Parfum de Peau

17. march 2014 I have finally got my hands on a vintage bottle of EDT and i also have a full size 7,5ml bottle of extrait of this wonderful fragrance. Been wearing it for the few last days and feel ready to share my opinion about htis fragrance. Let just start by saying that i know quite a lot about Claude Montana, his background and impact to fashion, so i had expectations for this fragrance to be very excessive as well as his infamous exaggerated shoulder pads and structural fashion. I hav never smelled this fragrance before (i still haven ́t unsealed my extrait bottle), except for one time when i have smelled a most probably recent formulation of it while visiting someone. Oh, it was lovely, heavy, honeyed, just the way i like them for the colder time of the year. But wearing it and smelling it from the lid are quite different things. When i smell a lid of my vintage EDT, i smell familiar fragrances that i madly love (Regine ́s, l ́arte di Gucci EDP and Moments by Priscilla Presley). They all share that vibe of a syrupy, sweet, heavy on rose/tuberose fragrance. The smell of Montana from the lid is very similar to them as well. BUT!!! When i sprayed myself quite liberately with Montana, first thing i got was relatively light soapy tuberose scent. I know, i know, notes don ́t list any tuberose for this one, but it must be a combination of blackberry, patchouli, orange blossom and narcissus i guess. And i can most certainly say that for the first couple of hours i can detect only soapy tuberose scent on myself. WHERE IS THE LEATHER???!! Not even close in here! And it also doesn ́t smell anything that i have smelled from the lid, that my favorite orchestra of notes. This stage lasts for quite long time and many hours later it starts to become more syrupy. Yeah baby! that ́s when i get that lovely "lid" scent! That ́s when i smell that beautiful rose i wanted. The honey is not listed, BUT my nose smells something like honeyed rose (same as in Gucci Arte EDP). Now i think that i might have overapplied actually with the scent, since it ́s sillage becomes more potent that in the opening. Quite a heavy one. By this time it becomes a "typical 80 ́s powerhouse". Gorgeous! I can clearly see the connection of the fragrance itself and it ́s marketing face Christelle Saint-Louis, who was one of my most favorite models in 90 ́s. She always walked quite slowly, bit lingered her steps, had that great look in her eyes and fabulous fizzy hair. Once you have seen her in motion, gracing down the catwalk in a long evening outfit, giving you THAT look and halfsmile (a hint of it), you ́ll get the idea. The Montana fragrance lingers like a trail of that fab dress, it envelopes and surrounds you, makes you want not to rush anywhere and give everyone THAT look in the eyes. Ok, the fragrance lasts on my hair for over 48hours by now, also on my skin it is very much detectable, so the lasting power is amazing (but most probably because i have applied it also SO much!). But the transformation of this fragrance doesn ́t end in here. The next day, 24hours later, is the time, when i finally smell the fabulous LEATHER. Yess! it is a thick yet soft vintage leather jacket. Quite dry leather with an amazing animalistic one. I know, no civet or anything else animalistic is listed in here, but this leather in here has that most gorgeous drydown of the Paco Rabanne ́s "La nuit" skanky undetone. I ́m totally speechless! I ebjoy it to the very last moment from the very first moment!. True, the opening was a bit dissapointing at first, but after a very short while i enjoyed it very much as well. Truly great multifaceted fragrance. I am seriously glad i have got it finally. Top rating from me for this one! P.S. Oh, did i mentioned that the bottle itself is a piece of art and absolutly magical. I SO much enjoy holding it in hands! MASTERPIECE!

(Review of an early 1990s EdT) Parfum de Peau, the Perfume of Skin, is lewd. There is a carnal, red-blooded body heat to this that will make you fan your collar. This skin that touches you has plans best left to total privacy. The opening may not fully reveal intentions as it is a pretty standard handshake and hello from the beauty in front of you. A big swirl of sparkling aldehydes, bitter and citrusy bergamot, silky peaches, watery-waxy blackcurrants and plums are natural accents to a jammy rose accord that itself is readily apparent. Spicy peppercorn is the key part here, giving an electric tingle to this handshake and introduction. Then comes the florals. This part of PdP gives me chills. It’s hair raising. The rose in this section makes it quite clear it wants you... big time. The red rose is peppery, woody, earthy, succulent fruity, and luscious to an impossible degree. The accents to this accord provide the glint to the eyes, the corners of a sultry smile, the stiffened neck and shoulders, and the warm breath on your ear. Indolic jasmine keeps the rose from going too deep and jammy, carnation adds to the fleshy density with creamy warmth, ylang-ylang the powdery exoticism of skin on skin contact, and a musky leather and civet combo that is animalic and salty and just on the right side of filth... but only barely. The amber dry down is a post-coital nestle and a cigarette. Warm beige sandalwood, gently smokey-resinous and green frankincense of which the latter descriptor is helped along by a green woody vetiver, with plenty of damp, warm and slightly dirty breath from oakmoss and civet still lingering. The dry down is the primary focus of PdP, suggesting the afterglow is the best part that should be relished for as long as possible. A notable difference between PdP and others in this vein is how quietly it wants its lascivious mood to be relayed. Unlike many other floral chypres of the era PdP will not fill the hotel room and the hallway with its carnal moans and groans, rather it wants to keep them firmly in your ear for you and only you to hear, which means that one could - in theory - wear this to the office or to informal and/or non-romantic outings but should someone get close enough to you they will probably greatly question your plutonic intentions. Parfum de Peau is a masterpiece, a brilliantly composed floral chypre capable of eliciting some of the most primal reactions. Stunning.

Marigold Rose Leather Smoke! Of COURSE there are other notes here, but these are the ones that hit me between the eyes and take no prisoners. :D Those of you who love a strong and tangy 80's rose are in for a gigantic treat. Yes, the patchouli is a definite presence - thoroughly balanced by every other perfectly blended note. Not a subtle blend of notes, or even slightly tamed. This wild beast of an animalic beauty is in the same category to my nose as two other unique scents: Animale Animale and Caesar's Woman Both of which are about as loud and proud as the animalic chypre gets! Animale has an earthy presence, reminding one of vegetal roses and ancient growing things. Perhaps more dry than Montana, with softer sillage. Caesar's Woman is sweeter than either of these, with Huge orange blossoms, brashness, and sillage. It would be truly wonderful when worn with cigarette smoke and sequins! Of the three, I feel Woman the hardest for me to wear, announcing an almost soured sweetness on my skin. For others, it's primarily floral presence might be substantially more likable. Animale is the easiest for me, with an earth-like element which somehow quiets and slightly tames the rough character of this rose. One squirt under clothing is my calming, mossy comfort scent. :D Some people really notice the civet in Animale, but I do not. Instead, I feel the Marigold and Narcissus in MONTANA are far more wild and untamed in their animalic splendor! As yet I have read few if any reviews characterizing Marigold and Narcissus (those orange and golden sirens) as anything other than floral. But when mixed with leather or other chypre notes I often sense such an amazingly strong presence of animales. My nose literally smells unbridled CIVET and Castoreum. Strong stuff indeed... Today I am wearing but one spray of Montana on wrists, and it has lent an exhilarating element to this rainy weather. I am Alive, Alert, and very, very Scented!!! Five stars for excellent sillage, longevity, presence, and a most distinctive personality. In other words - WOW. Only negatives.... getting harder to find and not to be worn around the perfume intolerant! ;)

Much to my misery, I own a reformulated Parfum de Peau. It is strong, but in a special way, STRONG with capital letters. Imagine the novice me spray liberally and i n h a l e ! Slapped in the face, punched in the nose, but I was sincerely woken up. I once put it on when going to bed and I could just not fall asleep. Parfum de Peau puts you in charge, acts on your hypothalamus and overactivates your cortex, sharpens your nerves and prepares you for a challenge. Well, do not wear it to bed, do yourself a favour! Step number one: apply less than sparingly and then yes you have a potent but tamed chypre scent, still loaded and demanding. The first to be detected are the ginger with flowers and afterwards pepper. The pepper is dry, invigorating, and I think this is what gives the impression of tons of oakmoss. There is also something winelike at the very beginning, which then gradually fades (maybe marygold). I do not see dramatic changes of the scent, I mean from now on the scent evolves very very slowly, that it seems to take a whole life, without changing too much. My skin needs a lot of time to get to terms with it, but when I do detect the basenotes, I like it, as they remind me of the basenotes in Diva, less sweet and more woody. At this point the scent (contrary to all expectations) remains just a touch of warmth, of leather, a hint of the initial fragrance but which clings faithfully for a long time. I'd rather I put it on in the evening in order to smell good in the morning, according to my taste and development on my skin (sleep permitting).

The first female scent I ever tried for myself. After a few wears, it became my signature and made me all-too-open to trying feminine fragrances. It's a masterpiece. I've gone through at least four bottles. I wouldn't call it masculine-leaning, but it's hardly feminine. On a bad day, you might find yourself smelling like celery. Fizzy, bright, and hilariously harsh green top that mellows with florals that smell less floral than they seem to sweetly coalesce with the green notes, while providing a ladder for the smoky, animalic, resinous base in the dry down. You'll go to bed feeling cozy and carnal all at once, awash in a perfectly balanced haze of amber and incense. The evolution is incredible. The longevity is fantastic. Unexpected compliments. A favorite of huggers. My mother has threatened to get it for her husband. I understand what people find confrontational about it, but there's also something confrontational about an open mouth kiss from a gorgeous woman pressing you against a car outside a party. I'm not on the waiting list to cry about it and I feel bad for anyone who is. This could easily be released as a niche unisex today, but it would also be less interesting and less daring. It's sexy, it's serious, it's faceted like a diamond and spooky as an opal. It's also frequently at discounters and generally pretty affordable even when it isn't on discount. The atomizer is the most reliable I've ever touched and the sprays are fat, wet, and pillowy like a good set of lips. I can't wait to try Peau Intense.