian cities (music from Pietro Domenico Paradisi (Paradies) (1707-1791) toccata per arpa.

• if it'd be a place? A province town like the ones in the pictures of Intervallo above mentioned.
• if it'd be a cloth? A man's shoulder bag.
• if it'd be a movie/book? The silver spoon. A comedy crime film like Agatha Christie's Poirot.
• if it'd be a personality(storical, pubblic,...)? Caravaggio's boy bitten by a lizard.

Mauro
Wow, a wonderful incense dressed up for the evening. It tastes like a vintage fragrance, probably it is, it reminds me something from twenty years ago, but I can't guess it.
It is anyway a wonderful concoction, incense is difficult to blend, it's usually related to church, at least for the catholics; I like it anyway. Maybe it's due to the fact it was the main ingredient of the fragrance I felt in love with and that made me curious about smelling around: Ted Lapidus.

• if it would be a colour? It would be the colour of sky at west right after the sunset with some clouds, so from purple to blue.
• if it'd be an animal? A peacock spinning the wheel, it's a fragrance with thousand reflections just like the peacock tail.
• if it'd be music? It'd be a polyphonic chant a capella, where the only instrument is the human voice with all its facets well directed by a masterful director (incense).
• if it'd be a place? A greek amphitheatre while theres a play going on.
• if it'd be a cloth? A wonderful dark blue tuxedo for sure.
• if it'd be a movie/book? It comes to my mind "007" with Sean Connery; the boldness of the most famous agent on Her Majestry's secret service, coupled with refinement and elegance and also Sean Connery's charisma.
• if it'd be a personality (storical, pubblic,...)? Sean Connery, but also the italian showman Fiorello: very popular but he always gets surprising.

Memory of Scents
No2 opens with a huge alcoholic blast that burns my nostrils. This is a very fit opening for a very cold and mechanical fragrance. I smell galbanum in the opening, which I love. This is definitely green! It takes a few minutes for they weirdest plastic doll note to appear and dominate the fragrance for the better part of its progression. The plastic doll note is so photorealistic that it totally blocks my ability to dissect notes. I smell just that: plastic doll. Don't get me wrong, I love this smell and I think most fragrances that have it also have angelica. It could also be some kind of synthetic moss. There is a hint of a floral note that is not supposed to play a major part in this composition, something like a very tame ylang-ylang. Instinctively I would say vetiver is also part of the composition. Surprisingly the drydown reveals some citrus which was hiding for the entire development.

• if it'd be a colour? Silver: cold and impermeable. Quicksilver.
• if it'd be an animal? A praying mantis: the part where She chops off His head after mating. The part where it stands graciously, looking half animal, half mechanical cosntruction.
• if it'd be music? Laurie Anderson: music and spoken words.
• if it'd be a place? Sci-fi landscape: white vast fields.
• if it'd be a cloth? Hich-tech sports gear.
• if it'd be a movie/book? Solaris: there is something wrong with this memory.
• if it'd be a personality (storical, pubblic,...)? Laurie Anderson: very cerebral.

Salvatore
It is a very fresh, crystal clear perfume with watery notes, waterlily, lotus flowers, lilac, hiacynth, narcissus…. light delicate flowers by a small lake and maybe there's some leather in the base! And I guess iris also!

• if it'd be a colour? It'd be lilac or pale pink or a pastel colour anyway, like a watercolour, something undefined and blurred.
• if it'd be an animal? It'd be a flamingo, a very elegant delicate bird with his feet into the water and water drops covering its pink shaded feathers.
• if it'd be music? Something classic and simple. Piano and strings as accompaniment in a tearoom.
• if it'd be a place? It would be something very feminine, maybe a boudoir: intimate place for the courtesans. It could even be the famous “Hameau de la Reine” with its bucolic landscape of flowers, vines and small lakes.
• if it'd be a cloth? Probably the corset of a courtesan in the XVIII century with the light smell of flowers, creams and makeup mixes up with the one of laces (maybe leather ones! I smell leather!) tightening the corset.
• if it'd be a movie/book? For sure “Les Liaisons Dangereuses". It's a scent reminding me of corsets, fans, wigs... When women used to scent themselves with floral notes to hide tasty body odors (here probably given by the leather base).
• if it'd be a personality (storical, pubblic,...)? Marie Antoinette just arrived in Versailles for sure, still “innocent”, or in general a french courtesan.
  P.S. I don't like it at all… I find it the classic pleaser scent!

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