Signature

I was gifted this perfume by a lovely fragrantica (thank you Yohji) Initially I thought it was an innocuous kind of smell and indeed, I believed that I was anosmic to the notes. I couldn't even smell the aldehydes which is unusual as I am not a fan of them. After about 15/20 minutes, the notes began to unfold themselves and it was like I was walking in a beautiful garden full of exploding spring flowers. This explosion of fruit and florals was such a pleasant surprise to me, that I was completely bowled over. The smell of this perfume is softly beautiful and the composition and intensity develops with time. Tulip as a flower, has a very subtle smell, but this fragrance really brings out the aroma. The top notes are very complex, there's a lot going on, I admit that I don't get too much of the citrus or bergamot, but the genius of this scent is the quietness of the blend. Nothing stands out in a bad or screechy way. This is not a skin scent, or a weak perfume, it is strong and heady with a great silage and wonderful longevity. I put this on this morning and it's even stronger 8 hours later. The base of this perfume is woody, powdery and sweet. I really love this perfume for its complexity, originality and it's refinement. This may be a vintage scent, but it doesn't have an old fashioned smell to it. This perfume is ageless and timeless and is a classy, refined and delightful little beauty and I love it!!

Of course many will not understand this perfume is a feminist perfume created by the perfumer who created the most feminist signatures in the history of perfumery. It is a woody fragrance, slightly floral and spicy with a very green base behind the notes. It is a fragrance mean to be worn to a strong business suite, not at a mini Chanel deux pieces on a socialite mistress. Think of the following image: a mature woman dressed in a late 80- middle 90s Escada business suit with a long double blazer and long business pants, a dark colour maybe even black, a white or beige long neck blouse, Oxford shoes and a beige maxi overcoat, no make up or natural, hair tight, a pair of tiger's eye earrings and a matching brooch, well this woman would wear at that outfit signature by Dupont on her way to an important council. That was the image for which Bertrand Duchaufour created this perfume, it is not made to be a translucent or sweet perfume , is not made to be seductive or girly, is the image of high career women in a bottle.

I take the phrase "perfume wardrobe" very seriously–my perfumes are elements of my outfits in the same way my shoes or my blouses are. And this fits right in. I'm hopelessly in love with woody florals right now; every one I've fallen in love with has such a distinct personality. This is somehow very refined but not pretentious or dated. I do get the powderiness of aldehydes, unlike some other reviewers; as always, it's down to skin chemistry and innumerable other variables Yes, this is a woody floral, and some people will get more "floral" than woody–but given how many florals I've blown through over the years, I'm still impressed by this.

As a guy, this is probably my favorite fragrance on a woman. It has this rich rose/peach/earthy opening followed by an amber and sandalwood dry down that's not particularly unique but very masterfully done. Each note is beautifully balanced and pronounced. I can see why women might not like it as it can be a tad bit olfactory-overload, but as I guy, I can definitely see a young attractive woman with beautiful black hair and ruby red lipstick pulling this off.

Up close there is something a little bitter but in the air this is beautiful, I would suggest spraying on the back of your neck to get the beautiful scent trail. This is unlike anything I've smelled before I'm very happy with my blind buy bargain it is vintage and floral but not in a typical floral scent, more of a spring greenery floral rather than a pink petal type floral.