Charade

I love when you’re surprised by a perfume you’re not expecting much from. I haven’t really heard much about Charade, and it has been out since 2018. Not a single review for it on Fragrantica either, so I assumed there must not be much to get excited about. I’ve been trying my sample set that Sarah Baker was kind enough to send me, and I just kept passing Charade and moving it to the back of the line. So, today I finally decided to go ahead and pull it out from the line up and give it a try...and Charade came kicking out like a Rockette. Do any of you remember Susan Boyle from Britain’s Got Talent? She is a rather homely looking woman who came out on the stage to sing and you didn’t expect much at all and she ended up having the voice of an angel. Smelling Charade is a similar feeling but in perfume form. For some reason I just wasn’t expecting much from Charade but she came out singing like Ella Fitzgerald. Charade is a retro green floral chypre, coated in drops of honey. It’s ultra mossy, just the way I like ‘em, but sweetened up with a plush honeyed tuberose dancing & singing in a choir of amber, patchouli, leather, resins and ylang ylang. It’s glamorous and green over a bed of white florals and it belts out sophistication. It’s for the impeccably dressed, whether a woman in her best Jackie O, or a man in his custom made suit. (But I would totally wear it with my jeans and sneakers.) It’s old Hollywood glamour that somehow still feels modern. This is one sleeper of a fragrance that has somehow gone under the radar. When it should actually be ticketed for driving under the influence of fabulousness.

I got a small sample pack that included Flame and Fortune, G Clef, and Charade, and while I liked them all, Charade was my favorite hands down. It's a very sexy honey coated leather, styrax, tuberose bomb that brings to mind the great vintage fragrances of the past. I couldn't possibly expand on all the lovely descriptive and enthusiastic reviews of this fragrance from others here, except to say that for me, this has it all. I love the mossiness contrasted against the styrax, lush tuberose and sweet honey leather notes. It is so beautiful how the notes complement and enhance each other bringing out their best. While this fragrance does have a vintage appeal, not only in composition but also in performance, it is not dated at all. I wore it all day yesterday, and it was so lush and gorgeous on that damp, chilly day that I now want a bottle. But do I need a bottle? While it is definitely fb worthy, one spray of this 2ml sample filled the room and lasted the whole day, though silage did eventually go down to a more discreet level. Ideally, I would love 10ml.of this, but this house no longer offers that option. So, it looks like this will go onto my future fb purchase list. In the meantime, I just have to make do with this little sample.

Charade took me by surprise, as I was testing my way through the Sarah Baker range for the first time in Jovoy. It captured my heart in an instant, and within that moment I knew I had to buy a sample at the very least, to fully explore and appreciate this masterful scent. Since then, it currently sits right at the top of my wishlist and is easily my favourite from the house. This is a powerful tuberose scent, but not as you might know. The sweet, fruity facets of this wonderful flower are heightened by the deliciousness of honey, resting on a buttery smooth base of warm amber, and a creamy marriage of ylang, sandalwood and oakmoss. However, leather is what makes this scent what it is. It gives it a somewhat rugged thickness preventing the tuberose from becoming too soapy or bubblegum-like. I can honestly say I think this is an utter masterpiece. Tuberose and leather is a pairing which can smell out of this world if done correctly, and here it is perfect. This scent made me realise tuberose is one of my favourite notes if done correctly.

True story: I was on a layover in LA and ordering coffee. The woman who was taking my order seemed really distracted. Then she leaned forward and said, "Sorry I can't speak because all I can think about is how you smell. Are you wearing Chanel?" I laughed and said, "No, it's Sarah Baker Charade." We laughed and I went to the other end of the bar to await my drink. A moment later the barista was there again, "Sorry, but would you write that down for me? I'm never going to forget that scent... but I might forget the name." It's nice to meet someone else who loves this perfume as much as I do.

Gorgeous scent. Yes, the Tuberose reminds you of a fragrance from the 60s. Especially since a movie with the same name came out in the early 60s. But when it finally settles into your skin, it takes on a sexiness that can only be compared to a Narcisco Rodriguez signature musk scent (without actually having musk listed in the notes). The scent is bold, present, sitting in the front row, with a lot to say. Even with regular wafts throughout the day, I still cannot stop smelling my arm. If you like Tuberose or a strong musk, get it.

Complex to my nose, feel of incense when smelling atomizer, but it is an enjoyable unisex scent on skin and clothes. Get about 6+ hours of longevity of this exciting fragrance. It's not a sweet fragrance kind of dry but it is enjoyable and people will smell your sillage, have gotten positive compliments from family and friends who have smelled this when they come over and try my collection of fragrances and this one along with the bottle design gets their atten to ion every time and I enjoy it being on display!

A very original scent, did not love this straight away as my nose had to adjust to it as it was a mix notes I have not come across before. I get a very smooth leather and vetiver, find it a very dry scent but the leather does not become bitter as the sweet notes balance it out. Performance wise its a beast and slowly after a few wearings it went from a like to a love. Very original and avant-garde, definitely a must try for anyone who likes beautiful balanced poetry in their perfumes.

Gizaaasss! This is the most GORGEOUS tuberouse-leathery-honey based frangance! THe performance is absolutly amazing and the smell...so classic and sexy, so warm and creamy! I think when you manage to make such a unic fragrance that does nothing to do with the trend, you sure must be in love with you’re work and a good profesionist. After a 1ml sample of this beauty, the full bottle is on it’s way! Full bottle worthy! IMHO

I absolutely loved it. It's a beautiful amber and floral perfume, with most dominant notes for me being styrax and tuberose. I absolutely love the tuberose, it's slightly dirty, mossy, very straightforward and floral heavy. It's sexy and opens up uniquely here. What a beautiful composition! The perfume is also very herbal and vegetative, due to the presence of moss. I absolutely would love to buy more decants of it!

OMG!!! I fell in love with this unique beauty-I can’t compare it to anyting else as the reviewers below! For 3 years this is my first parfume what I will buy a back up bottle!!! Very complex-usually I dont’t like leather, styrax and moss-but in this parfume with the tuberose is just a miracle! I call it master parfumeur-I have to learn this name: Andreas Wilhelm. Excellent job!!!

Smells amazing... The Tuberose with the leather and mixed with some woody sweetness makes this a true masterpiece very well blended and performance amazing too!! 10/10 highly recommend if you love floral/leather scents!

STUNNING. A sweet tuberose mixed with an almost fruity, mossy leather. It’s truly gorgeous. Also, this is a POWERHOUSE. One spray and my boyfriend could smell me from across the apartment.

I asked my Husband and my Son what is his favourute fragrance on me for Fall Weather in my collection and They said after smelling 22 perfume that Charade is it...:).That's all.

What a beauty Charade is!!!! Very unique, comforting and sexy. Looooove it.

So seamless and well-blended. An absolute delight.

So, I purchased a "sprayed once, preowned" 50ml bottle of Sarah Baker "Charade" after some related the fragrance to the discontinued Histories de Parfums "Tubereuse 3 Animale." Charade along with Anatole Lebreton "L'Eau Scandaleuse" were mentioned as reminiscent of Tubereuse 3 Animale, a fragrance I never got a chance to try. As an aside, I purchased Anatole Lebreton "L'Eau Scandaleuse" and positively could not wear the fragrance. And after failing with L'Eau Scandaleuse, I was reluctant to try Charade. But there is something lovely and compelling about SB Charade that makes it a wearable fragrance IMHO. Charade opens with a blast of mature, bloomed tuberose that quickly dissipates and blends with sticky honey, thick styrax, lots of dry moss and a leather accord. I wish there was more tuberose at this point but there is not. In the perfume's early development, I detect some wafts of banana-flower (ylang-ylang). Charade dries as an earthy, very arid & dry, mossy tuberose with leather, some ylang-ylang, sandalwood and amber. I do not experience much patchouli. I wish Charade performed as a more tuberose-forward fragrance. But on my skin, this is not the case. Oh, btw...this is an extrait de parfum. A little does the trick (I am an over-sprayer). Lasts forever. Also, this is niche perfumery at its finest. I guarantee no one you encounter will be wearing ANYTHING that approaches Charade.

This is a very interesting and complex fragrance. I will say, upfront, that I like it- it’s unique, and I like how it evolves. In short, it’s a floral, woody chypre with something rather green about it. In my opinion, it evokes an old school vibe. Also, this fragrance is potent—it doesn’t take a lot! On my skin it starts out with a blast of sweet heady tuberose, oakmoss, and vetiver. This fragrance gives the pretense of being a big, vintage-style white floral, but it’s just a charade. 😉This takes a twist and becomes rather unisex; the tuberose starts to fade into the background and the vetiver, styrax, and resin start to develop. The dry down on my skin is a woody, resinous scent with a leather nuance; I get little to no floral in the dry down. I should add that there is something very “cold” feeling about this- it’s not a warm, spicy balsamic dry down. I like this. A lot. It’s complex. The dry down is very sexy. Definitely one that I would wear in the cooler weather, and definitely one id like to smell on a man.

Very modern with a nod to the vintages. The main notes that hit you are oakmoss and vetiver that to me read almost like angelica or galbanum. There is some tuberose as the floral component. Some leather underlying the herbaceousness/bitterness and definitely styrax. The other notes, not so much present/detectable. If you like herbal, this is your jam. If you are looking for a leather or tuberose fragrance, you may be challenged with this one. I like how the sweet offsets the herbal. I want more floral forward though. Sarah always creates something interesting and different. This is worth a try if this description sounds good to you. As it dries down more it gets very smoky. Then in the final final base you find the honey and the sandalwood as you run your nose along your skin.

This is a rich mix and no mistake! Perhaps a little closer to the inside lane rather than the fast track which defines much of Sarah Baker's oeuvre. This invention by Andreas Wilhelm is nonetheless an unusual floral, wherein tuberose and Ylang-Ylang project their magic against a backdrop of creamy sandalwood, subtle leather and a sweet honeyed note. In some ways I would characterise Charade as a modern chypre with 'oriental' leanings. Ideal for a balmy Summer night with the prospect of romance in the air. I like it a lot.

Opulent tuberose-styrax-leather scent with some sweetness but nothing cloying. It’s very sensuous and meandering. It reminds me of Tom Fords Tuberose Nue which is like a more artificial iteration of the same theme - I like it also with its space age angle on tuberose but Charade is smoother. There are no harsh angles here, just a sexy, voluptuous, moist tuberose with structure from styrax and leather, and other notes adding complexity. Very seductive.