Songes

I love Songes. But of course I do, because I love jasmine. I have jasmine growing in my backyard and during the late spring and early summer you can find me near it more often than not as I take in its gorgeous scent one breath after another. Songes is the jasmine I know and love dialed up to Spinal Tap 11. But this isn’t rock n roll. This is the sound of a rich and emotional bossa nova ballad played by a guitarrista infected with saudade during a languid afternoon while you lay on a hammock in the tropics, heat and humidity kissing skin balmed by the occasional breeze, perfectly ripe tropical fruit in a bowl next to you for snacking letting loose the fragrance of its oils and sugars and juices into the air, the smell of your high quality tanning lotion occasionally making its way to your olfactory receptors. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, like a breeze all of their own perhaps from along the tropical forest tree line or the well-tended garden of your resort: jasmine, frangipani, and ylang-ylang. The smell is intoxicating to the point you almost cannot stand it. The crafted cocktail in your hand has nothing on the effects created by this fragrance on the breeze. As I smell it now for who-knows-what-number time, it still makes me weak at the knees, a sigh and moan leave my chest, eyes roll to the back of my head, a tingle spreads down my scalp and up my back - sorry, this is getting inappropriate isn’t it? Ok, switching gears, on to the technical stuff. Songes is a lot like No. 5. Songes is very obviously a jasmine evocation, white and musky floral with many dimensions, but the frangipani and the ylang ylang have a lot to say too, making this a floral amalgam much in the way No. 5, Joy, Arpege, and all of those other classics are that have won our hearts and noses. Speaking of Patou, this reminds me a lot of Chaldee. Songes wouldn’t be Songes without the frangipani with its white, rich, sweet, coconut fragrance that is certainly present at a Spinal Tap 11; without the ylang-ylang with it’s yellow, banana and tropical fruit and citrusy notes; without the richness of the vanilla, cinnamon, or musks bringing an extra layer of sweetness, animalic purr, and earthy depth that makes the perfume feel like a beautiful caress that goes on forever. Sorry, never mind, I’m incapable of doing an objective analysis of this. It’s too good for me to give a damn about that. Excuse me while I go melt into a hammock in a tropical flower garden.

I bought the original formula of Songes. Songes, or "dreams" is a lovely little number to daydream with on a hot summer's day, whilst wearing your prettiest dress in the sunshine. To me, this seems hyper-feminine and beautiful and hopelessly romantic, and I feel as though I'm walking barefoot through a cottage garden in the springtime, that has the flowerbeds in full bloom, whilst eating a vanilla cupcake dusted with crystalised sugar. At first, I wasn't sure about it, because it smelt strongly of an outdated jasmine and gardenia, and it didn't really remind me of the newer version that I tested in stores, either, which from memory seemed sweeter, lighter and more tropical. Whilst the perfume is surprisingly not super sweet, there is a pronounced sweetness, and at times I did find it to be overwhelmingly floral. But on the skin, this is pure beauty. The perfume starts strongly, with that "outdated" floral scent again, before it quickly develops into a heavy vanilla blanketed by a background of creamy white florals. The jasmine then develops intensely here, and sometimes it is a bit too sharp and the tiniest bit green (but this may be because I'm wearing this on a unseasonably warm day in winter; I really feel as though a true summer's day will really round out the edges on this one and blend it all together seamlessly.) From time to time I sense some creaminess from the ylang-ylang and some sweetness from the frangipani, and I developed a little bit of a headache, which I think is due to some hidden buttery tuberose (not listed as a note). The vanilla then reappears during the dry-down, as the florals become less noticeable and are consumed entirely by the sweetness. A moderate to heavy sillage; longevity is for about 9-10 hours.

Yet another heartbreak. My original bottle was purchased by Annick Goutal. Now, they have changed the website to Goutal Paris. They have changed the bottles. They have changed the descriptions. Before, the descriptions were long and detailed, almost poetic, now it is just a short retail blurb, not a mention of Annick Goutal, has she been scrubbed from the website? The beloved original scent has been lost forever. The original Songes was the stuff of lovely dreams, just as the name implies. It lasted hours, and even longer on some fabrics. To me, notes in the opening through to the dry down depended on how close the nose is to the fragrance. The jasmine might have called to you from afar, but when you approach, the frangipani is what you find up close, and a hint of vanilla, and on and on, warm and sometimes heady. At times, it is just a little too much for the wearer, but to the person experiencing it on someone else, it is enticing and alluring, magical. At least, that is how my man describes it. Each time your olfactory ponders, you find as many questions as answers. It is truly dreamlike, always fleeting, changing, whispering. But now, what is the pale juice in this redesigned bottle? Is it the same? I sincerely doubt it. There is no such thing as a signature scent, unless you buy a hundred bottles at the same time, and guard them for life. Reformulations make people buy new perfumes. They don't want us to have loyalty to one scent. So, they reformulate and force us to buy a dupe of the scent, or something "close", something "new". They've taken an art form and turned into a quick turnover profit. I will enjoy the rest of my bottle. I will search for original bottles. I will mourn when it is gone.

Songes by Goutal is a masterpiece in execution and each note blends perfectly together, giving me an undulating bouquet of tropical white and yellow flowers that unfurls and blossoms on my skin as it opens. A slightly latexy and sweet frangipani is the most noticeable on my skin, followed by the buttery and oily ylang ylang, the slightly heady jasmine and the frutiy tiare flower. I only get a hint of sensual and almost gourmand vanilla in the base. It reminds me of what would happen if both Terracotta by Guerlain and A Chant For The Nymph by Gucci had a love child... it would most likely smell like Songes. Songes is less sweet than A Chant For The Nymph, but sweeter than Terracotta. I can imagine wearing this equally both for work or on vacation, since it is very tropical but still ladylike. It has a certain reserved quality about it that is still flirty and yet sweet, like something made for Ariel from the Little Mermaid. Very beachy and enchanting. I think that you could wear it anytime, except during winter. Sillage was about moderate, but the longevity on my skin was only barely so. I only got 4 hours wear time all up on my skin, which was slightly dissapointing for me. I was lucky to get it for only $45 AUD though as a set of ten 1.75ml vials from a seller on Ebay... basically an entire small perfume for very cheap! Considering everything above, I'd give Songes an 8 out of 10. It has brilliant execution and the ingredients are of an incredible quality, but it just needs more staying power. It also can't compete with my beloved Terracotta... Terracotta is still the queen bee of tropical white and/or yellow floral scents for me!

i am addiced to this amazing fragrance !!! i love it so much i have back up bottles lol i did read some negative reviews but gee i am completely opposite of their opinions lol.......i find this fragrance one of the best vanilla florals around !! yes vanilla is prominent but its done in a beautiful luxury way not in a teen fragrance scent way lol and the floral mix is perfect.......i find the jasmine is a bit of a stand out on me in the floral arrangement but over all beautifully done :) its one of those fragrances u spray on u & u literally cannot stop sniffing.......i call this a yummy scent its very feminine & romantic & the description is perfect - a powdery cloud of vanilla & florals..........if u love powder scents this should be in ur collection i really miss annick goutal scents........you dont hear much about them anymore - its kind of like they got lost in the midst of ALL the millions of niche fragrance lines when the daughter took over awhile back it just wasnt the same - its like the line dropped off the face of the earth lol.....its now called goutal paris & the original beautiful feminine bottles with the cute bows are history - now the bottles are more streamlined & kind of unisex looking :( also its hard (in the USA) to even find where to purchase the line but even if i wanted to (purchase the new goutal ) the prices are 3 times as much as they use to be.........the scents are over 200.00 a bottle now (a bit more than my budget allows sadly ) so if u love annick goutal originals gather them up lol - u can still find them on frangrance discount sites:) and this is one of their best ones besides la violette :)