Private Collection Querelle

Querelle is a fragrance with that formal aspect which forces you to take it seriously at first sniff. It is like coming across a painting in a museum which you know nothing about, but you immediately feel the respect it commands. Querelle is a depiction of male nature which can not be hid under the polish of grooming and manners. The man described in Querelle is uncivilized. Someone who is able to leave behind his social obligations, and disappear on a month long hunting trip. This man has taste and manners. He can dress well, act confidently, and be gentle in a social setting. However, his manners and taste can not cover up his nature from anyone who cares to observe. Querelle is a vetiver fragrance. It is not a fragrance which is dominated by vetiver as Vetiver Extraordinaire or Etro’s Vetiver are. It is not a smooth, minimal vetiver mix as Chanel Sycomore is. Nor is it a deep and ultra complex green fragrance with notes of vetiver as Amouage Memoir Man is. Querelle is a fragrance which uses just enough vetiver to balance out the myrrh and incense notes. Vetiver brightens up the dark oak moss and incense with streaks of green. Vetiver freshens up the earthy accord, preventing it from becoming dusty. Of all the vetiver based fragrances, in Querelle, Vetiver plays the most active role. This is a masculine fragrance, as there is only a trace of florals in it, and a mature fragrance as there is very little sweetness present. No feminine elements. There are no pretty flowers, very little sweetness, no sexy musk. Despite being dry and clean, it is a kind of clean where there is a trace of dirt. A smell of forest lurking underneath the soap. A of adventure and romance underneath a polished appearance. It is old school elegant, but not because of aldehydes or powdery notes, but due to a balance between clean vetiver, green oak moss, tarry incense and sweet myrrh. 9/10 Original review posted on veteverian.wordpress.com

Querelle is my favorite Fassbinder film of all time. It is the story of a sailor/merchant marine who finds himself in some seedy places and experiments with some taboo sexual practices, and though turned on by what he does he never emotionally engages (other than rage)"We won't kiss...".The recurring theme in the movie is illustrated by the song the Madame of the exotic brothel sings throughout the film. ("Each man kills the thing he loves...") So more than anything this movie is a trip to the sexual dark side, lust, raw emotion and occasional violence...I'm hoping the fragrance does the same. Querelle's uniform reminded me of the Le Male flacon and ad but this scent looks anything but "flowery": spices, resins, incense, touch of citrus and earthy,very sensual basenotes with a hint of sweetness; all ingerdients that will create what I pray will be a scent, that is as passionate and dark as the film was...

Incense vetyver. I love and crave this stuff. Starts not that exciting: dusty, dry vetyver, a bit on a masculine side. Dry-down is beautiful though - warm woody, spicy incense. Querelle works like magic with my chemistry, and becomes totally gender neutral, aromatic and sensual. I find the dry-down to be very sexy and intoxicating. So far, my favorite vetyver and one of my favorites from Parfumerie Generale. P.S. I prefer this fragrance on my skin more then on my clothing.

Got this in a swap and will definitely keep it. When it first hits the skin, it smells nearly identical to a bar of Ivory soap. A white scent of lily, musk, and a little powder. There must be some floral missing from the pyramid. The only thing differentiating it from Ivory soap was a bit of moss, giving it a nice chypre quality. I quite enjoyed it immediately and found it to be ultra feminine. I wish the top notes stayed that way. It did not take long for a smoky note to weave its way to my nose. Some woods joined in...and a slightly citrusy vetiver. Totally unisex now. The drydown was the longest phase, and it consisted of a sweet resin and some moss. On the whole, the perfume reminds me a bit of Seylon by Odin, my very favorite smoky vetiver that resembles a full-bodied ceylon tea. Querelle stays closer to the skin. Another great perfume from Parfumerie Generale that deserves more attention. I love his gourmands, but Querelle is quite wonderful too.

Querelle is a total mindgame. It smells absolutely horrible in the beginning, like a low-quality vintage perfume that hasn't been stored properly: rotten, cheap, and outdated. Then it totally flipped my brain backwards. After I put it on and forgot about it (out of intentional denial), it settled into a gorgeous oakmoss-incense-myrhh after about two hours. Querelle is violence in the beginning, passion in the end.