Seconde Peau

Guess I will go first. I picked a sample of this up at courrèges boutique in Paris in Le Marais. Seconde Peau is an apt name because it has very little sillage but it definitely has longevity making it a truly "second skin" fragrance. I should start out by saying I LOVE vetiver so if you don't you should move on. However most fragrances that are vetiver heavy where the note is unmistakable I usually cannot wear because I find them too masculine and that is just not me. This might be the absolute perfect vetiver fragrance for me. This perfume creates an aura or personal space cloud. It starts off with the smokier earthy facets of vetiver and evolves into a nice very dry greenish rooty vetiver. Soft, close to the skin yet fresh/woody. There is a very slight saltiness here that I just LOVE. Never sharp never loud and it doesn't smell like aftershave. My partner has a bottle of Encre Noir and I have a sample of Perles de Lalique and I can assure you that none of these fragrances smell like Seconde Peau. Seconde Peau smells very modern very courrèges - very unisex. I might have to get the full bottle.

I am the type of person who never tries perfumes on my own skin, I don't like most perfumes, and the only two I have I've been repurchasing since 2017 I think, and haven't deviated since. NOW here I am at a store and the elegance of this bottle really catches my attention, I love the color, I love the simplicity of the packaging, and the fact that they make candles probably made me investigate it more than just admiring a beautiful bottle of perfume from a distance. So I did the unthinkable and sprayed the perfume on my own skin, I just had a feeling about it, and I was not disappointed! I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist, it was like I was addicted to my wrist! I walked out of that store without buying it because I thought I am not the type to have 3 perfumes in my possession, I'd get confused and end up wearing none of them, but two months later I am not certain that I can find a place for it in my humble collection of 2 signature scents!

There is something about a fragrance that can feel so specific yet also quite fulfilling. Such is that of Seconde Peau, which while delivering a "second skin" also takes me to two places: the ink christening on paper of a new bounded journal and pine trees in the chilly air. Its apparent intimacy deceives, as while its sillage is polite, it really does seem to enhance the smell of my body in a way few perfumes, out of thousands I've smelled, mind you, can. I have a brand new Moleskine in my hands, my favorite Pilot G2 Rollerball Pen, Black Ink, 0.5 mm, and I begin to write my thought onto this snow white paper for the first time, secluded in the pitch pine-scrub oak barrens of Sudbury, MA. Seconde Peau is the smell of me, and of the ink from the pen, the pages in that Moleskine, the trees, the fallen needles, all the surroundings, maybe even the wool sweater I wear, as the temperature is no more than 50°F (10°C).

Soapy, fresh tea, a LOT of musk, and some sweet, translucent pine akin to the pine note in Parole d'Eau. I really like this scent, as a functional but beautiful cheapie. It cannot possibly offend, but it's not boring, and I suits anywhere anytime. I can even tolerate this when I'm sick, which is quite unusual for me. One thing I really like about this is that in the drydown a smoky vetiver comes forward and the soapiness is gone, so it's a real transition, but it's cohesive due to the musky element, which remains throughout. I find all of the Courrèges perfumes I've smelled have a really good quality to price ratio and don't smell like anything else. Their musk is the DNA that links them all. It's a very nice and underrated line.

Honestly this one is great. I agree with the comment that said it smells like you entered white lotus resort. I love to combine it with Elizabeth Arden Sakura green tea just to make it more feminine. I still think it's more masculine, but if you want to smell a bit niche sexy that's a good affordable choice. One of the best from Courreges in my opinion.