Blanc

Paul & Joe Blanc is a seriously underrated fragrance. When I first tested it, I was quite taken aback, as it stirred some deep emotion in me which only Angelique sous la pluie had stirred. Something about this is reminiscent of the excitement and freedom of the 1960s, it's very short skirts on long legged girls with sexy natural hair blowing in the breeze. When I was five, (in the 60s), we had a family friend by the name of Frankie Geraldi who owned an ice cream firm. I remember him lifting me up to look inside the big steel vats where the delicious ice cream was being churned. That smell. Metallic, milky, cold - that is the essence of Blanc. Next time you go to an ice cream van, beg the driver to lift the lid of their freezer and sniff. Someone somewhere said it smelled like a sucked silver spoon. Spot on. Metal without the teeth grinding. Sharp and luxuriously free, this is the love children dancing naked in the rain with flowers in their hair of fragrances. Little surprise to find the same nose was responsible for the creation of both Angelique SLP and this one, namely, Jean Claude Ellena. In short, understated, gentle, innocent, comforting, stratospherically clean. Sunny days by the cool stream, daisy chains and sleepy warmth. Comforting and compelling to me, in a "you are five and in a very good position to dive into a vat of your favourite ice cream" way. Very bi polar, very exciting. I immediately bought a bottle. Just lovely. Spring forward to 2016 - my lovely daughter just scored me 100ml of this for my birthday, so yes, I am still in love with it. And, for the record, sacrilegious though it may be, a few sprays of this over a light dusting of Chanel Coromandel is rather nice too. :-D

What a beautiful fragrance! I got this as an added 'extra' with another perfume I was purchasing this past week. I usually wouldn't feel comfortable writing a review after such a short acquaintance, but this one impressed me on first sniff and hasn't let me down yet. As others have pointed out, this is a very light scent - very slightly floral and with the sheer translucence and gauzy, ethereal texture that is characteristic of so many of Jean-Claude Ellena's creations. On my skin, it opens with an almost linden-like note (perhaps the angelica or hawthorn?) and a suggestion of almond and heliotrope that reminds me of a daintier, more floral version of Olivia Giacobetti's creation for L'Artisan, Jour de Fete. The scent burns through a few floral suggestions (just the barest whisper of lily and other pale flowers I can't quite identify) but the almond sticks around longest, becoming the slightest bit rose-y in the dry down. Other reviewers have suggested a similarity with Ellena's L'Eau d'Hiver for Frederic Malle, and I have to agree - they're surprisingly alike. I haven't had time to do a side by side comparison yet, but I'd say the opening to L'Eau d'Hiver is a little brighter, most likely due to the bergamot, and the dry down more substantial, while Blanc is milkier and 'paler' overall. The sillage of both is soft and the longevity is, sadly, only a couple of hours - the only downside I can find to this truly lovely scent. This is what dreaming in the sunlight of a summer's afternoon smells like.

Bizzare, Translucent, Spectral. If I could rename Paul & Joe's Blanc, it would be: PAUL & JOE - GHOST It opens with a blast of metallic almond and heliotrope, enchanting and beautiful. A few seconds later, BAAAAAM!! It disappears like a ghost - leaving traces of broken glass on the ground that turn into floral seeds of sweet pea, freesia, lily, angelica. She is an icy ghost with long and pale lilac hair - dressed in almost transparent chiffon and sheen taffeta. One second she is here, next she is not. Just when you think she has gone, she is right before your eyes and nose. You want to catch her but you can't. In a more technical word, Blanc is a skin scent - the closest ever you can imagine, but she is dearly there. Longevity is short, as she has to return to her nature. But you can always call on her anytime you wish and desire. She is just one spray away. -AB-

About time a wrote a review about this unique little addition to my collection. I don’t reach for it often but when I do I’m impressed. Light, cool, musky, almond and heliotrope. It has a fresh floral edge cut short by the milk. A really quirky and lovely fragrance if you want something a bit different, but would be hard to source now I suspect. Love the bottle design - mine is the pure white, opaque bottle with a silver plaque on the front.

I have to say this is really nice. The top notes come across a little strong to me at first, and the freesia seems noticeable for a while, but then the dry down is really soft and slightly addictive. I wish it had a little more strength in the dry down phase, but it wears very close to the skin. Kind of a "your skin but better" type of scent. I'm keen to try Bleu now.