Arome 3

Understated and noble, Arome 3 is a true palate cleanser in a world filled with muscle, pomp, and loudness when it comes to fragrance and frankly, life in general. It seeks not to impress but to reflect on its gentility. Perhaps in today's world where somehow chaos and anarchy is embraced and decorum is the bondage of hegemony, Arome 3 may seem a bit too precious. This would be absolute nonsense, as this is a fragrance that has a story to tell, and not all stories need cliffhangers and dramatic plot changes. The lavender and citruses are delicate, yet effulgent and the core is somewhat creamy, underpinned with a muted spice and a bit of yellow ylang. A musky, woody, classically fougere coda lends a lingering skin scent. Arome 3 may be for those who understand what this style really means and can be in the moment with it without worrying where it will go, whether it will leave, and if someone will notice. All that worrying takes the fun out of perfume, doesn't it?

Like old money, Arome 3 doesn't try to impress. Yet it's instantly recognized by discerning noses. This is to be expected. After all, Parfums D'Orsay has an aristocratic house style that exists both as a narrative and as a palpable aura. More than merely sophisticated, D'Orsay Arome 3 is truly noble; a refinement that suggests an optimistic, romantic view of the world. It's not exotic. Not terribly complex. Certainly not sexy. No, indeed. Arome 3 doesn't try very hard at all. Instead, here is a fragrance so understated, so refined, it transcends time and place. The creamy lavender scent defies categories as broad as season, formality—or, for that matter, its suitability to age and gender. And needless to say, it looks down its nose at trends that inevitably come and go.

A very noble scent much close to Yardley imperial vetyver & Jicky by Guerlain 👍 a true masterpiece from the past 🏆 timeless classic made not for the mainstream!

Truly, a fragrance that has an air of romance and delicacy.... Arôme 3 opens with a sharp combo of a Provençal rich lavender and a citrus chorale, that quickly moves onto the center-stage with a delicate corsage of lavender, jasmine, sage on each lapel, and an ebony handle of light coriander, clove and nutmeg that points exquisitely towards a mossy direction of amber, orris, vanilla, and a cedar airing in the distance. Collectively, this direction unveils a wondrous dressing in its dry-down, one that is twist-worthy, one that has longevity and is wink-worthy in its intimacy. Arôme 3 is an endearingly elegant lavender scent that is splendid and creamy in its blend, which at first sniff seems formally traditional and then later takes a soapy, waxy turn of a ghostly iris dance that winds up smooth, clean and light. D’Orsay’s modus operandi of sophistication, sensuality and androgyny plays very much in Arôme 3. The infamous advert from the day featuring a caricature of a woman wearing her inner and outer Brummel is a delightful dare in retrospect. Eventually, D’Orsay moved this outfit to the barbershop crowd, where lavender leaning fougères, with their usually tempting base of vanilla, amber and precious woods, remain popular... Simply, this dandy wear from 1943 is surely distinct enough to be noteworthy... A fine fragrance indeed!

This was a real mess of notes, straddling many genres, the last time I tried it, so here I go again. The beginning comes to me as a camphoraceous, heady, herbal grass. This falls unfortunately into the bitter herbal citrus category that doesn't appeal to me, but it's even worse because the eucalyptus (?) gives it a corrosive, almost urinous feel even though it doesn't literally smell like piss. I'm sure a lot of this is also due to lavender, again not my favorite note, but you lavender lovers might want to look into this stuff. After a while, it gets a lot weaker and a lot less harsh, maybe more of a sharp, green woods, very gently spiced. It's actually not bad by this stage; the transformation was both sudden and substantial. The spices have come more to the forefront, creating a slightly balsamic spicy wood, though it's a bit anisy for my tastes. It would pass for a decent "barbershop" style fragrance, but I don't see any point in suffering through an agonizing first few minutes when I can buy barbershop fragrances that don't force me to do that. And it's not even very strong by this stage either. Kind of an expensive way to waste those first few minutes.