Sacrebleu (1993)
by Parfums de Nicolaï

SACRE BLEU! I felt a disconcerting sense of deja vu when I first caught a whiff of the sillage...of another time, in another world, of another me. 20 years back to be precise, to the moment when I first stepped into my room in the university dorms, only to be greeted by a softly fuzzy yet strangely comforting scent that was probably associated with the use of certain carpet deodorizers. But when I brought my nose closer to my skin, this image all but vanished, leaving me with vaguely smoky licorice-like notes, rounded with some tonka (or maybe vanilla) and that soft leathery-powdery undertones. If tuberose is indeed listed, it is unlike any I have tried. Intriguing and not in the least 'girly'.

Now I don't expect others to experience what I just did but on a personal level, any scent that succeeds in evoking such vivid memories is not only aptly named, but also the work of an olfactory genius. It reminds me exactly why I pursue this hobby with such fervor, to uncover olfactory keys that unlock windows to the distant past.

7th February, 2011.

A raspberry floral girly scent. It's sweet and tasteful, but there is an aspect that will recall something from childhood...a candy, or medicine or something relying on the same red berry note. Lacks ambition.

1st February, 2011.

I tried this scent a long time along and intially I really liked it...and after reading one of the posts from another poster I knew exactly what I did and didn't like about it! It has a note of Raspberry (somewhere in there!) but it's predominately an "incense-y" scent. This is definitely an older scent..I was in my late 20's when I tried it so it was way too old for me then and probably still too old for me now, approaching 40. Something you could picture smelling on your Grandmother. I'm not knocking it...it's just different and maybe that's why I like it!!

3rd December, 2010.

Raspberry... Currants
a hint of Cinnamon....with the depth and warmth that Vanilla and Clove ...usually bring.
the Incense is there barely hidden ...
giving it a smoky allure.

On me this is a very "FRENCH" fragrance..

Much in the same manner "BOUCHERON" bring me olfactory memories of
the Antique Shops along the Quai Voltaire in Paris...

19th June, 2010.

Ever since I heard of this fragrance, I had imagined I would love this. From the cheeky name to the very thought of an incense-based fragrance created by the offspring of the grand Guerlain dynasty, I had conjured up an idea of my perfect fragrance. Ah, but as they say, try before you buy.

And so I did. The beginning of my test application was promising, with what struck me as a delicious licorice incense--although I can't quite define what note registered as licorice in my olfactory nerves. This delight was brief, though, as it soon settled into a rich and pretty (but neither beautiful nor sensuous) fruit jam.

This is not to say that Sacrebleu is not fine stuff--indeed it is--but that suggestions that this is an oriental rather than a straight-up floral are, I think, really wide of the mark, as there is nothing very spicy or woody here.

Being fifty-something, I confess I do find the constant dismissive references to "old-lady" fragrances irritating. Yet I must also confess that I had thoughts that Sacrebleu would be a fragrance I would give my mother (were she still living) as it is elegant and lovely but certainly not in the least bit sexy or as exciting as its exclamatory name would suggest. (Nor, for that matter, is there anything "sacre" about it.)

Three weeks after my first test, I tried Sacre Bleu a second time, using the remainder of the sample vial. Being trained to analyze, process, then analyze and process again, I was troubled by my inability to sort out just what I found unappealing about it before. The second test produced several additional thoughts. I kept thinking there was some childhood recollection in all this, but I couldn't place it. At first, I thought it was some sort of candy--the kind kids eat, not because it's good but because it's candy and it's there--and realized that Sacrebleu strikes me as more fruity than floral. (I'd been stumped before, trying to pin down a particular flower.) I could swear I smelled banana--more some strange banana/raspberry flavoured something or other--and I could smell the incense more clearly this time, though it was an incense far removed from the ecclesiastical variety one encounters in CdG Avignon or Heeley Cardinal.

And then it hit me. Not so much a childhood memory but a teenage one. By the end of the 60s and the beginning of the 70s, virtually every place that sold records--no matter how unhip--also sold incense. Not only the patchouli sort that automatically registers "hippy" in so many minds, but just about every scent imaginable....

Psychedelic raspberry incense! Mais oui!

SACRE BLEU! (Pardon my French, as my mother would say.)

9th June, 2010.

a non-synthetic version of that awful Guerlain Insolence, I mean... this is actually very nice!

I think it would be best applied with a dabber, though...

anyway, it's good! thumbs up all the way! a warm berried "blossomied" floral fruity. Quite classy, fit for a young princess, playful, young, yet tasteful and well mannered,with natural distinction.

14th April, 2010.