French Affair pays tribute to the fiercely elegant chypres of Paris in the 1970’s – earthy, mossy affairs worn by the free-thinkers of the world who strolled through the Left Bank like they owned it. And they did. Women in Le Smoking tuxedos unbuttoned to the navel, men in full-on Oscar Wilde mode: nonconformists who smelled of Gauloises smoke, crushed velvet, and Aramis 900.
But French Affair is no nu-chypre pretender. It is authentically, damply, unmistakably oakmoss-y, with that familiar inky feel that gives chypres their backbone. A rich wave of Indonesian patchouli - earthy and camphoraceous - jumps out at you from the topnotes, riding hand in hand with the moss to create an accord of coppery, freshly-turned soil. The lychee note smells more like overripe plum, momentarily sweetening the earthier notes. Violet leaf streaks across the loamy gloom, as surprising as a camera flash. But the dark, musty earth notes are what prevail – a bolt of black velvet unfolded after many years in storage. Eventually, this accord reveals a spiced, plummy rose and a pungent cedary drydown that is both aromatic and slightly sweaty. French Affair stands shoulder to shoulder with the great patchouli chypres of the 1970’s, Aramis 900, Aromatics Elixir, and Givenchy Gentleman. Close your eyes and breathe in the smell of cigarette smoke floating through velvet collars soaked in patchouli. Dark, moody, and viciously sexy, French Affair is indeed a very French Affair.
bergamot, lychee, violet leaf, rose, Atlas cedar, angelica, pepper, Indonesian patchouli, vetiver, oakmoss
Perfume rating 4.09 out of 5 on Fragrantica