Desarmant

My mother loves lilacs because of her memories of lilac bushes near her childhood home. I looked all over for the perfect, realistic lilac scent for her - Desarmant is it. It's a simple scent - real lilac, with an oakmossy green base. That's it. Not something I'd wear personally, but it's a beautiful scent and I love it because of the realism and the association with my mother.

Sweet Morphine was my favourite go to lilac scent, it has just been knocked in to second place by this beauty. Its not a green lilac like en passant, just pure and simple lilac, with staying power, truly beautiful for lilac lovers.

I freaking love lilac! Seriously! My childhood backyard was covered in lilac trees and I absolutely loved sitting beneath them and just inhaling. When I firt encountered F. Malle "En passant" I was with no doubt smitten and had to get a bottle instantly. I still have it and I still love it, yet it feels like an absolute innocence in a bottle and you know - there are those days I don't want to feel as innocent, but still wear one of my favorite floral scents. DESARMANT is devilish. Can you actually imagine devilish lilac? No? Then try DESARMANT. It has this sharp, dark quality which adds to the lilac composition so smoothly that you don't even notice that this actually smells a bit kinky. Vanilla combo with lilac is, by the way, out of this world - so marvelous. It gets this going to a very sensual direction and with the darkness/sharpness of leather it had the definite OOMPH moment. But, but, but - DESARMANT why won't you last more than 4 hours? Why would you turn so musky and boring some 3 hours in? Why can't you just stay damn perfect all the time, so I could have to run and buy a bottle? Such a pity. Now I crave this, but I can't justify 160 EUR for 2 hours of pure pleasure and mediocre and a tad moldy drydown.

A light application and Desarmant is a lovely floral spray of purple lilacs and a swatch of supple white leather. Two very contrasting notes that complement each other surprisingly well. Feminine, cheerful and fresh for a leather scent. Warmed with subtle vanilla powder and earthy dry moss that teases the lilac into a candied violet dish. Over apply and the leather and lilac start to strike each other without aplomb, clashing with a synthetic screech. There's a tension between these two notes that rides a fine balance that is easily triggered into schizophrenia. One moment the girls are well behaved and as soon as mom's back is turned, they're tearing each other's hair out. Fascinatingly moody. Charming but naughty.

This really doesn't mix well with my skin. When I tried it on perfume stick it was a very fresh lilac scent, but the second it hit my skin it transformed to something nauseatingly sharp forgotten in the back of the wardrobe at some old lady's house. I can sure smell the lilacs; trying to suffocate me. No leather whatsoever. Nothing else than this harsh lilac. Waited and waited for the drydown that never came. One second awful, the other second (or rather hours) gone. Sillage more than moderate, longevity beyond desired. What a pity, I really wanted to love, or at least like, this one.