Daphne (2009)
by Daphne Guinness

An SA at Aedes was picking out tuberose scents for me, and we were going thrugh the store. I tried the Malle, the L'Artisan and then he sprayed Daphne on a mouillette and handed it to me. I gave it a quick sniff. I kept testing scents until I had a handful of mouillettes and I couldn't remember which perfume was which. Before I decided on my final purchase (Carnal Flower) I revisited all the scents in my hand. When I resniffed Daphne, it struck me as by far the loveliest and the most feminine. I handed the mouillette back to the SA and asking, can you remember which one this is, and he sniffed it, and told me, "It's the Commes des Garcons..." So while it is not what I was looking for that day (a tuberose soliflore), it haunted me with it's abstraction, until I bought a bottle about a week later.
Daphne is now in my top ten for a few reasons, it is a big complicated floral that dries down to incense, 1-2 sprays last forever, and in my mind it represents everything decadent that I love about perfumes.

20th August, 2011. (Last Edited: 30th August, 2011.)

Daphne Guinness is probably 1 ingredient away from being a total soup, but as it stands, it’s about as full a perfume as you can make. Citrus/resinous, hugely floral, incense/oud. And that’s just the starting place.

It seems to start as a sort of oud floriental with an enormous bitter, resinous orange note and saffron and I’d swear some bay or some other green culinary herb. From there it kaleidoscopes through densly floral combinations as well as classic amber, vanilla, patchouli accords. This is not so much a perfume with a classic three-tiered progression as one built of mostly basenotes. In this sense, it’s probably categorically closest to an oriental. Although they have different tones, the elements all seem to share roughly the same density. From the topnotes through the heartnotes they just bounce off each other and you’re constantly smelling some new accord take flight.

By the drydown, DG feels like an incense chypre, with a three-part patchouli/oud/labdanum combo in lieu of a classic moss/labdanum base. Oud is the overused, overstated perfume element of the last few years and due to its potent nature, it is usually at the heart of an accord. But using a moderate dose of oud along with patchouli and labdanum to resemble a chypre base seems like one of the more inventive uses of the material.

2nd May, 2011. (Last Edited: 9th May, 2011.)

Incense, bitter orange and tuberose. There are SO many more notes than merely these three living within this fragrance, but these are the stars. By 'stars' I mean the strongest players in the mix that really stand out as main characters. Once Daphne is on the skin for awhile, my nose can't decide if it needs a little more of something, or a little less? Sort of like seasoning a sauce. When you've tasted it too many times and can't determine the best way to make it just perfect...this is how I feel about Daphne. If I had one wish for Daphne, I would wish for the advice of Maurice Roucel...as I'm quite certain he would know how to master the final touches. As it stands, Daphne is likeable, but I'm not craving a full bottle. If your tastes run in the direction of loving incense, bitter orange or tuberose - I'd recommend giving Daphne at least a test run.

6th September, 2010.

Take the Kouros type notes from ELO Rien and youre left with Daphne. Both have amazing longevity and linger days after.

5th August, 2010.

Sadly, after a very promising opening of orange and spicey resin (not really incense on my skin), this quickly began hitting a single note. I waited patiently for the tuberose, the jasmine the iris - heck, any flower - even the rose, though that's not a scent that often works on me. Nope. Just: VANILLA! VANILLA! VANILLA!

The drydown is giving me back the orange and spices as well as amber... but Daphne is still shrieking VANILLA! VAN-

You get the idea.

23rd April, 2010.

How unique and unexpected within the Comme des Garcons line: a retro white floral.

The nicest part of Daphne is the top notes, a rich bouquet of powdery white florals held in check by orange and an undertone of vanilla. It's a colorful and vibrant blend, and very pleasing to my nose. Of the flowers, tuberose is the most evident, followed by jasmine, but this is a fragrance that owes more to rich mixed forals of the past than niche favorites like Carnal Flower and A La Nuit. A certain mushroomy quality that others have mentioned is present, but it's subtle, and quite removed from the likes of Dans Tes Bras ( which I find to be rather frightening )

As the orange fades out, the florals become drier and slightly smoky, like that same bouquet has been left to dry by a fireplace, in a room filled with incense smoke. Most of the florals of this genre tend towards excessive sweetness to my nose, but the intensity of those notes in Daphne is increasingly tempered in the drydown with a faint soapy bitterness along with hints of smoke. No oud to my nose, no oud at all, but that doesn't detract from the whole.

Despite being a very intense fragrance in its composition, Daphne is not loud to my nose, standing only slightly about average in sillage and longevity.

I don't think I'd wear Daphne, but I'm glad it exists.

29th January, 2010.