L'Olympia Music Hall

The room is a consuming pitch black - the moon has gone into hiding on this godless night. A few sparks and a gentle flame light the scene - two naked, sweaty bodies lie in a disheveled bed...they don't speak and they dare not connect a single glance. The simmering rage is palpable in the room. She thoughtlessly lights her cigarette and blows invisible rings into thick darkness. The ashen fumes mingle with her desecrated scent - a dense, fleshy iris and a sinful rose spiked with carnal tangling and the unspoken disgust between failing flames. The years have not been kind to either, but her obsession with smoke and drink have aged her haggard. Whatever love or lust guided you toward each other has long since faded and all you see is her leathered skin distracting from the blackened heart she hides beneath. You breathe the toxic air in, slowly, and think of the insatiable longings of your youth. You drink your poison deeply and hope that the silence of your empty dreamscape claims you soon...another moment in reality might prove to be too much. Your breath slows...the dank patchouli and musk of the smoky room swirls like clouds in your storming mind. The alcohol takes hold and your lover's presence fades from your perception....you find your momentary peace....at the trivial cost of your health. Day 95 - Poison Listening to: Flying Lotus - The Kill Notes: I don't know if this has been reformulated or not, but I'm using a decant from a year or so ago. Upon opening I get the slightest hint of citrus, but the moment is brief at best. The heart rages almost instantly - thick, smoky incense plumes mix with a lush array of florals, iris and rose being the most distinguishable, and hints of fiery saffron and a pinch of sweaty pepper. It is both repulsive and exciting as I've never smelled something quite like this. There is also a very dense patchouli note that lies somewhere on the humid scale....and a mineral musk and cold suede note counter the more spicy and hot notes. The drydown brings a bit of vanilla and dry cacao sweetness to the patchouli, suede, and musk....but the mineral musk unfolds as the strongest note and carries the fume to its close. Longevity is a decent 8 to 10 hours and this fume can easily be worn by anyone - the florals are never overpowering nor are they the longest lasting component! This fume definitely has a strong personality so make sure yours is strong enough to compete!

The opening is a bit much, with every note shouting for attention, without any discernable cohesion. I guess it does remind me of the old hall where I used to attend boy scouts as a kid, but I'm not enjoying wearing it. But then it starts to settle and fall into place. The pepper and incense suddenly become very strong, followed closely by the lilac, then the other notes cohere to provide a powdery suede base. It could be a floral flanker of Honour Man, with leather instead of vetiver. Many people have said it's soapy, and it definitely is at first. Now, far into the dry down, I can really smell the chocolate and licorice. What an interesting perfume! I feel like it will have many facets and perform differently in different circumstances, time will tell. It's very complex, and I can't decide if I like it yet. Maybe I'll never be able to decide. Second wear, and oh my, I'm starting to understand what this is. It's incredible. It's a patchouli perfume, sort of dry and dirty, almost like patchouli sawdust. There's mystery and magic, with cocoa and vanilla swirling round, but it's all BONE dry. This is as niche as it gets! Update: this is in my current top five perfumes, absolutely wonderful and unique. Impossible to define, ever changing and intricate, but cohesive.

I've never been to the Olympia Music Hall in France but as an American, this is still strongly still nostalgic to me. It really does smell like I remember the old music halls in the United States smelling. Here, it's taken a step further and people are added to the mix, so it's not just wood you're smelling, but the guests as well. Additionally, this is how I remember the old theaters and buildings in school smelling back when everything was made out of wood, before plastic and other synthetic materials were used en masse. It does get a touch feminine in the mid from my nemesis peony, but thankfully it's not strong, and still completely wearable for me as a man. I love many from this house, but I believe this is Gérald Ghislain's finest artwork. I LOVE when a fragrance can transport me to a time and place, and this one does that. It really makes me feel like a young boy again - in a big and exciting world, filled with possibilities. -------------------------------------------------- Scent 9.8/10 Performance 7/10

Not sure how wearable this would be for me but I was very impressed with this composition indeed. I really haven't smelled anything remotely like this a wonderful fruity/berry/citrus type opening then an explosion of florals which I can't even begin to categorize (at least in the opening)I think it's mainly peony and rose TBH, but I'm not expert. Then incense, musk, patchouli and my favourite saffron this is a veritable classy (up)marketplace of notes! The drydown is a delicate suede, leathery, talc which remains floral and uplifting and works well with that saffron note. I think L'Olympia Music hall is a definitely a unisex fragrance but it would take a man braver than me to pull it off, and I'd wear almost anything! It's not feminine, just very daring. Good longevity and projection a wonderful creation from Gerard Ghislain (someone I can't say I'm familiar with) truly innovative stuff. Fragrance lovers need to get your nose on this love or hate it will reinvigorate your appreciation of fragrance.

nonostante una piramide olfattiva pirotecnica, questo profumo spicca per eleganza e sobrietà, a dispetto del nome glamour. è un bel floreale speziato, lieve e aereo, basato sulle note di lillà e pepe nero, le cui potenziali asperità sono smorzate da una combinazione equilibrata di cuoio, muschio e patchouli. intendiamoci: non c'è traccia, per me, della liquirizia, dello zafferano, della peonia, del cioccolato etc etc, ma la fragranza, nella sua leggerezza, è assai gradevole e per nulla invadente. mi aspettavo qualcosa di smaccatamente complesso, annuso, piuttosto, una bella acqua fresca ed estiva.

This is such a stunning floral perfume. I absolutely adore it. Lilac and pepper are the most prominent notes for me. Lilac opens up beautifully. It's such a rare floral note that I tend not to hear it much in other perfumes. It's light, slightly spicy, has a honey-like darker undertones, not as nauseating as a tuberose or a jasmine are, and not as standard and recognizable as a rose. In addition I hear a lot of suede and woods, but I fail to detect much of the top notes (citrus notes). I will keep this sample as a permanent collection item.

One of my favorite perfumes! The house is very recognizable in this creation. L'Olympia is rich in notes, yet not too noisy, it is harmonic and nicely blended. It is warm, powdery, flowery and the leather makes me to daydream about my most comfortable moccasins to walk with in a nice spring day. At the same time not being innocent at all as the musk and the leather make the composition animal-like (yes, all the dreams in this nice spring day are very sensual and about my love :))

I think after I smelled L'Olympia I really sold my soul to Histoires de Parfums. I gently love Moulin Rouge and now I lost myself in L'Olympia. It smells like luxurious and careless beautiful people sitting on red velour seats. Like an old, dusty wooden stage. The fur on ladies and evening brandy in gentlemen. Smells like a sin, smells like art. Splendid creation, a pure masterpiece. Borscht rating for people: 5.8/10 Borscht rating for herself: 13/10

Beautiful perfume,a harmony of notes... it is unusual but at the same time comfortable. It seems to be right inside a theater,in a classical music concert, or in the living room... this is really well done, difficult to describe the beauty of this perfume, if you love particular perfumes I suggest you try, I I literally fell in love with it! I love it! ♫ ♪ Sillage: 8.5/10 Longevity: 8./10 Scent: 9./10 Overall: 9./10

I had to completely change my review, I had remembered this as dark and leathery but I went and sprayed it on just now and it's actually a very pretty floral, suede dusty scent that is quite nice. Probably the hardest perfume I've had to describe. Kinda like a dusty library with leather cover books and a Liberian lady who wears perfume from the 80's. Amazing old fashioned smell really.

Нова кожена чанта, в която има тютюн, шоколад, кедър и цветя, има един етап, в който се усеща гумата като в bvlgari black и aquolina black sugar, но има и много свежо, чисто, почти сапунено усещане. Отново усещам в базата prada infusion d'iris cedre. Много балансиран аромат при цялото богатство на пирамидата. И абсолютно неочаквано - страхотна прилика с Rem.

It's one of the most interesting cretation I have ever tried. I impressed very much with this. Delightful, different, artistic and little bit strange. I bought the bottle of this perfume and I think, I won't be regret! It's smell like smoky, dusty, sweet lather-rose perfume and very attractive. It's also rare first love perfume for me. Just try it!

The smell of the pepper in the opening is wonderful. There is a drama in this perfume. The change of the smell is splendid. It is cool, and it is hot. Epicene beauty. Rich imagination. The sweet bitterness of the saffron, it is a secret of the smell of a dream of the lilac and a warm tree and suedes. I really love it .

Получих го от размяна без тест и се оказа това, което очаквах: красавец, който носи за мен атмосфера, подобна на Iris prima Penhaligon's. Ароматът е различен, но има подобна аура. Накрая прилича много на Prada infusion d'iris cedre, prada amber homme

I put off testing this creation from Histoires de Parfums for a while, as I am not a fan of Moulin Rouge, and I naturally assumed that Olympia would be a variation on that theme. It turns out that Olympia is nothing like Moulin Rouge, happily. This patchouli-rich perfume smells complex and wonderful but not blaring and brash. Many interesting floral elements mingle with many oriental elements to produce a perfume which can be said truly to reflect the complexity of a theatrical performance. There is so much going on in a seemingly simple stage production, and there are so many contributors, from performers to stage hands to audience, managers, and even technicians who deal with lighting and sound. All of this is captured by this rich and complex scent. Olympia strikes me as a fine oriental composition suitable for gals and guys alike. The patchouli, woods, incense, saffron and suede notes are balanced by the floral notes--above all, lilac--and then there are smidgeons of sweetness here as well. A worthy creation from Histoires de Parfums. Bravo!

I bought it blindly as it was crazy cheap and in a sealed box. I always try to say notes without looking up on fragrantica. My verdict was: - leather - patchouli - lacquered wood - human body presence (in a slightly bohemian dirty form). It really smells like theater hall. Very bohemian. I am shocked how perfumer was able to recreate it so well!

A complicated scent with lots of things going on. I get a peppery floral (rose, I think) musk. It's a lovely feminine scent, powerful but soft, very nice indeed.

I got a decant of this, and I most likely will never use it but I can appreciate it. For one, it smells very masculine to me, which is probably the leather. I know this a unisex fragrance but it definitely makes me feel like I'm wearing a man's scent. It smelled really nice on the top note but I find the suede and incense a bit too strong. It is very strong, I would not use this on a humid day. In fact I have a bit of a headache now smelling this. But I agree with most of the reviewers, it smells like a music hall/center all right. It smells a bit like a new guitar too.

This is more like an impression, than like a propper review. I rarely - almost never - grasp for abstract comparisons or descriptions - but I really have to for this one: I suppose that Olympia Music Hall really does smell like Olympia Music Hall. This IS Olympia Music Hall right after the big, loud and long concert of Rolling Stones, Celline Dion, 50 Cent, Sex Pistols... oh, and Madonna and maybe dearly departed George Michael and Tom Waits, too. In a row. Without a pause. That's how the air, seats and curtains smell right after public crazed with all of them - like all the perfumes, all body oils and hair mists, all exhaled breaths and all leather clothes were mixed together in the heat for quite a while, and then left to cool down into unique liquid essence. This is Olympia Music Hall for me. I honestly envy anyone who can comprehend this fragrance and claim it as personal scent. I'm not saying it is bad. Actually, it is not screaming or loud, and it is long lasting. Also, further into drydown it goes it feels more and more freahly airy and wearable. But. It is just not, so not me.

Opens with a huge blast of animalic notes, combined with something aquatic and a bit of citrus and incense, amped by ambroxan. Then something sweet is added to the mix, and the citrus gets a bit stronger but stays soft. Most of these notes get overshadowed by a huge amount of dirty animalic musk. Drydown is still quite musky with woody notes and citrus on top. Sillage and longevity are moderate on me. Not my kind of scent, love the dirty musk, but it is really quite strong on me and overshadows the other notes. I don't get any leather, flower or spicy notes at all, except for a little bit of saffron in the opening. I don't think this one works as designed on my skin.