Cadavre Exquis

It all started with a sample, generously provided by a fellow perfumista, which led to many months searching up and down for a bottle. Finally, this quest came to fruition, courtesy of two generous souls. At the time, I was well aware of this collaborative project between Bruno Fazzolari and Antonio Gardoni, as well as familiar with Bruno’s own interpretation in Corpse Reviver. The latter remains to date my favorite perfume from Bruno, only second to Au Delà Narcisse, although surpassing it in terms of peculiarity. Stumbling upon its predecessor, Cadavre Exquis, I came to discover that I much prefer and enjoy it. However, they are not that similar, and I could see myself justifying owning both, but I will get into that comparison shortly. Cadavre Exquis is not only idiosyncratic as a composition, but for me, a delightful fragrance that cleverly combines medicinal, spicy, animalic/musky, and gourmand characteristics in a way I have not encountered before. Not only did this project assemble two highly atypical noses, but the fact that it involved back-and-forth cooperation at 6000 miles distance is another amazing feat. A fellow enthusiast described it to me as more of an “O’Driu meets Slumberhouse,” and I see where he is coming from, but there is unmistakable Antonio and Bruno material in it. The name says it all - a monstrosity of a gourmand, a far cry from the usual ones that recently overtook the scene, the offspring of two experimental noses who never shied away from bold compositions. Do not be fooled by the gourmand moniker. It is one in the way it hints at various edible foods, herbs, spices, and even beverages, but the sweetness is kept in check; therefore, it will not drive up your blood glucose to a concerning level. I suspect that the more appetizing parts of the composition had Bruno’s touch, while the more aromatic, spicy, medicinal, and animalic ones, Antonio’s. One thing that fascinates me is how much emphasis was put on vanilla, although I don’t pick it up in particular. I would never call this a vanilla fragrance, not in a million years. What I get and recognize are facets of it, and the way it helps to texture the perfume, but not the actual flavor. According to Bruno, they have used a tincture, a CO2, and an absolute. The texture is my favorite part of this fragrance. It feels very much like butter, and to some extent, beeswax absolute. I messaged Bruno and asked if he used or intended for an actual butter accord. That’s how vivid it is. The way he explained it to me is that when you combine “edible” materials with animalics, you tend to get similar nuances. And it makes perfect sense. Both butter and beeswax are of animal origin, and both smell quite animalic. Therefore, this buttery, milky, waxy, and creamy texture dominates on my skin throughout, and on top of it, everything else seems to play its own tune. I can’t quite speak of a consistent scent development, as I pull various facets under different conditions. And the structure is highly complex. I like to picture this perfume like a buffet. Nothing is missing. The hosts, your friendly Civet Cat family neighbours. They have their natural odor, but that doesn’t stop you from indulging in the feast they prepared. For starters, it is wise to have some entries to make sure the digestive system is primed for the binge to come. Some camphor leaves and star anise will help, but let us not forget the sweet, warm Amaretto with its dried-fruit and almond-like aroma, often prescribed as a digestif. With the warm-up done, we proceed to the chocolate. Heavy on cocoa butter and high in milk, as the civets don’t fancy the dark varieties. A banana milkshake is sure to help it go down easier, and while at it, don’t forget the dried fruits and the almonds. Does anyone want more butter? These cats sure love butter. In the midst of it, you ask someone to open the window, letting some fresh air in to ventilate the civet-stenched room. The breeze carries in the scent of the cypress trees growing nearby. Braced by it, you resume the festivities with revitalized appetite. As you can see, yes, there are some medicinal qualities (camphor), but they don’t last long and are soon replaced by a creamy Amaretto accord and strong star anise. The chocolate skews toward high-fat milk varieties rather than the darker ones, and the ylang-ylang suggests a banana-like impression. There is a candied orange accord in the opening, later replaced by moist dried fruits, while the base reveals faint cypress and benzoin touches. The civet note is quite prevalent and intensifies as the perfume dries down. What I appreciate here is the minimal, naturally derived sweetness and silky-smooth (buttery and creamy) texture. That, paired with everything else, makes it such an enjoyable ride. Not only to my palate, but to my imagination as well. Hands down the best gourmand perfume I have ever tried, and no surprise, my favorite. Not only does it quench your appetite, but it also challenges your understanding of various accords and materials. The way they have been put to such great use and, more importantly, synchronized in total unison, even at 6000 miles apart, between two very different artistic styles. Last but not least, I know many asked me and wonder: “How does Cadavre compare (scent-wise) to Bruno’s version that came out in 2019, Corpse Reviver?” Well, I ran through three samples of it, compared them many times, and wore them separately. I never felt that Corpse was meant as a replacement for Cadavre, but rather a different approach. One could easily own and enjoy both as they behave differently. Here is a quick breakdown highlighting the main distinct elements between the two, in my experience. - Cadavre is a gourmand and makes strong use of savory elements. Everything about it(texture included) hints at a buffet. On the other hand, Corpse Reviver is a smoky, woody perfume, with a prominent malty-whiskey flavor, and I can’t place it as a gourmand, despite a brief dark chocolate accord in the opening. - With Cadavre, the vanilla feels like the engine of the composition, whereas in Corpse, the oakwood is the main player. If you have ever smelled oakwood absolute, you’ll realize how much of a pivotal role it plays in the fragrance. Prevalent facets one can pick up are toffee, malt, whiskey, woody, and smoky. - Texture-wise, Cadavre feels buttery, milky, and creamy. There is no smokiness, and the effect is very cozy and smooth. With Corpse, the texture is harder, making me think of wood logs in a fireplace, a glass of whiskey in the hand, and a small tray with some dark chocolate (as opposed to milk chocolate). Overall, it feels sharper and rougher. - While both showcase boozy accords, in Cadavre I perceive more of an Amaretto type of facet, very creamy, almondy, fruity, and sweet. With Corpse Reviver, it is all about the whiskey. - There is a noticeable civet note in Cadavre that I don’t pick up with Corpse. My tolerance for animalics is very high, so it might be there for others. At the end of the day, they are different spins on the same DNA, but one makes me think of food while the other of wood and smoke. While I can’t compare Cadavre Exquis to anything, I could make an association between Corpse Reviver and a few dark, treacly, woody, and spicy offerings from Lutens, such as Le Participe Passé or L'Innommable. I love the former, and I’m not yet decided on the latter. Not because I don’t enjoy it, on the contrary, but I’m not sure I need that DNA in my overabundant collection as of now. Time will tell. IG:@memory.of.scents

I have to preface this review with the information that I won a bottle of this in the Cadavre Me contest on Instagram. That being said, I took a very long time to test this and make sure that I review it without any bias for or against it's creators. The fragrance itself is exceptionally interesting and succeeds as a playful perversion of the gourmand genre. I've tried to review this a few times but have found myself struggling for some reason. Ultimately, I would describe it as a large chunk of dark dark dark chocolate, with some strange dried fruits hidden within, all entombed in a mysterious, ethereal green glow, as if the dessert had been cursed by some strange witch doctor and now emanated a subtly ominous, yet inviting (almost paranormal..) air. The aforementioned aura is something that, when dissected, reveals itself to be a very strong herbal camphor note, as well as a rather bold civet note, star anise, and cypress. As it dries down a strangely nougaty, and a sort of roasty, nutty nuance shows up. It rounds out in it's later stage, becoming almost lactic and sweet, but with a strange, almost savory (curry-esque) spiciness that is intriguing. Due to this nature of the creation of this, there is a sort of roughness. It wears ragged, endearingly disheveled, with some strange points in the wearing where an accord feels a little heavy or a little light. I think it works because it was never intended as some expertly blended, lab tested "pleasant aroma". It smells way more "real world" while not smelling like anything that actually exists. It must be said though, that one might expect something a little bit more polished for such a hefty price tag.Additionally I do feel that this is the kind of fragrance that one would not get a whole lot of wear out of due to it's strangeness and heaviness (this in 100 degree Florida weather is gonna be interesting come summer..). Its sort of a special occasion fragrance, for a baffling, mysterious, yet also jovial night. I have been enjoying this a ton and It lives up to the Perfumers respective back catalogs. Theres elements of both of their work in this, and I think choosing a genre that neither of them have really done before forced both of them to get out of their comfort zone and get seriously creative and unexpected. Definitely, definitely worth a try. 8/10

Eating hazelnut nougat in the herb garden behind an Indian restaurant. This morphs like smoke around me, and I compulsively sniff myself. I cannot imagine reaching for it to wear often, but it is so different, so intriguing, that I adore it even still. Chocolate powder, fenugreek, immortelle, campfire smoke, sticky nougat, fresh green herbs, musty basement mushrooms, so much more immortelle. It's almost the scent version of three course mediterranean food: stuffed grape leaves; yellow curried smoked lamb; baklava. All at once one moment, then in pieces, then trading off, then all at once again. Do I 245$ of love it? Nope. But the more I wear my sample, the more I consider a decant.

Very interesting fragrance. I get an opening that reminds me of a smokey-foresty-camphorous walk through a forest. Then the most rich, dark, almost pungent dark chocolate note kicks in. Then the camphor reigns supreme for a time, but it is still pleasing. This is not a Vick's vapor rub camphor smell... it's more like the real thing, more herbal. After that, as @gloriouslove points out, I get a nice anamalic vanilla (benzoin?) dry down. Probably not the most versatile scent you'll find, but certainly a worthy adventure. I love wearing it on a winter Saturday. Two thumbs up for an adventurous, unique, and ultimately really nice smelling scent!

Imagine using a real dead animal as a piñata stuffing it with candy mainly licorice, some resinous dried fruits and throw in some rotten dark chocolate with very sitff pieces of toffe for good measure that's the image I get whenever I wear it. It doesn't smell like anything I've tried before. Took me a while to try and put what I smell into words still hard. Cadavre Exquis can be terrifyingly scary or extremely sweet and beautiful (never pretty though) it all depends on your point of view. I embrace Cadavre Exquis scary and all the perfect scent for Halloween love it.

Ooohhhh myyyyy Lord !!!!!!!!!! Just received this as a FB as Corpse Reviver... My goodness... reminiscent of Baque et al from Slumberhouse. Chocolate cake with a Booziness. A touch of liquor cherries. After thirty minutes a slight Animalic leather asserts itself. A proper Blackforest Cake - Schwarzwalde Torte! Ignore the over analysed reviews. Nuff said - exquisite scent, killer performance. Happy buy indeed...

I was lucky enough to get a sample of Cadavre Exquis off eBay. I like a lot of Bruno Fazzolari's Fragrances and have been hunting for all the discontinued fragrances. Sadly it will never be enough. It is intoxicating. It starts off very strong and then has chocolate, wood, and other smells I can not describe. I own five of Bruno Fazzolari's fragrances and I would purchase this one if it was still made.

Very interesting and complex. I love it. I love the camphor beginning, the fruits and greens and especially the vanilla and civet. Extraordinary scent. It smells divine on my husband, and beautiful on me. It is really strong for about 7 hours, then tones down to a comforting animalic sweetness for ages - another 7? I revel in it. It's fabulous. And purecaramel's review is also fabulous! Spot on!

If anyone has a bottle of this they are willing to let go of please contact me! I am willing to trade or buy outright.

Scent: 10/10 Quality: 10/10 Originality: 6/10 Sillage: 8/10 Projection: 8/10 Longevity: 8/10 Price VS Size: 8/10

The opening is super harsh for me but then... omg is it good!

@alfrarom No, it's not a monster all, unless you've never smelled civet in your life. Then it would probably be a challenging new experience. It's actually quite nice and "easy" once the civet settles. When I think of monster/grotesque fragrances I think of some of the first Strange Invisible Perfumes that smelled like rotten garage in their openings. I remember those were hard too wait through until the top burned off. This on the other hand, is a wearable scent from the beginning for me. Due to the liberal use of civet, it feels vintage to me, more like perfumery art of the past than abstract, modern art. I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't expecting such a wearable scent. In retrospect, I should have if I had considered the actual notes without focusing on the unique backstory.

It's not as bizarre as I was expecting. Smells like a cross between my vintage Elizabeth Taylor Passion and an Indian meal including dessert. It's a civet bomb in the beginning and dries down to a less intense civet, masculine gourmand with lots of dried fruit, vanilla and cypress. It's very likable, if you enjoy civet as I do, and smells good on my husband.

This made me nauseous on my skin. I don’t even know how to explain it, and I wonder if the association would have occurred to me without the name, but it smelled like a woodsy candle trying to cover up roadkill.

I've to say I've been a huge fan of this project since day #1. I've been patiently awaiting for the final result for quite some time now and I can only confirm that the first aspect that's clear when smelling Cadavre Exquis is that it exudes passion. Passion for perfume, passion for art, passion for sharing. The passion of people collaborating on something they love. You may either like or not what you smell but, to me, it's clear enough that the approach to perfumery that both Gardoni and Fazzolari are showing, comes directly from the way they process art in their minds as opposed to dealing with it as a mere "product". The perfumers are both pretty well known to the most devoted perfumisti for releasing some of the most attention-grabber fragrances of the last five years or so. Gardoni, the man behind italian Bogue Profumo, enriched the perfume world with gems that now need very little introduction such as MAAI, Cologne Reloaded and, lately, the widely acclaimed Aeon 001 while Fazzolari's Lampblack and Room 237 have immediately jumped up there amongst my all-time favorites in contemporary perfumery. They gathered together to give birth to this trans-atlantic project that is Cadavre Exquis. The fragrance is the result of a four-hands collaboration based on mould, samples, paintings / drawings exchanges with only one theme framing the whole project: gourmand. As stated on the Fazzolari's website, The term cadavre exquis refers to the game originated by the surrealist artists of the 1920s. In the game, players collectively assemble words or images to create a poem or drawing, with each player making a contribution of his own while totally unaware of the others’. The result is unpredictable and always surprising. The name itself comes from one of the first assembled sentences as reported by surrealist André Breton: “Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau.” (“The exquisite corpse shall drink the new wine.”) So, the fragrance is supposedly a gourmand but, with much of my joy, there's really not much edible stuff about it. It reads mainly like a cocoa-patch with a camphorous quality up-top and a dark, woody-spicy base with smooth animalic facets. Given the composition process, it's also supposedly a monster, kind of frankensiein type of compositions in which parts were added to a main body almost randomly but, again, the final result feels incredibly coherent and consistent that the chemistry between these two guys seems to have worked pretty darned well. Don't get me wrong now, Cadavre Exquis is not exactly what I would describe as an "easy" fragrance but it's also far from representing the monster one would expect from the descriptions seen around. Yes, it's bold (but without being overpowering), dark, sometimes even grotesque but in the best possible ways. It has the typical roughness of most indie / artisanal products but it's also very clear that this roughness is something inherent to the style of the perfumers involved. Something completely unrelated to the skills of either. Something which is part of a treasured personal aesthetic that belongs to style and self-expression. Something I would probably compare to the artistic choice of a band to express via a rougher sound as opposed to the super-polished / auto-tuned production of mainstream pop. In other words, a visceral roughness that comes directly from passion. I could go on and on with a more detailed description of the fragrance itself but I strongly believe any serious perfume lover should at least experience this little jewel that transcends perfumery to bring us back the love for the things we do. Long live to two of the most interesting and kindest people in the current fragrance game. Rating: no need to rate this. Maximum Support.

Maybe it’s the combination of chocolate, cypress and star anise, but I get a strong hit of coffee in this. And as a coffee addict, trying to restrict my intake to one a day, it makes me happy – a sort of vicarious coffee hit, if you will. It’s a complex beast, but I like it – a lot. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever tried before (and thanks purecaramel for the sample :). It’s a beaut! When it first went on, the civet was a bit strong, but that settled once it dried down, and now it’s kind of like the “hired muscle” of these perfume notes – just hanging there in the background, lending oomph and a definite bit of darkness and mystery and menace. It’s sort of spicy but not (maybe it’s the tagetes?), and I’ll be enjoying that, then I’ll get a lovely waft of sweetness from the blood orange and dried fruits, along with a sort of dusty honey. The vanilla takes a little while to show through on me, but it’s there in the background now too, hanging out with the civet, and that’s what I really enjoy with this – the lovely creamy warmth of the vanilla which is in complete contrast to the civet. It works, wonderfully well. This is definitely not a scent for the faint-hearted, but as a total perfume fiend – or “frag-hag” as my husband says (you’re welcome ;) – well, I like it. A very definite thumbs up!

Yes! The Cadavre is positively Grotesque. Applyiing it is like Swallowing a gulp of Buckley's Mixture. It goes on like a sticky Camphourous Syrup. It takes you on a journey through an Arcade with the Greasy Butter Caramel Corn, the Indian Market choked with Fenugreek. There are breaths of the Seyrig citrus that provide a hope. The orange begins to expand, sweeten and turns to the colour of a sunripened Peach. As it dries I am able to rest in whispers of Animalic, Dried Fruit, Singular Spice above an Ambery Brulee. The spice is reminiscent in placement as the cumin dose of a 1991-2001 Bel Ami and points to the animal but overall this is much sweeter than the Hermes. A tilt to the Anise draws my sense away from any cloyness and elevates this from the start of oily depths of Indian Sweets into the heights of dry Marigold clouds. Altogether Delicious!!! Cadavre Exquise indeed. A Splendid presentation of an Artist's Game. A difficult wear for most and an acquired taste. Most certainly it fits mine. Pay attention to the extraordinarily sophisticated use and placement of the Marigold. Cadavre Exquise is like my first reaction to Picasso Cubism. What is this grotesqueness? Slow, thoughtful,observation reveals a magnificent beauty.

I got a sample of exquis about a year ago and then I purchased another larger sample. It has lasted me a while because the perfume is so strong. It really reminds me a lot of a particular mushroom found in Northern California called candy cap. There is a strong Immortelle flower smell, molasses very syrupy, dark chocolate thick and rich with an herbal quality from the anise. So last night I was putting on my Christian Dior Eau Noire and I was struck by something familiar. I couldn't shake it and felt like this was very reminiscent of Cadavre Exquis. I looked up the notes and the notes are remarkably similar with lavender being substituted for the cypress in this. There are a few differences, with CD EN being easier to wear,less like a Yankee Candle shop than CE. The chocolate/coffee like quality is evident in both, as is the note of immortelle which is not listed in either one but recognized by many reviewers, especially those commenting on a curry note.

This is different but not freakish. It opens with a huge, and frankly unpleasant blast of camphor and quickly morphs into chocolate civet with an occasional whiff of something sweet and fruity. This phase lasts an hour or so. After that, the drydown is dry, spicy and has a weird plastic edge to it, which I attribute to the tagetes. The chocolate civet phase projects well and is quite nice though I would hesitate to wear it in polite company. The finish is odd but not unpleasant. This is one that needs to find the right person to be fully appreciated and that person will be someone who is fond of civet. I can't say if this is more masculine or feminine as it doesn't fit into stereotypes about either sex. This is an odd, though successful and well put together fragrance.

some info from Bruno: CORPSE REVIVER IS A RE-INTERPRETATION OF CADAVRE EXQUIS, A LIMITED-EDITION SCENT THAT I CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE TALENTED PERFUMER, ANTONIO GARDONI A FEW YEARS AGO. IT HAS BECOME A CULT CLASSIC, AND WE SOLD THROUGH OUR 99-BOTTLE RUN VERY QUICKLY. MY NEW VERSION DIALS BACK THE ANIMALICS A BIT. I ADD A WHISKEY ACCORD BUILT ON AN EXTRAORDINARY FRENCH OAKWOOD ABSOLUTE . THIS FABULOUSLY STICKY, DENSE MATERIAL IS EXTRACTED FROM FRENCH OAK AND SMELLS LIKE BOURBON AND CARAMEL. CORPSE REVIVER, NAMED FOR A HANG-OVER REMEDY (AKA COCKTAIL) FROM THE 1920’S IS LIKE A FRUITY WINTER DRINK MADE WITH AN INTENSE ITALIAN AMARO, WHISKEY, DARK CHOCOLATE AND A DASH OF OUR BELOVED CIVET.