Reptile

There is this concept of a "second skin" in perfumery, where a fragrance is more a complement to one's own personal space rather than a salvo of one's personal affect. Some argue that they feel cheated by such a scent as it denies the wearer the opportunity to enter spaces with a statement. This leads me to query the idea of a "statement" when I would argue that a subtle effusion can make an even stronger impression. There is that quiver that comes from being enticed by a scent, but it also feels just beyond reach, leaving you wanting more, making you fall in love with its elusiveness. It ends up being stored in what feels like a hallowed temple in the brain's memory center. To some, Reptile may elude in a way that leaves them baffled. It's almost a mirage, there, but weaving in and out of perceptual conscience. I love this about it. The copy's claim that it's a "beguiling and musical perfume for center-stage" resonates with me, but not in the way it's intended. This is no "electrifying" rock-n-roll sort of fragrance. It's more Eno than Fripp, an ambient experience where its tonality, built around one of the best uses of pepper-plus-cedar Iso E Super driving a vaporous brushed leather, is a compelling minimalism. I am reminded of a fog-machine: that sweet, ineffable misty aroma: an olfactory rendering of this fog creating a musky opacity in the air, rendering the wearer in a hazy daze. Like an apparition, it weaves in and out of perception. A Veramoss accord, salty, reminiscent of wet paper, and mineral-like, fashions Reptile into an almost haptic phenomenon, for me personally at least. Its impression of tactility comes closest to resembling its namesake, a textured skin, the furrows and scales, tiny crystals and blunted spikes, leading to a soft cotton exterior, only partially visible in the brume, but surely felt. It makes me want to receive a hot stone massage in a spa. The skin scent is a surface just dried, fresh, raw and slightly mammalian. I am absolutely smitten with this newfound "second skin," but let me clear (as the politicians say): you may be underwhelmed and then wonder what I was prattling on about. Beware, I urge you to try before you buy, and maybe, just maybe, it dovetails with your sensibilities as it has with mine.

Reptile is a really interesting twist on a few ideas I like from (largely) masculine perfumes gone by. I think it has more than passing nods to Balmain (that peppery one), Gucci PH1, some misremembered YSL Prive line one perhaps... (not doing very well here am I?) Hermes...maybe Equipage X Vetiver (less so the...) Tonka? Then something like Lancome Homme also? It has a mossy, earthy, scratch of vetiver cocooned in a hazy ginger and cardamom/nutmeg, pepper spice, evoking the incense smoke and supple leather as well but with the lightly soft base underneath which all these perfumes have giving that gentile, chanel/YSL/Guerlain chic. It's lovely. Has a bit more bite and almost verging on something edgy but not to the point of Nightclubbing which I still think is the most standout thing from the brand. The thing about this more recent rebooted Celine line is that they don't really standout massively from a creative point of view, other than being very well executed and such, and there will even be those folks who don't feel Repile has enough impact, or original ideas but I'm wearing it today and while it's not exactly a blissful, WOW, I need this in my life' experience, it's a very reassuring, firm hand on the perfumery tiller, type perfume, I'm enjoying it and it's impeccably conceieved and blended for me.

My friend and fellow Fragrantican Gretta sent me a generous vial of this stuff, about which I knew nothing, and wow. What an absolute beauty--and so distinctive. I don't think I would have been drawn to this perfume on the basis of the name, Reptile, because I have visited the Reptile House at the St. Louis Zoo, and as beautiful and fascinating as its inhabitants are, I do not want to smell even sort of like that. Despite my reservations, as soon as I sprayed Celine Reptile on my inner arms, I felt sheer delight. It smells like the listed notes, like leather and moss, in that order. Maybe you, like me, were a prepubescent horsegirl who thrilled to the scent of saddles and bridles and other tack, or maybe you, like me, simply enjoy the fragrance of fine leather handbags and other accessories, or maybe you, like me, enjoy the scent of peppery, smoky black tea and oak moss. You probably have your own perfectly valid reasons to reach for this subtle beauty, despite the unfathomable name. Wear this if you want to exude class without screaming how classy you are.

First sample: This smells almost exactly like Bal d'Afrique on my skin. I do like Second sample: I don’t get any associations related to the name, but this is definitely edgy and cool. It gives me that model off duty type of feeling. This is definitely something a star would wear. Completely unisex, to me Reptile is similar to Bal d’Afrique with less vetiver and a touch of non-smoky powdery vanilla mixed in. Perhaps my mind is creating ghost notes here, but that’s what I get and I love it. I can wear this regardless of season, but would likely skip it on very hot summer days... Although, the name would suggest otherwise, so I may give it a try. P.S. I used to work in a biochem/genetics lab when I was in college and had to deal with hundreds of frogs. Reptile is not even remotely close to any of the scents I had to endure in the process. P.P.S. I think the powdery vanilla note that I and others are smelling is the musky leather which is so soft and gentle that it doesn’t even smell like leather. Sample three: I’m now nose blind to this

Based on the name, I was expecting something more aggressive, weird, and offbeat (and more leathery). I actually feel like the main structure kind of reminds me of some elements of Cartier's L'Heure Fougeuese--namely a combo of coumarin and Evernyl (meant to impart an oakmossey feel) all over the gauzy-orris Celine veil. Lovely and pleasant. Pepper and the vetiver are most evident in the opening in addition to a slight sweetness. In fact, something in this evokes the vetiver-coumarin-ethyl maltol-floral "filler" chemical combo that produces Vetiver Tonka. Even though I was expecting stranger, the sort of moss greenness makes sense with the aesthetic of the scent. If you liked the idea of Fougeuese, but found it just a little too weird and salty/skin-like, this might appeal! An interesting lovechild of the aforementioned Cartier and Hermessence scents that manages to be offbeat enough but agreeable and wearable. Tempted to get a 15ml!