What I'm wearing:
(Le Labo Aldehyde 44)
What I feel I should be wearing with it:
(Elie Saab Couture Spring 2006)
Oh, this stuff just sparkles! It's the fizziest, champagne-iest thing I think I've ever spritzed on me. The first spritz is pure, clean, transparent aldehydes like a spray of sequins hitting your skin. And, truth be told, that's mostly how it stays -- there's almost none of the powdery drydown we associate with aldehydes usually (see: Baghari) . This is a very linear fragrance, it doesn't change very much on the skin. This is not to say it's simplistic or boring, it just doesn't undergo the metamorphoses some perfumes do. For example, when I wear Rose Ikebana (another bright, sprightly favorite of mine) it unfold itself in layers: the citrus & rhubarb, then the deeper rose, finally revealing a beautiful skin musk base that smells nothing like the first spritz. The 44 also has a lovely musk at the bottom, but it's only really apparent to me right next to my skin -- if I stick my nose ON my wrist & sniff. The other notes, the aldehydes and many different white florals, play peekaboo with each other in the sillage. Imagine plunging your hands into a large bowl of colored gemstones and moving them around. Sometimes the rubies are more apparent, sometimes the emeralds dominate, sometimes the topaz comes to the top. They're all there all the time, though, just shifting around and trading places. Le Labo names their fragrances for the dominant note and the number of other ingredients in the composition -- 44 is the highest number so far in their repertoire; it's a high number for any fragrance. It includes tuberose, jasmine, narcissus,and, well, about 40 other notes. It's a complex fragrance, just not a deeply layered one. It does deepen as I wear it, the woods warm up the fragrance as it settles into my skin, but it's always recognizable as that first, wonderful shimmer.
For other great reviews by people far more adept at talking about perfumes than myself, try Aromascope, Bois de Jasmin (Victoria seems as besotted as I am), and Perfume Posse (thumbs-up from both March and Patty (Patty's got it bad for the stuff, bless her).
Unlikely as it sounds, this beauty is available ONLY at the Barney's in Dallas. I usually turn up my nose at exclusives based on principal, but I liked this so much I got over myself. (I had to get over myself a lot -- this stuff is spendier than the non-exclusive Le Labos.) And now, in my functions as a Perfumista and also as a personal shopper, I'm getting over myself again and going back to Dallas to procure a bottle for someone else. (Actually, I'm going to Dallas to see the dual Matisse exhibits at the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Dallas Museum of Art which sound deliriously wonderful, but there's always time for a little retailing in Style Spy's weekend!) And if I'm going to get one bottle, as I may as well get a few, so if you're interested in me purchasing and shipping you your very own bottle of Le Labo Aldehyde 44, e-mail me and I'll send you the pricing information. (Please note: I'm only purchasing full bottles, not decants, shares in a split, or samples. Full bottles only.)
Now I'm going to go make some dinner plans that include champagne. My goodness, I am suggestible, aren't I?
Photos: Style Spy, Style.com, PDPhoto.org
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