Ines de la Fressange (original) (1999)
by Ines de la Fressange

This fragrance might seem a bit of an oddball. It stands yards apart from the gooey, syrupy gourmands and fruity florals of its year (1999.) It also keeps its distance from the tradition of Beautiful Florals. It is neither expansive, nor powdery, nor sweet, nor symphonic, nor, well, particularly floral. Even aldehydes, so often used in floral fragrances to ramp up from the descriptive to the superlative, just give I dl F a lacquer. But for all this distance from the norms of its era and phylum, there is not a hint of stridency or aloofness, just an easy detachment.

To stand apart and to be eccentric are two different sensibilities, and I dl F captures this precisely. (Mugler’s Angel is eccentric; unhinged, actually. I dl F is misunderstood by most of us, but this doesn’t bother her in the least. Compare even the bottles. Impractical [“But I’m artistic, dammit!”] star from Mugler; sqat, clean, unadorned inkwell from I dl F.) There is nothing agitprop about this scent; she’s not trying to win you over. It’s more like a completely different train of thought than that of 90s perfumery lead to its creation. Combining white florals (I get tuberose, ylang, jasmine) with a little peach skin, and a rather medicinal benzoin gives a comfortable, rounded feel. I should say that I had to find a listing of notes, because (other than the fact that I don’t have a great nose for identification of components) their combination gives something distinct from their parts. This would be a brilliant signature scent.

29th November, 2010. (Last Edited: 8th March, 2011.)