Missoni (new) (2006)
by Missoni

There are any number of expressions that convey incongruity. For rhetorical use, the oxymoron (eg. deafening silence.) The unintentional, often humorous contradiction in terms (eg. compassionate conservative.) The misplaced modifier (“I bought a doll for my sister with a plastic head.”)

A non-sequitur though is less a mistake than a peek into somebody’s thought process. A good non-sequitur gets at that wonderful, riotous feeling of a mind racing faster than than the ability to communicate. My favorite was someone saying, “I like ice cream! Can you swim?!”

There are perfume equivalents that exemplify the distinctions. Contradiction in terms: Britney Spears’s unquestioningly conforming Curious. Oxymoron: Lalique’s blindingly bright Encre Noir pour Elle or Angel’s high-energy state of dissonance. Misplaced modifier: Chanel Bleue’s shrill saccharine note.

Then there’s Missoni, the non-sequitur that points to a mind just buzzing with invention. It’s a chocolatey floral. A starched, crisp, sweet fruity. A savory, nutty wood. We sometimes say “synthetic” to connote “bad” but will say that synthesis is an accomplishment. Roucel makes the distinction meaningless, and trashes the negative connotation. Missoni is simultaneously exuberant and harmonious, composed yet somehow spontaneous. It succeeds conceptually, merging and twisting perfume genres while still managing to be strikingly beautiful to wear.

3rd November, 2011.

Love it, love it, love it! Tropical flowers, a bit of spice and chocolate. It's a little slice of paradise in a bottle!

14th May, 2011.

I ordered a sample of this and tried it the other day. All I got was a strange mixture of cinnamon and patchouli (and those aren't even LISTED) on my skin, and it didn't last more than two hours. I really expected to like it based on the notes and reviews...I'll give it another go soon and update my post!

Update:

I'm giving this another chance today. I think I've decided that the mixture of orange blossom and chocolate is just not for me. It mixes into this prickly floral composition that I don't like at all.

I still can't detect the chocolate...and staying power is horrible. I've been wearing it for a little over two hours and only have a faint trace of it left on my wrist. I guess this just doesn't work on me. Maybe it's my nose...

Jan
05
2009

27th March, 2011.

Missoni does everything I wish a perfume would do. Opens with pizazz, sings me a beautiful love song all day long, and gets along with most of my attitudes and outfits. I am genuinely impressed by Missoni. Its a winner!

7th January, 2011.

Chocolate is flowers - the idea is plausible to my olfactory apparatus from the first whiff. Only that the one is by far more nutritious than the other. To prevent from that the fragrance is bone dry. The drydone envelopes some minty aspects. That compares to Patchouli Patch of L'Artisan Parfumeur, which in the same way lightens up towards the base.

All in all the Missoni is an "intelligent" perfume. Something new at least (to me). But, alas, I don't get that caleidoscopic sensations which made Luca Turin stock this up to have it by hand for his lifetime.

For my very personal taste the overall feel of it is a bit to light. I argue I would have appreciated some sweetness. On the other hand that wouldn't help against a repelling screechy effect just behind my forehead. The same with Feu D'Issey. Is it a "woody amber"? Both, Feu D'Issey and the eponymous Missoni gave Turin a kind of super effect of ever changing scents, the one caleidoscopic, the other radiating its various sensations with the speed of light.

I couldn't get used to this unpleasent facet with both by now. So, give it a try, but try it first.

7th August, 2010.

The problem with many fragrances is that they are difficult to find in a shop for the purpose of trying before you buy - you can get them easily enough on the whole over the Net, but if you're going to be spending £30+ it's a lot of money down the drain if you decide it's not for you. In an ideal world you should be able to get a sample of any fragrance for a pound or two, but I haven't managed to find a decant service in the UK and stores generally only have samples of the latest fragrance and are amazingly mean about giving them away...I wonder where all the testers on eBay come from?

However, back to Missoni. I finally ran it to earth and took a smelling strip away with me to see whether I would be able to live with it. It didn't take me long to decide: you can smell the family relationship to Tocade (also by Maurice Roucel), it has a similar (but slightly toasted) vanilla note which in this incarnation does come over as chocolate, morphing into an iridescent floral - sometimes soft & rosy, sometimes fresh.

Of course by the time I had decided to splash out (sorry about the pun) and treat myself to a bottle the shop no longer stocked it so I had to go on the Net, but like Luca Turin I too will make sure I've got enough for a lifetime. By the way I agree completely with Xmen - where are all the rest of the Basenotes community? They should be here, singing the praises of this bewitching fragrance.

27th May, 2010. (Last Edited: 23rd August, 2010.)