Feerie

Bought the original in box from eBay for far too much money, but you best believe I'm saving that bottle once the juice is gone! That being said, this was my first encounter with Féerie. I have Celtic ancestry and have had an interest in magical creatures and folklore since I was but a wee babe. I never thought my fascination with the faerie world would coincide with my love for fragrance, but the connexion is clear, especially when one considers fae are oft associated with glamour, intoxication, and otherworldliness. We could debate back and forth about how good this fragrance is versus how much she is a novelty, but the real question is: Do I get faerie vibes from her? The answer is yes, but mainly in the dry down. The opening is far too much citrus to remind me of a fae— did she live in ancient China rather than with the Tuatha de Danann?— but definitely effervescent and energetic as a mischievous pixie. How does it compare with Guerlain's Insolence, one of my favourite fragrances ever? This fragrance has a few notes in common, but it is hardly the same. Guerlain Insolence: More iris, more berries, more tonka. Very sweet, heady, intoxicating. Think a sweet and smokey rendition of Lilac Wine, like Jeff Buckley's. Féerie: Here we have the Italian mandarin, rose, and vétiver along with the beautiful violet and iris combination. Effervescent if a bit sharper and more bitter. She is a complex, sweet & sour fairy. Instead of a warm, sweet dry down, it is a bit spicy, citric, ancient. As much as I enjoy this scent, I am not sure whether I would want one to replace it once it's gone. HOWEVER, if I were looking to replace it, I wouldn't go with Insolence. I would try to combine a citrus fragrance with any violet-forward lipstick fragrance. Of ones I've actually smelled— Oriza Legrand's Jardins d'Armide paired with Daisy by Marc Jacobs and/or Dsquared She Wood should get you most of the way there. All great fragrances in their own right, too.

The notes listed are not quite complete, as listed here, although may bear out for some. Green notes mentioned, specifically violet leaves, bring my nose to attention and are very much there. The Italian mandarin smells of lovely zest and is almost edible and left me wanting to find more in the heart or base. The black currant did not turn on me and become animalic, which happens to me frequently, but stayed a pleasant slightly tart berry note. The Egyptian jasmine leans to the indolic side but mildly and without developing strong menthols, just enough for that narcotic effect. The roses, there are two, the Bulgarian and the rose absolute, they are the star of the show for me. The aroma reminds me of dewy pink roses warmed by the sun, the stunning rich Sterling Silver rose with the waft of some spice of deep red roses blending in. Heady but not powdery or soapy but a garden in balance. The vetiver is gentle and does not turn the notes very dry, becoming a bit less heady, with a bit more dry and not sweet accent. The iris is orris butter, the oil providing some deep iris without the powder, a creamy carrot or parsnip. Feerie lasts well on me and is a silage bomb on me for the first hour or two and then settles into the rose beds that travel with you. So happy. I love layering Feerie, especially with something active like Jo Malone Bergamot and Oud Intense, that changes itself up frequently through the wear. I feel like I am walking through some beautiful earthy forest with amazing roses growing along the path. Layering Feerie may be just the ticket if it doesn't ring your bell by itself. I am very glad I ordered Feerie, the bottle is enchanting and unique, the fragrance quickly becoming a favorite for me, a versatile one at that.

I have to admit that I bought this blind for my lady because of the bottle... in the same manner I did for myself with Midnight in Paris. There's just something about Van Cleef and Arpels and their bottles that compel me to take action instead of admiring them from photos on the internet. The bottle is indeed wonderfully made and the faceted glass was stunning. Usually when a bottle is a beautiful as this one would be a little wary of the scent inside, as if one cannot have the best of both worlds. Unfortunately this notion is proven untrue by the Guerlains and Chanels and classics of the past. Feerie is yet another attestment to that. Feerie is not cloyingly sweet at all. The blackcurrant adds a sweet dimension but violet holds it in restraint. The result is a pleasant sweetness that is unlike the cloyingly sweet concoctions targeted at teens these days. Sure enough, my lady said it did not smell sweet to her. And she is an untrained nose. The scent does conjure up images of fairies and their abodes, possibly deep in the woods in an enchanted forest. It remains linear for most of its life, and has moderate sillage and longevity. It is as much a work of art as the beautiful bottle it comes in. I think it would be as perfect a first scent for any lady as it was for mine. I am disappointed to learn that it has been discontinued. This would probably mean it would become more elusive in time to come - like fairies.

I had no idea this was so incredible! Gotta get better at following when hidden gems like this perfume get discontinued. Apparently it was in discounter stores and sites for crazy cheap as of 2018 but now going for hundreds on eBay. Wild. I saw it on the highest shelf of a sketchy Fulton Mall shop and overpaid for a 50ml but had a very entertaining conversation with the seller and a customer that tempered the mild price gouging. The scent itself is glorious. My husband just played me the Galandriel scene from Lord of the Rings and (prior commenter) Pamelo is spot on with the connection. This is the scent of Cate Blanchett’s Galandriel. I get a dark mossy earthy berry rose violet. Not terribly sweet. Beautifully blended. I don’t understand the celeb scent comparisons at all. I’ve smelled countless celeb scents. All sugary vomit. What celeb or mass fragrance could this be similar to? So odd. I was also pleased with how beautiful the packaging and bottle are! I wish more perfume bottles were designed this well. Mugler releases come to mind. But this is better. The metal and glass all have a nice weight to them too. Easily one of my best ever blind buys!

I bought this perfume 15 years ago and fell in love with it: and no, I did not buy it for the bottle, it was the scent. Something in the scent was very elusive and intriguing to me when I sprayed it. However, I remember that there was something in the bottom notes that was a bit not to my taste, but I could not tell what it was that bothered me after wearing it a while. Considering I'm very picky and I did throw away bottles of perfumes I never finished over the years, I did finish this one to the last drop - which says a lot. I still have the bottle standing decoratively in my room, it is stunning. I recently tried to understand why I liked it so much, and what was the elusive scent that intrigued me so much back then. After 10 minutes I managed to squeeze a leftover drop and having compared it to other perfumes I realize it was the violet and iris, most likely. I thought that Guerlain Insolence would be similar, but it was not, not at all. The Guerlain turns sickeningly sweat after an hour, the vanilla in it ruins it. I'll have to find a substitute.