Courtesan

Oh My Goodness! I have been amiss! I can't believe that I've never left a review for one of my dearly beloved scents!!!! Ummmm....courtesan. This scent is pure seduction for the woman who knows how to wear it. The inspiration behind this scent was Cora Pearl. Long before the latest Instagram model offering...ahem... "bookings" there existed this 19th century English courtesan who took the Parisian world of her time by storm. It's the quintessential story of live fast, die young, make a beautiful corpse---- Pearl lived an incredibly decadent, whirlwind life before dying in her mid 30s of what was described at the time as a "disorder of the female organs". From all indications it, was likely a female cancer that came about as a result of untreated venereal disease (likely what we know as HPV today). Poor thing died alone, broke, and broken which is not the sexiest way to leave this world, but call it more an indicator of the sex repressive 19th century times that penalized women for having the nerve to do the darn thing rather than let it put a damper on the life that she did live. For the time that Cora was in her prime, she ruled the hearts of royalty. A typical night for her was rum soaked revelry dancing nude until dawn when you'd find her in the arms of the Shah of Persia or one of the crowned princes of the Ramonov family or some other bit of royalty from that era. Unfortunately, as any good woman of the evening knows, saving is absolutely necessary for such a life. Cora lived for the present and enjoyed an opulent life of decadent furs, near priceless jewels, and stunning couture gowns. Enter the House of Worth, considered one of the premier couture houses of the day, they supplied Pearl with a large part of her wardrobe. Keep in mind, that fashionable women of the 19th century changed garments 3-4 times a day with resplendent dresses for each day's activities. How did this woman die broke? Well heauxing has never had good retirement benefits and Pearl had a bit of pride that kept her from turning to her affluent friends who no doubt would have assisted her. In the end, it is said that her stunning beauty wasted away and she did not want the men who once fantasized about her to see her in that state including...Mr....Wor---let me hush! Telling too much old tea now. Okay enough gossip, what about the fume? Whew! Egads this is pure 19th century risque sex in a bottle. Imagine a stunningly beautiful seemingly refined "lady" bedecked in low cut gown evening gown of fine silk and intricate bead work sitting in a drawing room filled with paintings of her supposed well heeled and monied ancestors. She's wearing a delicate white floral cologne that gives wafts of spring with her every movement. Across from her sits a gentleman caller and they are speaking in hushed tones over a silver tray of fine rum imported from Santo Domingo. Their conversation is both playful banter and ardent argument over politics, considered a most un-ladylike choice for drawing room conversation. Each time that she leans forward, the gentleman receives an ample view of her bosom and smells the green floral muskiness of her cologne. She doesn't wait for him as she reaches for another glass of rum and places it to her lips. This time she intentionally misses, spilling the glass onto her decolletage, ruining yet another expensive couture gown in her game of seduction. The gentleman hastily offers her his handkerchief and she tells him------- "I'd rather you lick it off." Rum soaked skin, classic white floral cologne, the spicy gourmand chocolate caramel cardamom notes of indecency and roiling passion. The soft hazy musky pink bloom of the afterglow----this is Courtesan. I cannot be without a bottle in my collection. It's one of the few that I've actually had to replace because I use it up. This is one that you spray LIBERALLY, honey. If you have to dab this one on then you are not meant for it. It's not for you and that's okay. There is nothing ladylike about this. There is nothing shy or shrinking violet about this. This isn't elegant...this is sex. This is a "I wonder if she's wearing anything beneath that trench coat" kind of perfume. This is a get your freakum dress out the closet, call the babysitter, and tell him to hurry home from work kind of perfume. I'm just saying this perfume definitely has a bit of skank to it. Sharpen your nails and put on your Revlon Cherries in the Snow lipstick because this fume is old school sexy. No light school girl fruitchoulis here Now...do I just reserve this for date nights and other romantic interludes? I'm not that type. Child, I will wear this to the grocery store. I have worn this to church...what? Let me help the deacon remember why he needs to pray against temptation. Courtesan is a keeper. Out of all of the fumes I own...from pricey niche to drugstore classic. This is the only perfume through which I can go through an entire bottle and that I consider truly sensual. Sillage is arm length. Longevity is 5-6 hours. Best season for wear? Fall is nice but I've worn it in late spring...you might want to switch up in summer because this is a very rich perfume. Compliments: yes! Finally, eh?! Women have asked me what I'm wearing and men always lean in closer. This is one of those perfumes where very few men are going to ask you what you're wearing because it's so...personal. It's not generally a personal question but this perfume makes it a personal one, if you catch my drift. It's like where does the fume start and where does your skin begin. Women will ask...because we know. Men will just lean in and follow you around. Can a man wear this? Hmm. I don't know. I'd love to see one try. Seriously, it might be interesting to see what it does on a man's skin. I'm thinking that with as rich as this perfume comes off that it might work. I do worry that the hefty rum notes mixed with a man's chemistry may come off as more "alcoholic" than perfumery, lol.

I left an earlier review of this perfume---almost 10 years ago! I have now had the first bottle for almost 10 years and have also purchased a backup. It's still a favorite. In fact, the likely reason I still have some juice left is that, unfortunately, when the perfume was released, the sprayer was so janky that both have broken off the bottle. This frag was released during a time when fruity floral aquatics like Vera Wang and Juicy Couture were in vogue. Alien by Mugler had just been released, but nothing like this. It would be another 3-4 years before Tom Ford released Black Orchid, and people began seeking out some of the deeper base note orientals again. I think if this frag were released again today in a better bottle and placed in the niche category, price-wise? It would become iconic. It's really good and is in the same category as frags like Baccarat Rouge but with a much more feminine focus. It begins with a spiced boozy cocktail vanilla, followed by a dry down that is insane, like the soft pink of a conch shell. Don't sleep on this; the nose is Pierre Bourdon, and he is a legend. Bourdon is right up there with noses like Dominique Ropion or Sophie Grosjman; he's just from the older generation, and they are from the younger. It's not "old lady". It just doesn't cost enough for people to appreciate it. Again, a different bottle and tack on a 3-figure price tag, and suddenly, many would think it's impressive.

Oh Courtesan.. so unique, complicated and does not compare to anything! I love this scent so much that I haven't been able to write a review in fear of not doing her justice! I'll get straight to it; Courtesan is sexy and naughty, sometimes the spices may give the impression of bodily parts, the intimate ones. You never know, because the scent morphs and changes, some days she behaves better than others. Never boring, always seductive and confident. I can not help describing this scent with emotions rather than notes I'm afraid. Simple notes can't describe the sum of the whole and I swear the bottle must contain some otherwordly magic not listed in the pyramid. Someone here questioned Courtesans reason to exist. Ouch, that hurt a little. But, okay, I do get it, Courtesan is not for everyone. But for those of us that truly loves it it is beyond comparison to anything else. I would not know how to fill that gap in my perfume warderobe if she was gone. Truth is that Courtesan makes me feel a bit more womanly, a bit more confident, a bit more naughty and certainly a bit happier. Please do try it if you are intrigued by the notes and can handle some skank, because it is very unique and amazing when it works with your nose/chemistry! For lovers of pineapple and Courtesan I recommend 1804 by Histoires de Perfumes. It's a classy well-composed alternatives for those days when Courtesan seems to warm,complicated or skanky.

Oh my; this is delicious. Sweet, sweet cinnamon with a touch of vanilla swirling all around, over punchy pineapple and a kick of cloves..... Not listed in the notes but I also get rum? Or is that just what I think of with the pineapple and spiced vanilla, could be ;-) but I see I'm not the only reviewer that mentioned it.... it's not shouty or overly boozy, this rum note; it's just a little wink of warm sauciness stirred into the mix. Leave it alone for a while, and Courtesan softly gets a little more powdery and brings in a little musk, along with some more fruitiness; but it's all very gentle..... in a lot of ways, this juice does feel like something like a very old, very French perfumier (as Worth is) may very well come up with as their "take" on a 21st gourmand: it's very sweet but also sexy, it's *very* well blended, and it never overpowers, just dances it's sweet spicy deliciousness dance, with only that sweet sweet cinnamon - almost a Danish pastry cinnamon, or the way you get it in some American red candies - being dominant throughout the wear. Playful, cheeky and flirty but with a bit of class and mystery under the veil is how I would describe this. Probably a good "grown up spicy" fragrance for someone who prefers sweet gourmands and is looking for something that is going to appeal to their taste still, but veer in a direction that's a little more sophisticated and sexy. Love at first sniff!

Lovely! The smell of this perfume is intoxicating to the point it almost makes you drool. It's so heady and strong. Creamy sweet vanilla tonka fruity-ish gorgeousness. I cant stand fruity or bubblegummy fragrances, to me they are for teenagers not a woman nearing 50, but l don't mind the fruits in this one as the third stage notes overshadow the fruits and reduce them to little fragrant flickers that leave you wondering what fruit that was you just smelled? As soon as you smell it its gone again and something else takes over. Its done very well. I'm sitting here trying to figure out what it is very similar to that l already own. I'm not getting the sex, sweat, genitals, musky filthy lovemaking sesh that others have spoken of related to this perfume and I'm more than a bit grateful for that (you all have filthy minds 😆 🤣) but it's a lovely inexpensive bit of perf to get the senses stirring. Update 10.03.24 I've just had a spray and I'm on it like a cat inhaling every bit of the fragrance obsessively trying to figure out what it's similar to, it has amazingly strong ties to Hypnotic Poison red original bottle but 40% weaker in intensity. It's got the marzipan almondy sweet creamy vanilla smell that H.P has it's gorgeous. I love this. It's an 10/10 fragrance. If you dont want to pay the rip off price for hypnotic poison get this little gem.

Wow what an amazing cheap blind buy! It starts off like spicy roasted pineapple, but with enough clove/cardamom/cumin (not listed in the notes but I do smell it) to stop it being overly sweet or gourmand. Over time the scent profile morphs and changes; the fruit softens, the spices increase, some musk comes in to the base, but then it changes again and the fruit lifts, the musk enhances, or the spices amplify. Over the course of the day of wearing it it was a journey, sometimes to new places, sometimes to revisit somewhere you had been already that day. Sometimes it smells of naughty body parts, sometimes of spiced fruit, sometimes of the sweat drying on your lover's skin after some gloriously filthy sex. With 5 sprays (1 per wrist, 1 on each side of my neck, and 1 in my cleavage) it lasted around 12h on me, but by the end it was just a warm spicy musk skin scent. For the first maybe 6h projection is very good, 2m at least, but it gradually recedes after that.

Courtesan its a great surprise, very gourmand, spicy, warm but in a mature way. Like so many said here, this is a perfume for a woman, not girl. The scent itself is very interesting, for some reason I get a note that reminds me of carnation, mixed with the sandalwood and the cinnamon. Its a very dusty perfume, that perfectly portrays a courtesan dressed in velvet, it somewhat reminds me of the drydown of Femme Rochas. This is a serious perfume I believe, but not serious enough to be considerated old. I think Courtesan is at that perfect line where so much more perfumes should be nowadays, its not to modern, to classic, to mainstreem or to "different", it doenst smell old like your Femme Rochas (really hard to wear I believe), and it doesnt smell to vulgar like your typical mainstreem sexy-chic perfume (you name it, there are a 100 of them). Well you know what I mean, this scent its very good, with the right amout of sweet and spicy. Great job! 8.5/10

I usually gravitate to deeper, darker, heavier fragrances so it was a huge surprise to discover how much I love this light, pink cloud of a thing. The visual image that came to me continually as I wore this fragrance were scenes from Sophia Coppela's Marie Antoinette - women in powdered wigs piled high, berry-stained cheeks and lips, voluminous silk pastel gowns, soft feathered fans, heaving scented bosoms, languid, dreamy baroque watercolor landscapes..... soft, frothy, lush, opulent, deliciously mouth-watering, powdery and spicy with just a touch of skank. A very sensuous, discreet and personal fragrance with incredible longevity. I love this thing, it's the perfect fragrance to wear before going to bed, also perfect for scenting hair and lingerie.

I am as fascinated by this perfume as I am about the lady that it was inspired by, Cora Pearl. It is so beautifully translucent and sheer, skin soft. Many lovely faucets are incorporated in this fragrance...powdery, spicy, decadent, seductive. I can see her wearing this, on one of her escapades, seducing the courtiers with her bedroom eyes. Yes, Courtesan is a boudoir scent, sexy and sultry, just as she was all those many years ago dancing naked in her saloon on a floor covered with orchids and soaking in her sterling silver bathtub filled with champagne. So go ahead, pamper yourself with this gorgeous bedroom scent ;)

Courtesan is an "adult gourmand".It's not super-sweet like some other scents in this group, and is extremely complex. To me it is powdery, woodsy, with a hint of spicy sweetness and fruits, just a hint of chocolate. The drydown is slightly animalic. I really enjoyed this scent as it is a gourmand but clearly different from other ones that I enjoy. The longevity and sillage are on the high end of moderate. Cora Pearl was actually considered a bit "vulgar" by her contemporaries,although she was very beautiful, so I wonder if she would have worn Courtesan or if she would have preferred something more cloying.

I am onto my second bottle of this fragrance and I continue to be delighted with it. It is almost edible; you feel like the silage is thick and you could eat with a spoon. Despite its relatively budget price I do think that this fragrance us worth a try - at least three times. It will not be for everyone. It echoes Tiger by Kenzo with the cardamon, vanilla and spices but the fruit seems to lift it slightly. I own and love both. Beware, fragrance sensitive workplaces may not love it like I do!

Courtesan is a beautiful scent that brings me lots of compliments each time I wear it. It's extremely long lasting and leaves a delicate trail of scent in the air. Courtesan is exactly like Mont Blanc Femme, the same scent, but more light weight. Mont Blanc Femme is thicker, richer, heavier, more powdery, best worn in cool weather. Courtesan is a more modern chic style, not as dense, so is more wearable any time of year, any season, any weather.

I had to go and buy a backup bottle of this after feeling discouraged by the sizable dent in my original flacon. This is just TOO good. TOO original. TOO fabulous! An overlooked Bourdon creation, in my opinion. This would cause waves on the Dolce Vita page, but I consider Courtesan a relative of DV. You can smell that they're the same hand. DV is more cheerful and refined than Courtesan, but they belong on the same family tree.

Unique in my collection. I love it. Could be considered unisex. Has buttery vanilla and musky woods, with dried fruits and some soft cool spices. Same family as Kate Walsh's Boyfriend. Vintage lovers will appreciate this one. Update on 9/29: sprayed some Toujours Moi (90s Dana version) recently and immediately thought of Courtesan. They share the sweet buttery cinnamon and benzoin notes.

This is absolutely breath taking. I loved it from the first sniff. I've never smelled anything like it before. I wear it a lot in cold weather...it's just pure warmth & rich deliciousness. A powerhouse too. I never want to be without it. Thank you, Pierre Bourdon for this beautiful treasure of a perfume!!! 🩷

Creamy, velvety scent. Cozy, comforting, close to your skin. Wear it with a cashmire pullover on a crisp winter day or for that important tete-a-tete... It leaves a dirty, almost skunky note... extremely seductive, definitely not a teenager fragrance, you need a woman to pull it off...

I just received a bottle of this and I cannot stop sniffing my wrists. It's beautiful, light, sweet, and powdery. It's not overpowering at all. I love it.

This scent is amazing IMO. It might be slightly cloying but I don't care. lol...it's not an everyday scent for me. I wear it at special events.

This is quite amazing. Spiced pineapple 🍍 with florals and chocolate. Unisex to my nose.

i was tempted by courtesan's notes in the pyramid. it has a lot of notes in common with one of my obsessively in love-perfumes by faberlic. and yes, indeed, by the first blast, it smells e-x-a-c-t-l-y like it: faberlic o feerique sensuelle but less sweet, heavy and sultry, the chocolate aroma is not that present in this one and also less the savory sweetness of syrupy plum in o feerique... both fumes are created by the same nose Pierre Bourdon, a very fameous perfume-creator, who did many all time classics for several haute couture and high street houses. courtesan is a powdery vanilla gourmand, slightly spiced with cinnamon, not really outstanding, but easy to wear and just lovely. the sillage is decent, stayingpower good, but lingers very near the skin. on clothes it lasts far better than on skin. i would call it a really lovely daytime scent, almost a blushy pinkish skinscent or makeup-pouch-scent, very wearable for any occasion, very safe and flattering. it isn t naughty or sexy as someone could imagine by it's name 'courtesan'. it's very feminine and elegant, leaving a nice powdery jasmin, musk and vanillic warmth on the skin. i pick some hints of creamy rasperry and just a tad cinnamon as well. i like it, but i prefere faberlic o feerique sensuelle, which i do utterly love since i met the first time, also because of it's exeptional strength, personality and complexity. courtesan is rather a uncomplicated dusty scent, which wears like a pink cashmere pullover. means: it's a very good alternative for those, who like the aroma of o feerique sensuelle but find it too heavy and sweet. nb. montblanc femme obviousely has the same notes as well, similar aroma, yes, but it's juicier and lighter - suitable for hotter days - because it hasn't that powdery makeup-feel at all, and this fact changes the complete character of a scent in my opinion. all in all courtesan is a very nice and timeless perfume, but as i do love my o feerique, i don t really need this one very similar to it. if someone wanna have my bottle, plz ask for, i would possibly swap it for something on my wishlist.