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.

Oooo this courtesan has a cold, cold heart - it's true! In some ways, Courtesan is Roma's odd little sister - they share a note that reminds me of cold, dry, grey slate & baked earth. Where they differ is in their warmth & level of spice. Roma embraces you with a truly cosy & comely beauty, full of voluptuous curves & womanly charms. Courtesan knows her magnetic attraction & holds it like a steely gun to your head, keeping you at arm’s length with her chilly reserve & firey nature. I adore spices & here they are all on show, not heavily & daringly as in Jungle, but in a refined way. I also find a distinct white pepper note that remains in the foreground throughout. Looking at the notes you may wonder where all the fruits, caramel & chocolate are: on my skin Courtesan isn’t candied, “frooty” or juicy in any way. It showcases the natural sweetness of cinnamon with its calm, dusty & dryness, echoed again in the cacao, & offers the wearer a grown up bitter-sweet berry tartness. The base is very sensual...she knows how to please......soft musk, creamy woodsy sandalwood & a gentle amber. Yet, throughout the life of Courtesan a cold, grey blood pulses through her veins: the whole fragrance is built upon these great, grey foundations! The longevity is good & the trail is obvious but modest, it is one if the most mysterious fragrances I own. This perfume is very unusual & well worth a try if you like distinct, dry fragrances with a cold, white heat. If you have ever read Memoirs of a Geisha I am reminded of Sayuri, the beautiful, tough Geisha with cold, blue eyes. Such beauty held in such a cold embrace.

Wore my decant all evening and was very pleased with how lovely this perfume smelled. It reminded me very much of my treasured Guerlain Elixir Charnel Gourmand Coquin, which is the most amazing scent I own. Courtesan has a wonderful opening....cinnamon and pineapple, then dries down into a soft gourmand with spices including some cardamom (which I adore) and woody musk. The gourmand comes through with caramel, chocolate, and vanilla and the result is a very soft wonderful blend that smells warm and comforting. Sadly, I don't find it as truly complex as GECGC, nor as persistent. The longevity is only okay. But, I will day that when I run out of Guerlain Elixir Charnel Gourmand Coquin (and after I stop mourning, of course), I may buy this as a replacement. It's much less $$$ and I'll just spray a lot :) ** Second wearing** Now I realize that I don't like this anywhere near as much as Guerlain Elixers Charnel Gourmand Coquin. Not enough chocolate, too powdery, not complex enough. It's still lovely, but in no way a substritute for my beloved GECGC. Sad :(

Courtesan surprised me. I have a sample of this fragrance and I can't remember why I purchased it; perhaps it was recommended on a list I read. Nevertheless, this feminine perfume is warm, comforting and very sensual. On my skin, there's lots of sweet-smelling vanilla, an unusual spiciness (I think from the cinnamon) and a creaminess from the sandalwood which forms a well-balanced perfume. The dry-down is a little more clean and musky. Does Courtesan make me feel sexy? Not really, but it does make me want to snuggle up with a good book and a cup of tea! Sillage is soft to moderate; longevity about 7-8 hours but does fade after a few to a skin scent. Although I'm enjoying it, I'm not getting lots of notes for such a complex pyramid. I do definitely want a perfume similar to this and I'm wondering if I could find something a bit better... Or perhaps that is the Courtesan herself leaving me cold.

Courtesan is for me a perfume filled with expectancy... It is a stunnig, redheaded woman preparing herself for the amazing party she ́s going to later that evening. She ́s smiling to herself in the mirror while brushing her hair, she toroughly put on make-up and having troubble chosing the most striking outfit... She feels like her stomach is filled with butterflies, she look at the watch, drinking a glass of wine... Taking a last look in the mirror and then she ́s off to the longed for party. Really pretty, amazingly soft considering the notes, some gourmand feeling without being gourmand. I dont know why, but for me Courtesan is a before the party-perfume... It always manage to make me feel like I am looking forward to some funny and adventorous happening! But in my opinion a little to nice for the actual party. Really great tough, don ́t miss it!

I keep wanting to nibble my wrist it smells so edible... This opened with an instant cloud of sweet spice, particularly cinnamon. As time has passed there's lots of vanilla, cacao and sandalwood but I'm just not getting much fruit. This will sound ridiculous after the notes I just described but it profiles less as a gourmand than something more abstract--delicious but more in the way a painting of food would be. In any case I'm loving this very much. My bottle was a gift and my assumption before I read the information was that it was vintage and expensive. The price is a delightful surprise and I thought vintage because of the complexity. Well worth trying but take a travel spritzer because it does suffer in the longevity. Sillage: 2-3 ft Longevity: weak, 1-2 hours Fabulosity: the Spice Coast Value to Price ratio: excellent 7/10

I got a 1mL sample of this just to continue my trials of perfumes that are not in my comfort zone (i.e. not vanilla or soft clean floral types). In the vial, this smells soft and musky, yet not 'gentle'. On my skin, this smells like a 'sexy' musk, not overpowering like aldehyde-based perfumes, but not too soft like typical white floral perfumes either. The perfume seems to combine the best of both the old and new perfume worlds. I can't pick out any particular notes, except maybe for jasmine (which always stands out on me no matter what)- it's very well blended. Sillage appears to be soft, but it may indeed be stronger if sprayed on and not dabbed on. I can't comment on longevity yet. This is definitely a 'like'. I can see myself wearing this on date nights... in the near future I hope!

Worth Courtesan is a beautiful, refined fragrance with many layers of development. It smelled nostalgic/familar to me, and then I realized that the overall effect is that of a craft store near Halloween time: spicy and soapy, with slightly sweet and tart berries. When I sniff I visualize exciting aisles full of fall time cornucopias displayed along with shimmering apples and sugar skeletons. In the first stages I get a lot of real berry juice and elegant hand soap. Mid-wear I detect cinnamon mixing very softly and subtly with the refined bath soap with only a whisper of berries now. During the final stage, the soapy and fruity elements are gone and I can smell something very earthy resembling soil or patchouli. Lasting power is good; about 5 hours with many stages.

At first, I thought it's too old-fashioned and I would declutter it. But it's growing on me. It gives me the feel of old Hollywood glamour, sort of Boudoir Vivienne Westwood. I am now thinking of keeping it, just for my lonely, cosy evenings. I know I will never wear it to a date or out partying (I'm 41yo) but it gives me some sort of comfort. I had the same feeling with the old Moschino (pearl cap and ribbon), what a vintage mob wife bomb! So I decided that perhaps some fragrances are worth keeping just for my own pleasure. And I am actually planning on watching lots of vintage films, so this will add to the vibe.

I blind bought a sample of this based on the name alone, "Courtesan". What an image it conjures: A beautiful woman living in luxury and elegance because of her "adriotness". I was expecting it to be heavy and dangerous. Instead it is a light floral green with earthy notes. I don't smell any of the vanilla, fruit, or spice notes listed. It smells like an autumn morning. Clean, cool, woody. There's a "big outdoors" quality to it. It is a near dead ringer for Avon's "Somewhere" except for a smokey note that runs throughout.

When I first got this fragrance I liked it so much; however now I cannot stand the smell because something in it makes me feel a little ill. This disappoints me because I did really enjoy it and I love the notes. I wish I would've tested more thoroughly before buying. As for the scent itself, it truly is nice in a fun, pretty way. But try, try, try before you buy ;)

At first I really enjoyed it, because if you the notes you expect yet another sweet vanilla scent, but Courtesan does not open like that. Courtesan starts sour, cold and bitter. Cardamom and cinnamon all over the place. Somehow masculine and very, very addictive. I truly enjoyed the first 20 minutes of this fragrance, deeply inhaling it from my wrist, but then...what happened? Something from the notes hit in and I started to feel something metallic, almost blood like, which I did not enjoy at all. Too bad that it lasts for an hour. The drydown is still little bit metallic, but it's not so bad. I don't feel any vanilla and sweetness at all. Eh. Pitty, it could be such a lovely fume, bet the hour with "blood" on my wrist - no, no.

Oh...No...what did I buy!? I wanted to like this so much because the reviews were pretty good and people seem to either like or love it, but all I am getting is plastic, pineapple, cinnamon, plastic, plastic, plastic!! Maybe the bottle I order has expired because this is a nightmare. I would not even dare trying to swap it because I think it would be mean to give this to another person. I’m literally going to have to dump it out and just enjoy the bottle. It leaked during shipping so that probably should have tipped me off that the seller sent me an old bottle. It’s perfume so I can't return it, win some – lose some with ebay. Fellow Fragranticans beware!

I was seduced by the name and by the story. A beautiful mistress of the most famous and powerful men of France and England, this woman once had very humble beginnings. Courtesan does not smell contemporary at all, it has a strong retro vibe. It changes a lot, upon first spray it's quite modern, pretty, sweet and fruity nontheless mature. Then it becomes denser, it smells like a bit like Mitsouko, like Tresor, like all those classics of 20th Century. And in the end, it does not resemble the opening it had, at all. It is very strong, very weird and very harmonious.

I just don't know what to do with this one. So much--too much--going on, and it actually seems disjointed, if that makes sense? Like two freight trains going in opposite directions. Strong spicy scents in the base, but chaos above. If the concept is to hold mystery and stay present in our thoughts, maybe then I can understand, that would fit the manner of a courtesan. It took a lot of thought to determine whether I could consider this a 'like', but in the end, trying to decide was tiresome.

I ponder at this fragrance, ponder some more and realise I am pondering its raison d’etre. Prompted by Victoria Frolova’s reaction to ‘Pineapple Compound’ in her perfumery training I question why it had to open with pineapple. I’ve been wearing Annick Goutal’s Musc Nomade in recent times, it being the epitome of sheer gauzy musk and so the transition to wearing Courtesan was not out on a limb; they are both ephemeral and arcane. At first I thought there was no fragrance at all; applied on freshly showered skin it simply disappeared like a wraith. I’m still not sure if the bottle I got (online discounter) was past its best. The next morning, still warm from sleep I sprayed it on some bare skin and went downstairs to make tea and toast. It transmogrified into a pineapple fruit salad and the dry down asserted itself, soft floral, a little like Eau Claire des Merveilles. (EDCM is far superior IMO) Now, this was a little more like it, the Isoamyl acetate (Juicy Fruit) was tamed and there were soft skin scents. These wispy tendrils that emanate from a woman’s thigh were called ‘Cuisse de Nymph’ ...sigh, petal soft, and the French named a rose such to titillate. The Victorian English couldn’t cope and called the rose ‘Maiden’s Blush’ There are better roses, better accords, better musks and better pineapple. I don’t know why they bothered. I don’t know Courtesan’s ‘reason to be’ I would be grateful for other contributors input as to how this perfume should smell. It will nag at me, is my blind buy ‘off’? The perfume was named for Cora Pearl, a Courtesan, associated with the Worth family and its ‘Haute Couture’ The gorgeous creature looked like Viven Leigh if the pictures are anythng to go by. There is an experiment for Courtesan that I will leave you with. If, whilst wearing the perfume, you enjoyed a little lovemaking, might it bloom into a sex siren’s scent?. I won’t tell and I don’t expect you to either. Cora Pearl’s life was not a family show, but it could be its ‘reason to be’

Wow. I got a sample of this from luckyscent back in 11/2014, took one whiff and scrubbed it off. At the time it smelled like a tropical fruit salad rotting in a tin trash can in the middle of a heatwave in New York City. Today I gave it another try and the pineapple+cinnamon accord is hitting me hard. There is a Brazillian food place near my house we go to sometimes where they serve the all-you-can-eat meat. They also serve an amazing cinnamoned grilled pineapple and this really reminds me of that. But there's also this wet baby powder note that's kind of weirdly cloying for me. If I smell my hands from far away, like when I'm typing, it's fine but when I shove my wrist in front of my nose, I can't deal with it. This is one of those 'Not for me, but someone else with different skin/nose chemistry will love it' perfumes. I do love the pineapple+cinnamon like I said but the powdery thing is giving me a literal headache so I guess I have to go scrub again now. If you want a unique twist on a tropical fruit salad perfume, give this a try. Carmen Miranda would love this. Wish my nose could too.

Opens with pineapple, spices, and something reminiscent of a barbershoppy scent - it may be the citrus note from the lime or maybe the clove and clean white florals tricking me into thinking there's something spicy /herbal / lavender in this. Quickly this clean aspect disappears and the scent becomes sweeter, with caramel being the dominant note. The floral mid notes are there, powdery and retro. I can't distinguish particular flowers. The overall scent is too powdery for me to wear, though I like the cinnamon and pineapple. I actually don’t think of this as a sexy or dirty scent due to the clean powdery /barbershoppy element that lays under the spices and fruits. If this is a courtesan, then there’s something melancholic or longing about her. Painting - Men and Angels, James Christensen, 2006

This is a warm and cozy scent. Is it vintage smelling? Maybe. But, I could also see this as a current niche offering as well. I do like this, but upon initial spray and lasting about 10 minutes I could swear that the spice notes I was smelling was just pure cumin. However, cumin isn't listed so perhaps it's the mixture of the cardamom and clove. I don't mind a cumin smell as long as it's not overbearing and this had that scent initially but it's faded now and smells much more pleasant. If you are generally a fan of vintage scents, I think you'll love this. If not, then it's not blind buy safe at all.

Warm, spicy, with top notes including cinnamon and cloves? Yes, I thought, this would be perfect for me. It was not to be - sweet, oh yes, very. Spicy - where? Musky, yep. Oddly enough, it reminds me somehow in some strange way of Je reviens which always manages to give me a headache. Edit: The dry-down makes it a much gentler scent - smooth and powdery. Still sweet, but in a much softer way. (And, oops, no correlation to Je Reviens anymore!) It's turned out quite nice, but has rather little personality. Is there a perfume with lots of cinnamon, cloves, some patchouli and incense? If so, I want it!

I blind bought this about a year ago based on an influencer's review, thought it might be an interesting cheapie. She was gifted a small declutter haul from a follower and probably wanted to say something nice about it. Worth is a good vintage house and the fragrance note profile sounded appealing but I thought it smelled very"old lady".. It is well blended but there is something in it that I just can't stand the smell of - on me, on clothes, in the air. The spillage is good and it lasts a long time. The bottle and box are attractive. I recently donated it to a thrift shop.

I like Courtesan although it has a bit of a grey dull shade in her core, and i do'nt find her very seductive as the name implies.Still it's warm like a cashmere blanket and that's enough. It sarts with red berries and cloves, and little by little the floral heart of jasmine comes in the picture.In the drydown it becames woodier, but with a strange juicy feeling that is very pleasurable. I don't detect the myriad foody notes of the note's pyramid, and i kind of like it cause i wouldn't like a lot of chocolate and caramel there.

One of my all time favorites. It has foody notes, but it isn't gourmand. Rather, it suggests a beautifully made-up face, with rice powder and cream, scented lipstick and a faint perfume rising from a warm decolletage. There's definitely the suggestion of food in the vanilla/chocolate, but it is more of a perfume that ends with a scented musk. Simply delicious.

I just love this fragrance....even more so as I blind bought it fro £7.99 on ebay! Courtesan is a spicy yet somehow subtle and alluring lady. As long as you spray sparingly...don't drench yourself in it, then you'll love it and get lots of comlpliments. If you can get a cheap bottle it's worth...lol...trying.

So sad I didn't get a single whiff of chocolate in this. It's fruity, musky, and sharp. Not my style. For my chemistry at least. I was expecting so much more warmth. It just left behind a cold trail. My husband said, "It smells like Zest soap." Not sure if I agree with that... LOL

I also agree with sky76sky in that Courtesan has a sibling relationship to Roma. I'm wearing them both now on opposite wrists and I definitely get it. I would say Courtesan is Roma's non identical twin....both gorgeous but individual.

It took me some time to figure out what this lovely perfume smells like. Today after a second spray it came over me! It smells like a white Martini on ice! And I love the smell of Martini Bianco, it smells like summer. Happy now. :)

This is not what i expected with all those gourmand notes- very soft and pretty on my skin, really not spicy. It's slightly sweet and not very strong- nice but not really striking or offensive in any way.

For me it starts out with some great bunch of fruits. - not surprisingly reading the notes. Not too sweet. Not too heavy. Not too interesting. On me it is like a nice fruity body butter. That is all.

Going by the notes and the name, I was expecting something skanky and seductive. Instead, on me, it's just mild and pleasant, with little lasting power. Big disappointment.