Parfum Sacré (1990)
by Caron

Never tested it on my skin but just inhaled the juice while exuding by  a silent and extremely sensual woman sited beside me on the train in Germany and which  i obviously asked to about the identity of her fragrance. I can't talk about the complete evolution of the juice, since in that moment i was not exclusively interested by a fragrance. The smell seemed dusty, substantially sharp and rosey with all the opulence of prickly spices, above all pepper and cinnamon and a touch of whisky. I don't remember a particular richness, mellifluence, fruitiness or milkiness in the smell. I don't know if i was influenced by the sensual appeal of the mysterious woman but the smell seemed very confident, austere and e enigmatic. Few traces of sweetness, may be just a clue coming from the balsams. Restrained austerity, sinister rose and incense, that was the woman smelt of. She got off in Stuttgart.

19th October, 2011. (Last Edited: 20th October, 2011.)

I bought it unsniffed and I have been wearing it for three days now, but the first impression that still hovers in my mind is that it is such a disappointment. I expected this to be a true (sweetish, flowery, heavy/heady) oriental (like Coco which I truly love)- and I figure it could only because of the excessive presence of spices( especially the black pepper and myrrh).

The flowers in this are really shy and few, thus the coldness, sharpness and harshness of this perfume.The connection to the name is made via the untouchablity feeling it creates - this is a peculiar perfume to be worn by some (I can fully understand why some reviewers mentioned gothic cathedrals, darkness, solitude). It still challenges me to find its beauty. It is similar to Shalimar, but to the point that both share incense - but in Parfum Sacre (on me at least) it is present throughout all the stages, while in Shalimar the vanilla and flowers make it more warm and round. It is a peculiar perfume in which the rose and jasmine are so well used that one can not tell their obvious presence.

I guess it takes some time to fully understand, appreciate and wear it accordingly in contrast to the many modern sugary concoctions. On my skin (which loves Shalimar, Coco, Absolu, Organza, Mitsouko and other true stars) at all stages it smells coldish, harsh in an abrasive sense. The middle notes make way for a powdery feel, while the drydown is a true oriental, but by this time it is really hard to detect on the skin. If it had a longer life then the true oriental would have had a say in this - and in my opinion here is where it loses some ground to other orientals which I prefer much more. I love NU (from Yves Saint Laurent) - which uses many spices, but even that was a lot warmer and it had more spices, so I do not understand.

I have the 3.3 oz/100ml EDP bottle, but this is not as long-lasting as other EDPs (the bottle reads an 87% concentration) which makes this EDP last only 4 maximum 5 hours on my skin (while Absolu lasts for 8 hours in the same edp concentration). This was a surprise too from Caron.

I will surely reconsider buying other Carons, especially unsniffed, despite the sparkling and praising reviews (I was considering Nuit de Noel, Montaigne, Bellodgia and Pour une Femme), but I will rather invest in something else more feminine and less sharp (as the EDPs of other companies last for 6-9 hours while these last only for 4).

16th September, 2011. (Last Edited: 30th October, 2011.)

On my skin PARFUM SACRE (edp) smells more of a lightly powdered floral than the rose and myrrh magic I was hoping for, with a musky-sweetness to the drydown that I don't particularly care for. For an eau de parfum it also feels woefully thin. I suspect the version I tried was a reformulation but until I source out a vintage, I'll have to nurse my disappointment.

28th August, 2011.

I've never had the chance to try the original version of "Parfum Sacré" that seemed to be very opulent and way much mysterious but I've to say this reformulation is still pleasant and fashinating. A trasparent and peppery incensey rose that would also work perfectly on a man. I get the point when someone says "It seems that what used to be great is now just nice", but PS is absolutely much better than billions of other ultra-rated scents as It still has that special "extra-touch" of first class fragrances. It's unique and intriguing and even if reformulated it has an huuuuge personality. Be careful, this is not for everybody.

28th March, 2011. (Last Edited: 4th April, 2011.)

One of the most interesting rose renditions I have ever smelled, it's quite unique and brilliantly complex.
The drydown is a lovely pepper-rose with spicies, a hint of incense and powdery vanilla.

This is not for everyone but it's definitely worth trying if you like complex scents or if you are looking for something really unique. Lasting power is pretty good, rather strong initially but after some hours it becomes a comforting, close to skin scent.

26th January, 2011.

A masterpiece! Clever in it's use of pepper and incense and a vanilla base that is rich and elegant - pure Caron grandeur. I will never be without this. WONDERFUL!

22nd January, 2011.