Baiser Fou

Terminator raspberry ★★★★☆ Baiser Fou or ”Crazy Kiss” was aptly named because it is indeed somewhat of a maniac in both good and bad. For a man in mid-twenties such as me fruity florals is the fragrance territory that I visit the least for which I blame the brainwash that made me think that men are of wood and leather and women arise from petals and ripe fruits. In the past twenty years or so there have been fragrances that combine these aspects with great success, such as the fruity smoke of Aventus, but like in all of perfumery only a few possess a sense of humour. Smelling Baiser Fou for the first time made me instantly recall Le Feu d’Issey as they both have an aspect of healthy self-ridicule and a big dose of mischievous glee. Le Feu is an oriental and BF is a fruity floral but they’re connected via a delightfully perverse milk note. Another fragrance that I was happy to think of while trying Baiser Fou was Grojsman’s 100% Love by S-Perfume, which I like to think BF is a mainstream homage to. Both provide an otherwise harmless fruity affair turned bi-polar by a sickly background of all things unsuitable for humans. 100% Love achieves discomfort with the extremely bitter cacao-milk that results in a trigger heavy vomit-esque accord. Baiser Fou, while less aggressive, corrupts the cute fruits with boldly unnatural notes of sulphur (elemental yellow sulphur, not the rotten egg smell of hydrogen sulphide), firework smoke and metallic shine of heavy machinery. In fact, this combination of tart fruits with sulphur and metal gives me the mental image of a funfair. Angel was created to remind us of the confectionery and ice cream stalls of such childhood funfairs but Baiser Fou, whether intentional or not, opens up the same memory but situates me at the queue that makes way next to the giant humming motor of that Top Spin or ferris wheel. That anxious and excited wait you make before hopping onto the giant machine is heightened by the metallic scream of gears and neon coloured plastic theming of the ride. All this perfumed by artificially flavoured slush drinks and melted ice cream while lights flash and a cheap techno beat fills the air. This memory has been dormant for quite a while and I didn’t expect a perfume to active it as it contains a lot of not-suitable-for-perfume-scents but little did I know. Baiser Fou is perhaps somewhat hard to wear but it is tremendously fun and will surely elicit both high smiles and low frowns upon its wearer. I’d give this five stars but it is a bit too short lived and linear to compare with the likes of Le Feu, 100% Love or Angel. Baiser Fou is best enjoyed on a smelling strip, where the gleeful mid-section stays the longest. Soundtrack: Mat Zo - Vice

I purchased this fragrance in winter and I am happily wearing it at home, but to wear it out in winter seems pointless because it is more of a late spring and summer scent. I am excited for summer to come so that I can wear this with a sexy spaghetti strap dress and long loose curls. The fragrance smells like a ripe raspberry. A previous comment stated that it smells like a raspberry milkshake, and that is a perfect description. It does not smell synthetic and the scent, on my skin, is linear. The orchid note can be smelled, but raspberry is the star note. The fragrance is very simple which is what makes it beautiful. Baiser Fou is backup-bottle worthy. I will be purchasing a second bottle while I still can because Cartier no longer makes it. Update: Finally had the opportunity to wear it in summer during a trip to Vegas. I've seen reviews that say it smells rank on skin; I did not have that experience. I did notice the scent did not last as long on skin when it was hot, but that was expected, so I spray my clothing in the summer. I sprayed this on during a warm Vegas morning, and I could still smell myself 14 hours later. Anyone who is familiar with Vegas, knows that women there tend to wear very loud fragrances, at least that has been my experience, this fragrance was not over powering, and was not loud but could still be smelled, and I still love it. It meshed well with my chemistry - it may not be that way for everyone.

The raspberry facet here includes that natural tartness - there is a very green note here that makes it smell so fresh - like a real raspberry - not a candy syrupy raspberry. I sometimes go to this distillery that has two types of raspberry liquors. One is raspberry brandy - it is very syrupy, thick and has that candy like flavor. That isn't the one I order. I order the other raspberry liquor that is chilled and called raspberry brandywine - this liquor is thin and literally tastes like "summer in a bottle" - it's fresh and delicate juicy. Not sweet. That is the raspberry of this perfume. It has this green spring fresh quality which after about an hour quiets down into a soft white floral that is rounded out with a buttery white chocolate warmth - there is a touch of dryness here that occurs in high quality cocoa bean powder and I get that here with a bit of vanilla to round it out. The vanilla here plays a quiet supporting role just holding it all together but this is by no means a vanilla bomb. And there is no syrup here either. I don't get a lot of powder in this. This perfume morphs into a smelling like a beautiful, finely milled french beauty soap. So many facets to this - I have a closet full of perfumes and this has become my signature scent and I can't let go. It has all of the green stemmy, tart, berry, floral and soapiness that rocks my perfume world. I am so in love I already bought a back up bottle.

Correction to my earlier review: Luca Turner and Lana Sanchez correct names are Luca *TURIN* & *TANIA* Sanchez [I tried editing it and deleting it, but it still shows when not signed in.] Edited Review: Love, love, *LOVE* it!!! And I'm not even fond of sweet fragrances! But Baiser Fou's sweetness is not headache-inducing or throat-scratching. The fragrance is unique, which I also love because I *never* want my scent to be the same as every other woman's everywhere. It's mood-lifting, too. :) It's whimsical, carefree and reckless, but not loud about it. My reaction to it was, "Oh, I want to live in this world! Reality is so overrated!" :) Me and two of my closest friends tested this on our wrists with Chanel Chance Eau Tendre (which I also enjoy, but it's too common) on our other wrists. All three of us preferred Baiser Fou to Chance Eau Tendre (one of us didn't come to her preference until they had a couple hours to settle). My adult son and adult nephew both think it's nice, as well. Guess we have the same refined taste for perfume as Luca Turin & Tania Sanchez who gave it 4 stars. ;) No. I take that back. I guess our tastes are *more refined* 'cause we would have rated it higher! lol ;)

Beautiful perfume!! Starts greenish and tart (hommage to Baiser Vole edt), then fruity (hommage to Baiser Vole Lys Rose) and creamy vanilla (hommage to Baiser Vole Essence). Novelty are scents of orchid and white chocolate, melted in beautiful musk note,slightly resembling the one in La Panther. So, Baiser Fou is vivid fruity lipgloss scent, but elegant and refined in the same time. It has unusual combination of gourmand notes with fresh, green,fruity toneswhich make the scent fresh and not heavy. This is the only gourmand scent I can tolerate because it's not sickly sweet. Modern touch is accomplished by this plastic note which so many people disliked,but in my opinion it blends well with the composition and wears off rather quickly. The perfume is long-lasting, I smell it the next day, when only beautiful, creamy scent plus gentle chocolate remain. It is very feminine and boldly reinterprates current sweet gourmands by adding sour fruits and touch of green feminine fragrances from 70's. Pure love from me!