Miss Tranchant

In one of Luca Turin's books (I think it's "Secret of Scent"), he describes the sensation of experiencing an unfiltered, unmitigated scent molecule as appearing before the smeller in the form of a giant apple. It's a poetic, vaguely psychedelic turn of phrase. Miss Tranchant has a similar dealio going on, only in this case it smells like a meal, more so than any perfume I've ever experienced. Miss Tranchant is mouthwateringly salty and briny in much the same way as Soliani's other creation "Peccatrice," only in this instance it doesn't have the neroli or incense vibes in the latter stages of the journey. From initial spritz to dry-down, this just straight up smells like a snack. Salty, fatty, buttery, lactic: Miss Tranchant is a sensual gourmet meal applied to your skin. For folks who don't want to smell edible, I can see why this might be off-putting. Personally, I love it. As a lifelong vegetarian crypto-anorexic, I can luxuriate fully in the richness and consummate decadent weirdness of decorating myself with the odor of something I would never, ever allow myself to eat. These alternate selves are what I got into perfume *for*, you know? Barbie was never my thing, but I adore the hot pink cloying Play-doh odor of Fracas. I'm terrified of death, but the momento mori melting plastic man stench of AEOFJLMB sends a frisson of pleasure through my nostrils. I'm not saying I've ever spritzed myself with perfume in lieu of eating BUT if I was going to do that, delicious, photorealistic gourmet meal Miss Tranchant *would* be my gourmand of choice. Argh, I'm doing that dingus neo-journalist move where I'm making it about *me* and not about the thing I'm talking about. Sorry Team -- Soliani's artsy Catholic humanist vibe just brings it out of me. TL;DR version: Miss Tranchant is a funky, fun choice that I would strongly recommend for any frag-head in search of off-the-beaten-path gourmands. Lactic and saline (de-calcify that third eye, babe); not like any perfume you've ever spritzed. Accessible and all too human. Mm, still not doing it justice, maybe I'll just end with my favorite (only?) oyster-centric poem: "The sea was wet as wet could be the sands were dry as dry"

To me, this is Hilde Soliani's masterwork. As an avid lover of salty food, I've always believed it could serve as an inspiration for complex, challenging, deep fragrances. When I tell you I have never been as excited about perfume, I am serious. Both butter and oysters are pretty straightforward in the opening, but in no way does Miss Tranchant smell cartoonish, grotesque, or unwearable. It hits you with an aura of sacred female sensuality, turns heads, makes people curious, and leaves them transfixed. Longevity is crazy. Sometimes wearing it is too much for me. If I'm not absolutely in my element, I'm having a hard time with its depth. This perfume asks for all your concentration and confidence in order to be pulled off, but in a good way. Miss Tranchant is an inspiring work of art that any perfume adventurer should try.

I can't begin to describe my obsession with this. Yes, there's butter and oysters, but it's surprisingly sweet with some layer of vanilla, but not overpowering. This is, at least for me, a true my skin but better scent. Like a fresh baby's head. I got a sample from scent split and immediately added it to my cart. I can't stop smelling myself. I think pairing this with another more mineral scent, or something with tobacco accords would balance out some of the sweetness.

Yes - ocean meets butter. I get no fish/seafood. Instead, it’s a realistic, cool, oceanic freshness and the warm, comforting coat of butter. It’s a perfect combination. Very enjoyable- definitely FB worthy for me.

very butter and slight iodine with a decent longevity. that butter smells delicioouuuuus, the marine notes are kind of off putting in an addictive way.... when its really hot, it smells like korean hotteok syrup ie caramelized sugar syrup mixed with nuts ! crazy fragrance lol also noteworthy that soliani talks about this one as one of her masterpieces. it’s not my personal favourite but i enjoy understanding what she’s after in a holy grail scent.

unsurprisingly sexy.... this perfume confirmed for me that oysters are an aphrodisiac. salty, briny... a perfectly milky marine scent. if anyone can pull it off, it's hilde soliani. sadly longevity and sillage are weak but it's a nice intimate scent, perfect for private fascination. it's not really fishy--more of a seaweed and cream smell to it....

there's an old horror movie called "pieces" where the tagline is "it's exactly what you think it is!" and that truly sums up this fragrance lmao. whereas hilde's equally weird "hot milk" morphs into a seamless amalgamation where neither note is left identifiable, this is just oysters with butter. it's very salty and buttery oysters - the fishiness does lessen the more it dries down, but you're still left with those two notes. very linear and definitely unique, but not something i actively want to smell like. if you want to smell like those things though, this is perfect! overall rating: 🩷🩷🩷🖤🖤 3/5

Im a little sad from this one. The first like 30 seconds was a dream!!! it was lactonic but a silky, not sour lactonic, like a cool milky texture coming from the scent rather than fatty, or sour that is, butter. alongside the texture was a fresh, almost green waft of warmth and almost solar-like suntan lotion. But after that 30 seconds, it started to smell of Old Bay Seasoning, pungent and sharp smell with a creamy fore-texture. and that combo only became stronger. there is sweetness at the tip of your nose, but its more seasoning-forward than briny. Overall: 4/10 (within this order, I also tried Secretions Magnifiques, in which I gave it a 5/10 so yeah...) P.S. Pair this with Bascilica and you would have a niche photorealistic italian resturant fragrance!

i loooooove oysters - raw, smoked, whatever - but i think my skin chemistry just doesn't get along with this. like victorian_healthgoth says below, i think it dries down to a nutty, spicy, sort-of-sweet smell on my skin, which is a bummer because i wanted to smell like raw oysters. it is not gourmand-level sweet on me but is not briny enough to convey the idea of a marine note, either. i think the butter dominates, but it doesn't really smell like butter either? it's lactonic on me, with almost a fennel note? i really don't know how to describe it. it's not bad, i think my skin just screws it up.

Bought a sample of this on ScentSplit. The notes were very intriguing to me. In the bottle, it's clean, sexy, and distinctive. Perfect for a lover of niche and unique fragrances. I wore it on a tidepooling trip in the Pacific Northwest and it fit the vibe very well. However, combined with my skin chemistry, it just smelled like spoiled food. Very 'compost bin'. I was so disappointed. Longevity and projection are very impressive, all I did was a small dab on my wrists and it lasted pretty much the whole day, even through a thorough washing to try to get it off. I hate that I don't love it :(

i really wanted to like this but it smells like straight up rotting garbage on my skin. i had to scrub it off and i feel sick from it still an hour later. i love weird fragrances and briny notes, but something about this just doesn't work for me.

this one had the distinct smell of cat pee soaked in carpet for a couple of days. i didn't get any oyster or butter, just straight cat skunk. eeyuck!! may your skin chemistry be in your favor

Ramshackle wooden pier, salt-bleached planks sea wrack rot, shifting scrim of slate sky. Miss Akranes contest, bright bunting wilting in salt spray and sea mist, dripping gown and cracked rubber boots. Icy rain of butter and brine, each drop a tiny oyster on the tongue. Fishing nets of pearl grey silk tangled with kelp and hollow percussions of fish bones; the iodine tang of seaweed rotting in tide pools where lobster traps rust and seashell sibilance gurgles, whispers, salted and cured. Sea glass teeth, crowns of crab shell, scepter of driftwood and whalebone. Something ancient stirs beneath the harbor, pageantry for drowned gods. What the tide brings in, the mayor photographs for the brochure. What it takes away, no one admits to their children. Velkomin til Akranes. Sjórinn heilsar þér svanglega.

a bottle of miss tranchant broke about 20 feet away from my desk. it's been 24 hours. what i smell: gardenia. it makes sense -- butter and salty air/water are aspects of gardenia too, both the flower itself as well as whatever accords these fragrance alchemists come up with to convey the flower. it would explain why so many find an oyster butter perfume so enticing and, well, sexy. hilde's creations are never quite what they seem.

Reports suggest I smell like a popcorn jellybean while wearing. There is a rather singular whipped butter note especially divine in its first minute, overtaken in short by that urinous aspect noted in another review below (the ‘oyster’)? I think I wanted the secretion here to be slimier and more transparent. The dry-down, however, is a beautiful, buttery marine breeze that makes me feel like a very hot and classy oysterman.

Hmmmm.....butter and oysters? Not sure how this is classified as an Oriental Vanilla. Sounds like it needs a little squeeze of fresh lemon. At first thought, it sounds awful, but I may check out a decant. Or maybe I'm just in the mood for a trip to the Oyster Bar!

I was expecting to hate this sample but it’s actually really beautiful and wearable. It smells like creamy rich butter with salt. I would purchase a larger decant of this. It’s very intriguing but not weird at all to me. It’s actually very sexy.

If anyone can sell me a sample of this please message me!!