La Panthère by Cartier

[mikeperez23]

Grain de Musc reports:

like all perfumers bar none, Mathilde worships Mitsouko and Femme, so she wanted to do a modern fruity chypre: the rhubarb/apple/apricot/strawberry facets of styrallyl acetate, the “gardenia” molecule, would provide that fruity note. (Oddly enough, another old-time chypre, Ma Griffe by Carven, also associates gardenia with a catty attitude, if only through its name, a play on the two meanings of the word in French, « claw » and « signature »).

And it works. Mitsouko brushes by with its tail swishing, though the treatment is more in the style of Jacques Tourneur’s Cat People than of Paul Schrader’s 80s remake: you don’t actually see the creature full-on, you just keep getting hints of its presence. Proper oakmoss and the aforementioned musk ketone – which has been used next to forever – add to the classic vibe.

La Panthère crosses the vertical structure of a chypre with a more contemporary “fuzzy” (or, in this case, “furry”) texture. Gardenia provides the axis. The panther musk is curled around it. The floral note is realistic – it was elaborated through a headspace capture of the flower, and features every aspect of it from its slender rhubarb greenness to its hint of mushroom. But it can only be perceived through the musky haze: this isn’t actually a soliflore, but a flower-feline hybrid, a chimera crouched in a mossy patch.

The silkiness of petals and fur is vividly conjured by La Panthère’s purring sillage. This is that rare gem of a mainstream scent that manages a perfect Goldilocks balance (notice the deft use of jewelry metaphors here). Distinctive enough to please connoisseurs, yet not so much that it’ll scare off civilians. Just take care you don’t start clawing the couch.

Full article here: http://graindemusc.blogspot.com/2014...urent-for.html

The bottle is sort of weird...no? I'm not sure I like it.

[kumquat]

Why do perfumers keep talking/promising chypres and delivering yet another fruity floral? They seem to understand that chypres are in demand and yet they keep making über sweet teen sauce. Humph! (disgruntled.)

Not only that, but it appears they've discontinued the beautiful Panthére. I'm really bummed about that!

[jujy54]

Me, too, kumquat. Panthère was a very special gift from my daughter to me.
Mike, it took a moment, then I saw the stylized panther face in the bottle. Whatever the fragrance says, the bottle is pure Don't Mess With Me.

[foxbins]

I like the bottle, too, but I wish the face were black; it would contrast so much more with the juice. The pink says cutesy "pink panther" and the notes are not my style.

I also mourn the loss of Panthere, which in the vintage parfum is almost pure civet on me. It is divine.

[gandhajala]

I can't get past the fact that the bottle looks like it has a female prophylactic up in there.
Like the infamous l'heure bleue flacon: once seen, never forgotten.
As for the perfume itself, I can well imagine it being a success for Cartier: Mme. Laurent has a knack for commercially appealing florals (usually along watery-green lines, with soft, powdery musks and a touch of vanilla).

[kumquat]

Yes the bottle is very cool, but why d/c a perfectly wonderful parfum? Why can't they make both?

For those who missed it, Panthére is a dark, creamy tuberose unlike any other. The parfum is to die for.

[mikeperez23]

I can't get past the fact that the bottle looks like it has a female prophylactic up in there.
Like the infamous l'heure bleue flacon: once seen, never forgotten...

(giggle)

[kyrian]

hmm, I went to Neiman Marcus today and the SA presented me with a La Panthere's paper-sample thing. The bottle she was holding did not look like the picture on top of the thread at all.

Anyway, it's soft, floral and reminds me of my grandma, which I like and DH didn't like so much. Oh well, I did like the D&G's Dolce one much better (it's also out today)

[Captain]

Grain de Musc reports:

The bottle is sort of weird...no? I'm not sure I like it.

This bottle is gorgeous. If it is a fruity floral, that sucks, but the bottle is totally sweet.

[kumquat]

The other thing that annoys me about the self-promotion here is the comparison to the classic greats such as 'Mitsouko' , 'MaGriffe' and 'Femme'. It's as lame as a new band comparing themselves to the 'Beatles' or a writer's work being touted as the new 'Catcher in the Rye'. From the notes given, I'm extremely doubtful there's any slim resemblance to ANY of those great perfumes of the glorious past.

[Vargagirl]

Sweet teen sauce. Giggles.
Sorry nothing else to add, never had the pleasure of smelling panthere.
I find the majority of dept store scents too sweet, now I have some new vocabulary for my dislikes.

[Primrose]

Why do perfumers keep talking/promising chypres and delivering yet another fruity floral? They seem to understand that chypres are in demand and yet they keep making über sweet teen sauce. Humph! (disgruntled.)

Not only that, but it appears they've discontinued the beautiful Panthére. I'm really bummed about that!

Yes, the original can only be had at very high prices.

[Primrose]

hmm, I went to Neiman Marcus today and the SA presented me with a La Panthere's paper-sample thing. The bottle she was holding did not look like the picture on top of the thread at all.

Anyway, it's soft, floral and reminds me of my grandma, which I like and DH didn't like so much. Oh well, I did like the D&G's Dolce one much better (it's also out today)

Welcome, kyrian! Thank you for the first-hand impression.

[iodine]

Got serendipitously a sample of this and can't believe how much I like it!
No "sweet teen sauce" here, no safe fruity floral, no vanilla, nor white musks- a rooty, mossy, slightly mentholated, heavy- on- mushroom gardenia. Too ignorant to decide if the chypre label can be used, but I can definitely feel a classic vibe.

[donna255]

Yes, I got a sample and liked it so much I bought it.

I don't the sweet teen sauce either. Its not a classic chypre for sure, a little fruity in the opening but settles down on me to very nice floral.

[mikeperez23]

I can't wait to smell this.

[Redneck Perfumisto]

Strikes me as a bit more of a floriental than a chypre, but I think that's quibbling. Is it a spicy floral chypre, or a mossy floriental? Whatever it is, I like it! Normally I'm not really crazy about gardenia, but this one has a very symbiotic nature - the things that I like (spiciness, mossiness, grainy texture) really help the gardenia to be interesting. This fragrance isn't really "me", but it is definitely some woman who I would love to know!

[Primrose]

Strikes me as a bit more of a floriental than a chypre, but I think that's quibbling. Is it a spicy floral chypre, or a mossy floriental? Whatever it is, I like it! Normally I'm not really crazy about gardenia, but this one has a very symbiotic nature - the things that I like (spiciness, mossiness, grainy texture) really help the gardenia to be interesting. This fragrance isn't really "me", but it is definitely some woman who I would love to know!

I agree that it is not a gardenia bomb the way Chanel's Gardenia is, or Estee Lauder Tuberose Gardenia.

[donna255]

Same for me, Gardenia is a note I am very wary of as it turns very sickly sweet on me. But I didn't really get Gardenia from this, just floral.

[iodine]

The gardenia is very fleeting and multifaceted, spanning from rose notes to mushroom to musky-leathery...
A friend- with a deep knowledge in matter of perfume and perfumery-asked me what I was wearing, "so beautifully smelling of roses and patchouli"! And another one- the one who gave me the sample, actually! and an expert in white flowers- when I suggested she was smelling gardenia told me "no gardenia here!".
So, don't worry this gardenia won't explode and cover you with sugary, sticky pieces!

[kumquat]

Can anyone compare this to the original creamy, tuberose parfum?

[danieq]

Have you all seen that this guy has some of the vintage juice for sale? http://www.basenotes.net/threads/229...th-waiting-for!

I have a bottle, not sure I get civet from it, though it is nice.

[kumquat]

The EDP is not as good (IMO) as the extrait- parfum.

[pomander]

I think Mathilde Laurent is a genius. Her rendition of the cool, Spring lily in Cartier's Baiser Vole Essence de Parfum is beautiful beyond words. Tonight I sampled her take on another creamy Spring flower, the gardenia... in La Panthere. I found a gorgeous, earthy, musky gardenia fragrance with interest and sophistication. The gardenia is natural and tempered with dry, leathery-musky notes. I brought home a sample, and I will continue to assess the fragrance. I can really see this becoming part of my collection. Sigh.