Blondine

This is special stuff. I've been struggling with descriptives, however, since testing this for the first time last month. Despite being a prolific sampler, I've only recently discovered Frassai and I'm incredibly impressed with their offerings - truly some of the best perfumes I've tried in recent years. Blondine is perhaps their most traditional floral, though it's anything but simple. My feelings seem a bit different than many of the previous reviewers here - this is NOT a gourmand, despite having some modest gourmandish flourishes. It's a creamy, buttery floral that is so seamlessly blended it's quite difficult to dissect the components. There are definitely references to old-school florals of the 1970's and 1980's here, but with a more delicate touch. The notes include tiger lily, though I cannot claim past experience with that particular flower. I perceive it as being near the midpoint between jasmine and magnolia, if that makes any sense. I can clearly sense the textures of vanilla and cacao here, but not their traditional aromas. This is not particularly sweet, but rather caressingly rich and dense. To look at the listed notes, you would suspect this to be a cool weather scent. But surprisingly, this stuff is heady and beautiful in warm weather without feeling cloying or oppressive. There is something undeniably "perfumed" about this scent - but rather than feeling generic, it just strikes me as comfortable, somehow familiar, and yet implacable. The lingering scent of a worldly and refined woman, a delicate boucle blouse. Having said that, I'm a guy who will happily wear this. It has above average longevity and lovely sillage that is just enough to reach out and touch those in your very close proximity. The final impression just seems to be much more than the sum of its parts. I'd like to imagine that Audrey Hepburn might have worn something like this. Very highly recommended.

I've never wanted to eat a lily before, but Blondine is making me consider it. Muguet has natural creamy and fatty facets, and a caramely sweetness to it, that Blondine takes-up-a-couple-notches to a mouthwatering level. The opening of the perfume is quite green, but only very briefly; the lily is still a bud and preparing to bloom, and as such it smells raw and vegetal. But then it does bloom, and it releases its bounty into the air. Caramels, cream, a floral accord that bridges white and yellow, heady musks, rich chocolate, and a meaty/leathery facet amplified by some castoreum in the base. Luca Turin famously described lily's heady character as smelling of ham. I found that amusing, while also not quite understanding it. Lilies are my mother's favorite flower, we had them everywhere in the garden and the house, and not once do recall thinking "ham", but in Blondine I make the connection. I can understand a very logical leap to a caramel glazed ham in this perfume with something a bit fruity floral, like the ham was baked with pineapple or apple. Blondine is sweet but not sickly so, floral, unctuous and luscious, and sort of sexy in a peculiar way - perhaps playful and flirty. As with the best of the Frassai brand, the perfume is wonderfully built; it stays on message and on task throughout the entirety of its long life, never losing cohesion or letting a particular material or note become dead weight. There's not a whole lot for me to say about Blondine, honestly. It is pretty simple, therefore my thoughts on it are pretty simple. But in its simplicity is true beauty and clarity that is just really, really pleasant to smell. Excellent work.

Blondine is such a dreamy, wonderful scent of creamy, hypnotic lilies and soft suede on a buttery caramel base. The notes list on fragrantica is not quite correct, on the official site it's salted butter caramel and not salt, butter and caramel separately. There is also no official suede note, only castoreum, which is said to smell leather-like. If you're sceptical about animalic scents, don't be afraid, this doesn't smell dirty at all. It just has an elegant, femine leathery note, which is especially noticeable in the opening along with the crisp fruity notes, but never fully vanishes. In the drydown the delicious butter caramel note shines, but the lily, suede and musk keep it from being a true gourmand. I feel all the notes are so carefully chosen. If they used a different flower instead of the cool lily, the scent would not stand out from other gourmand-ish florals like it does. The pear leaf and green mandarin are also just perfect and couldn't be replaced with sweeter fruit notes, and the combination of tonka and caramel instead of a simple vanilla makes the scent so smooth and delectable. The castoreum is just the genius edge the scent needs. Really one of the most impressive fragrances I have smelled in the lasts months, and very versatile too. This would make a great signature. It has it all: Warmth and freshness, darkness and light, and a magical creamy texture. If you like lilies, caramel and leather, I see no reason to dislike Blondine.

I don't like perfumes that are gourmand, or too warm. So what do I do - throw 180 eur out the window and blind buy a perfume with notes like salted caramel and butter. Why? Because of my unwavering confidence in the perfumer Yann Vasnier, who has created so much good stuff for Divine. Blondine is definitely not gourmand to my nose. Yes, if I follow the development spritzed on my hand I do find that famous salted butter note about half an hour into wear. Wearing the fragrance I get freshly cut lilies from the florist, still a bit green, on a warm and so slightly spicy background, like a bakery. The "silhouette" of the fragrance is like that of a creamy white tropical floral but without the actual flowers, like jasmine, that can be headache triggering on me. All in all I would call Blondine a beautiful, kind and warm fragrance that I prefer to wear during winter. Lasting power is not great, about 6 hours. The bottle is annoyingly heavy and clunky glass. Add. OMG what a scam, the bottle only holds 50ml even though it's so big. This is my most expensive frag per ml. Still sitting here in a beautiful cloud of lilies like a clown...

Blondine is a perfect. Warm natural Oriental Floral, with a beautiful touch of caramel that doesn't smell thick. Not so sweet as to be edible, despite knowing that one could eat an orange caramel cake with edible flowers, baked with less sugar. Sweet enough to be imagined as blissfully delicious on the tongue, but so full of fresh lilies that it takes you to a fine garden immediately. Not very high sillage--I can get very gentle wafts of Blondine--making me believe that this contains more natural accords. The sensuality here is closer to the skin. When I really love a perfume I enjoy having a bit of sillage, but if I don't I will just sneak deep breaths from my inner arm or wrist whenever I can. I would love a full bottle. I really don't know which Frassai is my favorite, they are all very beautiful and so natural-smelling--but for now I have a lily obsession, so this sample will be drained far before I can bear to part with it:(