Corps et Ames

This is the nose’s nod to classic French Perfumery, much more so than any other perfumes by this House I have encountered. And if you like leather, I believe you are in for a treat with Corps et Ames. It reminds me very much of Tom Ford’s White Patchouli at first, as I swear I detect heavy, dry patch with bold and sensual jasmine. Leather soon invades the heart, adding much darkness and a highly animalic quality, but it is nicely balanced with geranium, which gives it some freshness. Corps et Ames is a sizzling and carnal perfume. Sillage screams, “Watch out, fellas! I will eat you alive,” with a lascivious smirk.

Absolute bliss! Dry leather, wood, spice and a lot of geranium create a beautiful feminine chypre. At first, while testing, I would have loved to be able to get some more of the immortelle. By now I am so happy with Corps et Ames, that I don't care anymore. It looks like Parfumerie Generale is quickly becoming my favourite Perfume House! Testing scent after scent I feel surprised, uplifted, even personally approached and understood... No disappointments so far, I will order the remaining samples soon. In total agreement with Jeca: Elegance of the past. Must try!!

This reminds me of Guerlain Habit rouge cologne (not the edt) this has that nice clean cut floral fresh damp/wet type of smell with the light leather. think of a garden full of roses and geranium after a rainy day.

Elegance of the past, self-confidence of a clever woman, amazing fragrance! Leather has strong woody nuances, a beautiful leathery chypre, one of the kind. With time it becomes tender cozy clean dusty

To my nose this is an "old fashioned" style chypre. I immediately thought - as I opened the vial - the frag has turned bad. Then I saw the juice colour, it was clear and is not "old enough" for a frags turining bad. It's just the way it's made, I guess. A sharp chypre, very medicinal (camphor note ) and very strong on the aldheides. Then it turn into a crisp floral/green (can smell geranium, herbs, hen) onto a leather woody base. I find it somewhat metallic (can smell like hair color or perm). Not my kind of thing.... but a nod to classic chypres. There are better ones around.

I must have an antagonistic relationship with chypres, there are very few that work on me, and most are well completely not what everyone else is getting when they wear it and Corps et Ames falls in the category of not working. Where as everyone else gets an herbaceous leather with lots of jasmine, I get tons of immortalle with cumin laced leather. Yup this is not happening for me. To each their own for those whom find chypres to delight on the skin and for those that find chypres to do weird transformations on them be wary of this one.

Side note: I think Fragrantica should add corpse to their library of notes. This smells like Ivory soap with a touch of...well, corpse.

Parfumerie Générale Corps et Ames is a very bitter green woody chypre with a rather stern feeling to it. The whole composition smells very natural to me, but the wood reminds me of a cross between the dying embers of a campfire and the scent of a log cabin in the Rocky Mountains. That's a nice scent, to be sure, but it seems to me to be more of an atmosphere than something that I'd really want to smell like. This is not a voluptuous or seductive perfume at all. I do not believe that Corps et Ames is exactly harsh--like I said, it smells very natural--but it also is not very inviting. This perfume may be the scent for the rugged individualist for whom love and tenderness are not really high priorities. Corps et Ames connotes discipline and sacrifice. This is a perfume for people--men and women alike--who hate frilly flowers and gooey sweets. Moving toward Chanel no 19 territory, only much drier and more austere. I find this composition more brown than green. A serious and contemplative perfume, this is basically the antithesis of a pink fruity-floral frag.

I was attracted to this because the perfumed court described it as a 'modern chypre", which is my favorite category. Unfortunatlely this falls into the men's category, and calling it unisex is misleading. To me this is opens dusty and dry. The Bourgon geranium perhaps? Not sure. It reminds me of how someone would smell after walking through a rank and poorly aerated bar (back in the days when people could smoke in these establishments) This also has the high ringing 'cologne' note, which makes it hard for me to enjoy. I wore this overnight, and in the morning I detected a more pleasant leathery-floral aura. This phase was the most enjoyable, and the only phase I would like to smell on my significant other. This fragrance will come down to chemistry, and I htink those who could pull it off are those that tend to 'sharpen or elevate' fragrances, not those who's chemistry sinks it or amplifies the basenotes.

This one has got Pierre Guillaime's name written all over it. Lots of white flowers (here: jasmine), lots of sandalwood, and the leather. I have not scrutinised all of his compositions, but somehow I feel that this combination and the vibe it gives- floral/woody/earthy is present in at least few other scents he came up with. It is somehow slightly sweet, quite heavy, spicy. Corps et Ames is not the best or most distinctive out of the line. Next to Aomassai for example, it looks very pale. While I enjoy wearing it, it fails to excite or even inspire a review longer than this one.

Spicy-balsamic geranium, sandalwood & leather. This is very unique and different, feels like big classic perfume but is totally modern and earthy. To describe this I would use words like: stylish, contemporary, metro, cool, not afraid to be noticed. With that said, and I hate to say this, but it smells a bit like urine. I so hope it just my chemistry, please try before buying!

A chypre scent with a floral accent. It's chypre accord is the usual chypre accord that Parfumerie Generale does well and reminds us of classical perfumery. It's not a scent that I like for myself, but if you like chypre scents I'd recommend you to give it a try.

The first notes are classic chypre notes, green and refreshing, then the fragrance becomes warmer and more balsamic with leather, immortelle and geranium clearly distinguishable. Very pleasant, a welcoming yet sophisticated scent. Unisex, universally comforting.