Songes (2006)
by Annick Goutal

I've worn Goutal's Gardenia Passion and Passion (original version) since they came out, and I immediately fell in love with Songes. The florals smelled familiar, and I'd pick it out blind as a Goutal, yet as a whole it struck me as a stronger and much sweeter composition than my old favorites. I didn't wear Songes for a few months, then when I returned to it, I was so sad to find that it actually made me ill! I perceived the bitter burned rubber note that others have mentioned, and as I wore it, this note wrestled with the sweetness of the flowers and vanilla and it was disgusting. Unfortunately this happens to me often - my nose (or my chemistry!) seizes upon an animalic, bitter, or funky note, and the total effect of the fragrance is ruined for me. I had the same problem with Joy - once I'd smelled the civet, my nose went right to it every time, and Joy and I were done. Shame. I give Songes a thumbs up, anyway, because my initial experience of it was so overwhelmingly positive. Besides, you'd probably be hard-pressed to find many people outside of this community that would say BURNED RUBBER when faced with a scent so ostensibly pleasant and lovely.

4th January, 2012.

Songes is absolutely beautiful. One whiff of this fragrance and I really fell in love.

I had started off my love for Annick Goutal fragrances when I tried Passion, which just happened to be the first perfume from her house that I tried. From then on I have been continuously impressed by her array of floral fragrances. Songes was no exception.

As you may have guessed, Songes is very flowery, sweet, feminine and pretty. While Passion is more suited to special occasions, Songes wears well as a casual or daytime scent.

The scent itself is quite bright and sugary. Imagine a bouquet of fresh jasmine and frangipani blooms sprinkled with icing sugar and you have Songes.

This fragrance actually makes me think of a wedding. Not a particular wedding, just an image of a romantic celebration, and Songes could very well be a beautiful and fitting fragrance for such a day.

This fragrance has great lasting power, so those people that assume that Annick Goutal fragrances don't last, you should think again.

I knew even before testing this fragrance, that Songes would be undeniably hard to resist. If you love white florals or sweet scents, I highly recommend.

27th April, 2011.

l expected to adore this fragrance as l love tropical white florals, & they usually love me right back. But on my skin there's an unmistakable note of pencil shavings, which l can't ignore & is very offputting to me. Has no-one else detected this? l can't pick out the individual floral notes, except for the frangipani which comes in after an hour or so, then it dries down to a sweet, warm vanilla. lf l could tune out that offputting note, l'd probably like this a lot more!

8th February, 2011.

I adore this beautiful scent, but each time I try it, it wears so differently. I love the drydown of this creamy goodness. It also packs a punch as I get deep yet ladylike indoles that wrap themselves around this scent. The frangipani didn't come out on me until about an hour and a half later. I didn't find a person whom didn't like this, but it certainly wears deeper and richer than Gardenia Passion on me. The richness of the jasmine reminds me of Joy but with a kick.

One to definitely try on your skin, more than once as this is something you may have to learn to appreciate, but once you do, WHAM, it's incredible.

1st April, 2010.

I can`t perceive Songes as a white floral properly. I don`t detect in this the indolic or plastic accord that so many white flowered based fragrances have. Also, It doesn`t seem not common at all. Really, the first moment with songes sounds a little bit scary if you don`t like exotic florals. The frangipani note is very dominant at first. To me, in songes frangipani has a flower-fruity accord that is hot, like they were making an infusion of frangipani for a tea or as you were presencing frangipani flowers blossoming in a hot day and their smell impregnated the air. In a second moment, I detect the ylang note that contributes to the flower accord by adding its banana flowery smell. Ylang and Frangipani creates at first this hot, exotic, very bright floral accord that reminds me off exotic beaches, hot and bright days. The jasmine here seems very subdued to me, only appearing as a creamy white floral background note without the indolic edge. The vanilla starts to appear at some point at the first hour of songes, contributing to create a creamy sweet aura to the flowery hot fruity accord. It`s also the accord that leads songes to its second moment on skin, the moment when the fragrances start to sunset it`s sunny flowery accord and becomes paler, darker, muted on skin. I detect at this part a ambery vanillic accord, slightly wooody. The frangipani tree is muted at this point, only detectable if you put your wrist close to your nose. The woody accord only appears from time to time, and it seems like sliver. The Annick goutal site states vetiver at the basenotes, but to me the smell seems more like cedar.
For it's exoticity and comfort dinamic, I`d give songes a 80% tumbs up. It can be a little bit harsh on hot and humidy days, but in colder or tepid days it could works if you`re lookinf for that type of fragrance.

18th March, 2010.

Dream? Nightmare is more like it.

The sinus-hammering candied fruit and indolic white flower accord upon which Songes opens smells entirely artificial. Its central element is a Godzilla-sized tuberose that’s been miraculously shorn of every trace of grace or charm. If a flower could chew tobacco and expectorate loudly into a spittoon, this one would. Excruciating.

I am pleased to report that the sweet “froot” recedes within an hour, but I can’t decide whether leaving the nasty plastic flower accord exposed on its own amounts to much of an improvement. In all honesty, this is the kind of perfume that gives tuberose a bad name. (Amarige and Giorgio are its co-conspirators.) The good news is that the entire experience is over rather quickly, as Songes slides into its soapy, woody-vanillic drydown within a couple of hours. Thank heaven for small mercies.

11th December, 2009.