A Parfum

I promised myself not to do any more blind buys, but when this fragrance was announced I just had to get it as soon as it came out. The Belgian fashion brand is one of my favorites and I love the style Ann has perfected over the years. I don't think she had anything to do with the creation of this fragrance, but it does seem true to the brands dna. It has a quiet, dark and fascinating sophistication. Almost an old-fashioned 20th century perfume, but with enough tar and spices (especially cumin) to steer it into this era. It starts off with a lot of vetiver, then citrus and leather. After a while it becomes more grounded, woody and spicy. I think Ann Demeulemeester did a wonderful job expanding its brand this way and creating such an outstanding fragrance. If you want a reference to fragrances that sort of smell alike, though not nearly as good: Le Labo Vetiver 46 and Binet Papillon No. 10 Malt Night-Fighter

A dark floral leather chypre - heavy on the birch tar, but also a lot of jasmine to my nose (it's jasmine season in LA and I feel like I'm smelling jasmine everywhere right now.) There's an interesting rosewood note in there too. It also smells very natural and somewhat "wild" - like a cottage in the woods that's been reclaimed by vines and shrubs. It's nice! I really like it. But it's also mildly forgettable. That's the thing with chypres - there's a lot of nice ones, but since they all kind of do shades of the same thing, they can start to blend together. A Parfum is a good, slightly goth, leather chypre... but probably not worth the $400/75ml they ask for it.

I sprayed this on my wrist in a department store in Tokyo out of curiosity and thought “oh, I’ll regret this” given its strength and my usual sensitivity to chypres and dislike of most “classic men’s colognes.” Instead, the scent clung to the cuff of my jacket for the rest of our trip and I became more and more obsessed with it. Moss, patchouli, leather, yes, but the spices, lemon, jasmine, and rosewood unlock a harmonious, more dark creamy apothecary symphony than “beast mode” (yuck) migraine screecher. More Serge Lutens or (vintage) Santa Maria Novella than Creed. It is expensive but gets better with age and I think it will be with me for many years.

We all love Ann, and we all want to own and love her perfume. But you can't buy samples, and its only available to sniff in ANTWERP. To borrow a phrase from Gen Z - "Make it make sense!!"

The opening is great albeit very strong, I love the citrus and cumin smell. The dry down becomes quite powdery though in a way I didn't like too much, and the citrus and cumin turn sour and it becomes a sweaty/musty smell, which is erotic in a way, but because it's so strong it's less subtly erotic and can be more offputting/pungent. It's a great fragrance but I ended up selling my bottle like two years ago because it had one too many flaws for a 400 dollar fragrance. One day though I'd like to try it again as it feels more in line with my tastes now than it did then.