Year: 2012
Notes: bergamot, green mandarin, aldehydes, pink pepper, galbanum, ivy, lily of the valley, hawthorn, Bulgarian rose, jasmine, gardenia, clove, mastic, vanilla, ambergris, musk
While it's a modern chypré, due to the absence of oakmoss, Perle de Mousse attempts to compensate for this in other ways. It doesn't quite succeed in emulating the green floral-chyprés of yore but still has its merits.
The overall aroma is verdant and fresh, with a short-lived pairing of citrus and aldehydes. To its credit, the green accords persist for longer than expected, along with an underlining spicy-peppery tone. It's both dark and dewy, with the white florals being the most prominent aspect of its floral bouquet.
As the green floral core subsides, a cocktail of mastic, musk and a touch of vanilla eventually join the fray. One can only assume that the role of the mastic is to add some edge as, without it, the sweet spicy-musk drydown would have been even more uneventful than it actually turns out to be.
To claim that it doesn't hold a candle to the vintage chyprés would be reasonably fair, but it's a better moss-free alternative than other recent releases of this ilk. Yes, its evolution is somewhat limited, and it isn't as tenacious as originally hoped, but it's still a respectable creation in spite of its limitations.
The overall aroma is verdant and fresh, with a short-lived pairing of citrus and aldehydes. To its credit, the green accords persist for longer than expected, along with an underlining spicy-peppery tone. It's both dark and dewy, with the white florals being the most prominent aspect of its floral bouquet.
As the green floral core subsides, a cocktail of mastic, musk and a touch of vanilla eventually join the fray. One can only assume that the role of the mastic is to add some edge as, without it, the sweet spicy-musk drydown would have been even more uneventful than it actually turns out to be.
To claim that it doesn't hold a candle to the vintage chyprés would be reasonably fair, but it's a better moss-free alternative than other recent releases of this ilk. Yes, its evolution is somewhat limited, and it isn't as tenacious as originally hoped, but it's still a respectable creation in spite of its limitations.
