Daphne

Upon my first encounter with Daphne, I’m pretty sure my pupils dilated and heart rate quickened. Right there and then, I knew I’d stumbled upon a true “hidden gem”, an overused and cliché term but I get the idea this perfume is somehow low-key, it doesn’t get the attention it deserves but I’m kinda glad about that, for many reasons. The bitter orange I get from the initial spray... in the very top is orange rind with a saffron glitter {for Daphne Guinness it *had* to be glitter}. The evolution of this fragrance is spellbinding, mind-bending even, it keeps you on your toes. I’ve spent time with this one, trying to identify individual notes from the list given but Daphne is crafted remarkably to a complex nature. From the top where the bitter orange starts to settle, the heart begins and the fragrance shapshifts—there-on the incense becomes prominent. I feel the rose peeking through and supports the dry, woody, dusty incense. This incense remains steadfast while the next stage of Daphne unfolds... narcotic tuberose blooms—balmy, bubblegum facets but not toothachingly so. This is a tuberose forward fragrance with jasmine giving the pivotal floral more animalic nuances. Where the tuberose starts to shine, the perfume reaches a waxy, honeyed sweetness... the amber. The tuberose charms and dominates throughout with the sticky amber embellishing it’s form. Smokey incense and a subtle touch of oud wisps throughout, with the gentle centafolia rose perfecting this stage. The incense note is one that perfumers that collaborate with the house of Comme des Garçons are known for doing exceptionally well. You can’t really push Daphne into an olfactory pyramid, the composition along with the warmth of the skin dances back and forth between its stages and reveals new and delightful facets every time this occurs but stays warm, alluring, sensual, fluffy throughout somehow. In the deep dry down the vanilla is pivotal and a adds depth, warmth, comfort and familiarity—I believe this vanilla in particular is what seals the deal and rounds off this fragrance. It creates a fuzzy, creamy, coziness. This vanilla is everything. But what is so beautiful is that this isn’t it... she isn’t done! Still—the tuberose lingers, smoky incense and spice lace through, amber glows softly, the iris whispers. I’m trying to best describe Daphne with the notes in mind and at each shift and waltz that takes place in this perfume. Daphne is so much more. Masterfully blended to perfection, made to bring you an element of suprise—to make you guess and wonder. Strangely captivating. I agree with @sundayinheaven. Daphne is just, Daphne. It is to be worn on the skin to really showcase its character and personality—albeit having a vibration of its own, I feel it desires to meddle with your own chemistry. I also wanted to add, the fragrance emanates beautifully on cloth. It is like nothing I’ve ever smelt. The most beguiling, mesmerising, narcotic tuberose wrapped in resins, powder and ribbons of fine smoke and delectable woods. A journey. Exquisite, enigmatic and breathtaking. Reminiscent of vintage perfumes in the absolute best way you could possibly imagine. A true delight to the senses—Daphne’s bottle is simplistic, her name etched into the glass oval flacon and placed in a red delicately crushed velvet pouch. Luxury. I need a backup bottle filled vault dedicated to this masterpiece. I need this for life. My bottle sits amongst the likes of my cherished and beloved bottles of vintage Dior Poison, CHANEL COCO, No5 vintage extrait and bottles of vintage Shalimar. Yes, indeed, I love Daphne that much. She is everything a fragrance should be. £185 for 50ml *eek* but so worth it. Comme des Garçons, take all my money. 💵💵💵 A handwritten note inside the packaging from Daphne herself reads: ❝These are some of my memories in a bottle. Created to make new memories.❞ I cannot wait to make new memories with this, my absolute favourite thing to do with perfume as well as evoke existing, fond and precious memories. Oh, this bottle is a piece of heaven itself encapsulated. Daphne has my heart.

Daphne is as gorgeous as all of the reviews before mine imply. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who pointed out that Daphne was again available! I bought a backup bottle (non-discounted with ridiculous shipping fees considering it's coming from New York and not Great Britain as the Daphne Guinness website seems to suggest) and am now back to wearing this incensey white flower bomb with unadulterated joy. I didn't think I was the type of person who wouldn't wear a perfume for fear of using up a discontinued fragrance. Yet there I was... hoarding a barely used bottle ca. 2009. Despite not wearing it consistently, if at all if I'm being honest, in the last 10+ years this is the first perfume that comes to mind if I have to pick a signature or can't-live-without fragrance. I wasn't slacking while my poor bottle of Daphne was languishing in it's cool dark resting place all these years. Here's a list of my favorite Daphne-like fragrances, though I wouldn't actually call any of these dupes: 1. Olympic Orchids' Mardi Gras--it's another massive white floral incense, very slightly animalic, but not the least bit scary. If Daphne was really never again going to be available I would have been quite happy with Mardi Gras. It's a gorgeous perfume in it's own right. 2. M. Micallef Watch--another massive white flower blend that's super sweet but missing incense, or any other note that might be considered challenging, to temper all of that sugar. I consider this "prettier" than both Daphne and Mardi Gras--but Daphne is still my #1. 3. Lush Sikkim Girls--pretty white flower incense with comparatively poor longevity. I think it's currently discontinued, but it pops up on selling sites and Lush often brings things back. It's only worth tracking down if you can't get your hands on either Daphne or Mardi Gras. In any case, Daphne is so big and bold that it feels like it should be a vintage perfume--with none of the curdled top-notes that you sometimes find in actual vintage perfumes. Is that a retro vibe? A modern vintage? It's an oxymoron in fragrance form. Vivienne Westwood Boudoir, some early Serge Lutens, and any of Rogue Perfumery florals fall into this category for me.

Knowing some of Antoine Lie's work for ELDO, I kind of knew what to expect, and Daphne delivered for sure. It opens with a citrus aroma giving way to a tuberose-saffron combo which is overpowering at first - I felt like a nuclear bomb wearing this one after I sprayed two spritzes of it. This loudness stayed for an hour or two, and later a touch of oud and incense calmed it down(no matter how weird it may sound). Now, there is a heart of tuberose, spice, oud and incense - a conglomerate of pretty risky and polarizing notes. However, they all seem well orchestrated to work in conjunction, while never feeling like too much of anything. The base adds some patchouli and maybe some other stuff, while putting spices aside - it is still complicated, but also well-composed, just like heart. In my opinion, that speaks of perfumer's mastery more than anything. As I said earlier, its sillage is ridiculous at first, but it weakens a bit with time. Its longevity is amazing on my skin with an easy 10 hours period. I can't say I agree with 'for women' label, at least not completely - I feel like it's equally wearable for both genders, BUT only for those who love challenging compositions - this one is everything but safe, no matter if on a woman or on a man. This is not your typical CdG, it feels more like an ELDO, but surely is in line with its very best creations. This is an incredibly balanced composition, especially considering its notes, and a true niche at that. Not exactly my type of perfume, but I can't and I won't deny its quality. 9.5/10

Where to start with you dear Daphne? A month ago I didn't even know who you were. Then a dear fellow Fragrantican suggested we should be introduced. So I Googled you, read your profile, was hesitant to meet because of your unconventional style and that badger-like black and white 'do that you wear; not to mention what others here on this page had to say about you. I was so sure we wouldn't click, yet I was strangely intrigued. And today, I let you touch my skin for the first time. A firm slap actually is what you imposed. With sweet incense, bitterness, and compelling tuberose, all at once agressive, yet somehow, never contradicting your sensual spirit. Grounded with wet spicy patchouli and ambery woods, you are a fascinatingly bright, yet deeply resinous story that is not afraid to be told--a complex open book--with a voice that eventually soothes the soul as the story unfolds. And somehow you seem familiar. Prada Intense, your little sister comes to visit me now and then and I enjoy her company immensely. She even has her own comfy chair in my living room. Perhaps this is why I feel so at-ease with you, both with dark orange, rich incense/resins, sweet florals, patchouli, smooth woods and vanilla spice. In any event, Daphne, you're a keeper. I admire and appreciate your independence and integrity. I hope you'll stop by often because I'm looking forward to getting better acquainted with you, and especially even more so that your (now discontinued) little sister Prada Intense is going to move away for good one day.

Comme des filles Have you ever watched the advertising spots for Comme des Garçons perfumes? These works of art video have the gift to put into images all the chemical olfactive experience that your nose will live by touching this little wonder. For this one, elements float in a liquid dream world and visions keep coming in as a narcotic addict poet delirium. Daphne Guinness is a perfume of Antoine Lie about tuberose but as always with CdG it's an offset vision of the red districts flower. Prostitute it remains fortunately, the décolleté in opening with camphory notes (but less intense than Lutens). Above a body molded in a corset who is worthy of the art of Japanese bondage. This is the incense (signature of CdG) who lasciviously sinking into the fleshy flower and highlights the softer features. Further down more musky odor reveal themselves. Caught between the legs you are the paralyzed victim of a praying mantis. Who eats who? This side of bad taste and mastered vulgarity reminds me undeniably some Etat Libre d'Orange creations . If the explanation is not clear I must tell you that this is not a fragrance for family gatherings with your stepmother. By cons it will work your imagination for many other occasions.