Peau de Bete

This to me is the best animalic perfume ever created. Oh, and I am a huge lover of animalic perfumes, I've sampled pretty much all, and own most. I'm baffled that this exceptional work of art doesn't seem to get much attention, and not many perfumistas talk about it. This is an anmialic that has it all. Complexity is very high, one will not get bored wearing and exploring this beauty. It's quite linear from start to finish, but the amalgam of notes and accords makes the journey one of a kind, and one discovers new nuances every other wear. In short, this perfume is sexual. Yes, sexual, filthy, not sexy. This is sex, intimacy, bodily odor, and fluids. If pheromones would have a descriptive scent, it would be this. In other words, this perfume has several facets that are perceivable and that coalesce to create the final result. There are spices, mostly cumin, and aromatic notes like parsley, and chamomile. There is also an agrestic nature in here, the smell of grass, hay, and wildflowers. There are woods, and resins, mostly labdanum and styrax, but I wouldn't say that this perfume is a resinous experience, if anything, these two resins give a smoky vibe to Peau de Bete. And the big players here, the civet, castoreum(the leather accord here), and skatole. The three of them are the core players, with all the other notes and accords dancing around them. The scent is musky, spicy, earthy, grassy, a bit smoky, and leathery. Quite fascinating, there is a prominent creamy, buttery texture that others have also mentioned. Salty as well. Do you see where is this going? Musky, creamy, salty. The skin of the Beast might just as well have been named Human Skin. The smell of human skin after a long night of sexual interplay. But not in a bed, but rather on the wet grass and soil. One would think, do I want to smell like this? It's artistic for sure, but do I want to wear it? Here is where this perfume shines once again and sets itself apart from the other animalic creations. The perfumer somehow managed to take all this untamed, shameless dirtiness in Peau de Bete, and give it a beautiful sophistication, smoothness, almost elegance. The sillage and projection are low, which means, only you, the wearer, will be able to fully appreciate it, and only those that come close to you. Who would have thought, an uber animalic composition, that can be worn anywhere, anytime, almost like a second skin, an extension of one's identity? I could go on and on about why I believe this perfume is a work of genius, but I would stop here and plead for all animalic, skanky perfume lovers out there to try this one. You will not be disappointed. Also, this one didn't make the cut for what is deemed as commercially acceptable, therefore, it's not going to be around for long.

Something about Peau de Bete reminds me of Annick Goutal's Sables, but a darker version under a summer's moon. Perhaps this brilliant invention was guided in whispers from across the veil, carrying a spark of Sables' solar inspiration forward into the night and building upon it to become a bold statement of liberation for a generation consumed and suffocated by a rigid and curated aromatic aesthetic, breathing life into the ember revelation until it became a flame which was tended and fanned to become a raging bonfire at the heart of some timeless Dionysian ritual like the one that inspired Henri Matisse's Dance. In this enactment of the annual rite the naked revelers are sweaty, encircling the rising bonfire in ecstatic dance, deep within a dry meadow, flutes and drums conducting their rhythmic motions, while shadows play across the faces of the many gathered and lounging upon hides and trampled hay, sipping an intoxicating elixir. A couple, hand in hand, slip away laughing, escaping the lively crowd to frolic among the parched flowers of summer, a symphony of crickets all around, passion in the dark. This magical potion is high challenge and high reward. Peau de Bete is the human experience. Raw. Tribal. Contradictory. Animal. Intimate.

I really don't understand the sqeamishness of many surrounding this fragrance. It's FAR from offensive or "unwearable" due to its animalic elements. I mean, come on...is everyone such a snowflake nowadays that they shrivel up and clutch their pearls over a few mild pussy notes? Dudes...I really don't recommend you undertaje travel back even 50-60 years, when almost ALL fragrances, bith masculine and feminine, smelled like pussy. What I get from this is a strong linear leather performance...a lucsious, sexy, only very slightly "dirty" leather. I get a bit of cumin in the first few hours, but certainly not in amounts that would push the scent in a "sweaty" direction. I bought this as a decant along with Papillon Salome, so I always compare them in ny mind. I think Salome is absolutely brilliant, but way more complex and more well-constructed than the more linear Peau de Bete. I'm strongly considering purchasing full bottles of both.

a horse walks into a bar... hard to describe, like LM Hard Leather, but without the "palmolive" sweet musk, like MKK, but without the "dead ashtray pencil shavings Moscow nightclub armpit" smell ...that is replaced by a something more naturally clean and "alive"... no ashtray, no armpit, no dirt... more like "food" smells, like fresh baked bread, salami, and dirty martinis...the sweetness isn't quite vanilla or tonka, more like hot buttered rum, there is a definite "hair and skin smell" to the leather, maybe a dash of saddle soap to really bring the horse to life... like all good fragrances, it won't smell like you have something "ON you", so much as people might assume this is just how you smell, as it somehow shares the right amount of "human" notes to overlap.....yes, weak sillage, but so cozy and purring, it is not meant to be a shout

One of the best perfume creations ever. I love everything about it. The fact that it is aleggedly discontinued, because they no longer can source the precious materials that went into it speaks for itself. For me, the animalics are highly sexy and palatable. Of course, when you smell it up close, you get the funk at first, but who would normally do that? Just let it radiate around you and what you get is a warm fuzzy greatness. I absolutely love the musty woody character, it is as if you enter an old persons attic (in the best possible way you can imagine). The bottle just shouts luxury, one of the best I own. I'm simply so happy I still got mine as this is a true representative of high quality niche, absolutely unique and oozing with creativity. My pick of the year!