Odile

I blind bought this, and I am in complete love. I'm not against admitting defeat to a beautiful bottle, so honestly, I didn't care if I hated it.. but I absolutely love it. It doesn't smell of "tires" or "shoes" or anything like that to me at all. It smells like a fresh leather handbag, leather seats in a car. It's musky and sexy, perfectly unisex with a slight lean feminine in my opinion. Anise and dark bitter chocolate in the dry-down, but it doesn't lose its complex notes throughout. And it definitely doesn't read gourmand to me. This is sophisticated and fun and mysterious all in one. In a seedy bar with a beautiful woman, a motorcycle, some cocktails, black lace, and the stomp of a cigarette under a black heel. It's almost bdsm in a way, the latex and blood orange evoke an eroticism under it all. The "unconventional" notes don't deter it nor make it an unwearable one; they will change how you think about a leather note, a citrus, or even a chocolate. It's almost indescribable. The bottle is a bonus, but the fragrance is the star. Don't blind buy it, but for the love of god, smell it.

This one is going to haunt me. Smells like a sexy car dealership, of virgin black rubber and sculpted leather. Equally powerful is the slick Vantablack anise. Imagine the shiniest, gummiest whip of black licorice. The dark chocolate is the ninety-plus percent sort, bitter and rich enough to set hair on end. Meanwhile, the blood orange quietly brightens these deeper, oiler notes. Odile is clean and cool for a dark scent, with zero spice or rose. She also holds solid for at least six hours on skin, and over a day in fabric. I’ve never smelled anything quite like her. She’s hellaciously expensive, but in the grand scheme probably much cheaper than ghosting about the local Porsche showroom. Mental Snapshot: Night owl. Thinks star signs are trash. The most disciplined rebel you’ll meet, a true artist-athlete. Professional rally driver, champion pole dancer, sixth-degree black belt. Runs a half-marathon while watching Fury Road. Or Titane. Habitually late, but no event dares start without her. I mean, have you tried slithering into a latex catsuit before? tl;dr: vroom vroom 🛞 🏴

I find that almost all of Odile's listed notes are present and can share the stage fairly at some point during it's life on the skin, maybe with the exception of the somewhat weak blood orange. I'm surprised to see "sweet" as an accord. To me, Odile is uniquely bitter. It opens with a pungent rubber note that is not for the faint of heart. Thankfully, the sheer power of it is tamed pretty quickly, leaving behind an atmosphere reminiscent of a tire shop that now challenges the plastic-y licorice-like star anise. Both these aggressive and sharp notes are grounded by a warm, round, bitter chocolate and a leather car seat interior. Dangerous, fun, youthful. Dark and moody but also doesn't take itself too seriously.

I was not expecting to like this at all since I'm not particularly a fan of any of Odile's notes. Upon sampling, though, this is like nothing I've ever smelled before and I have to say I love it. It doesn't really smell like any of the individual notes to my nose; Odile is, to me, greater than the sum of its parts. It's comforting, musky and has a fresh facet as well. There is something about it that reminds me of diaper cream but in a really good way. There's no way to make such a comparison sound appealing, I know. Im also shocked that patchouli isn’t listed as a note here because I do detect its presence. Odile is a rich, sensual and addictive scent that is perfect for the cold weather.

Odile is like the more subdued younger sister of Purple Afternoon, which is one of my all-time favourite perfumes that i sadly pretty much only wear when i’m by myself because i’m too shy to wear strong scents in public. Odile wears much closer to the skin and is a perfect winter going-out scent imo. Both perfumes read as very powdery to me, this one a warmer and more youthful powder from the musk note, and Purple Afternoon a cold earthy iris root powder. If the essence of Purple Afternoon is wandering in a frozen wood communing with small animals and evil spirits, Odile’s is sitting in the window alone and slightly forlorn at a Christmas party.