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Post by FeralJasmine
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Sublime Spring
There is no part of the transition from winter to spring that fails to interest and even enthrall me. Gardeners are generally beguiled by this season, and I am no exception. The birds are singing, the earth is awakening, Persephone is rising, and life stirs all around us.
In earliest spring I enjoy delicate, effervescent florals, but then the days get warmer and the daffodils bloom, and I develop a taste for divas who stand at center stage and defy winter to show its haggard face again. Sublime by Jean Patou is just such a scent. I will be writing only about the original release in the lobed bottle with a cap shaped rather like a tulip. I’ve never smelled the reformulation.
Sublime by Jean Kerleo for Jean Patou 1992
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, tangerine, coriander, green accords
Heart: Rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, neroli oil
Base: Vanilla, sandalwood, cedar, civet
Jean Patou gives these featured accords:
Envolée: Bergamote, Mandarine, Orange, Ylang Ylang
Plénitude: Rose, Jasmin, Muguet, Fleur d’Oranger
Sillage: Vanille de Madagascar, Ambre, Santal
So what flowers lurk in this bold concoction? Jasmine, rose, ylang, and neroli are the official heart notes, but I smell narcissus in there too, and I’m not alone. A commenter on Fragrantica mentions the narcissus note, although other commenters don’t. My overall impressions of this scent are warm, sweet, and yellow. Imagine a double daffodil opening in the morning sun, and you have some idea of the quality of this perfume. And like so many flowers in the Narcissus family, it can be a bit much at close range. Even on my perfume consuming skin, this one has to be sprayed with some caution, at least 30 minutes before I leave the house. However, the warnings that I see on fragrance boards here and there that this scent is “rank” and “civet-y” are, to my mind, not worth paying attention to. There is a touch of civet but it is subtle. Refined, even. The drydown is long, sweet, warm, and powdery.
Photo Stolen HPrints (Problem using image, get in touch please)
It was released in 1992, and in some ways partakes of the qualities of the 1980s bombs, toned down just a bit for the next decade’s sensibilities. But it remains lavish, and there is definitely a time and place for lavish.
Further reading: Non Blonde and I Smell Therefore I Am
FragranceNet has $66/50ml (old packaging)
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $6/ml
I’d love to hear about your experiences with the house of Patou, or tell me your favorite floral bomb.
FeralJasmine XXX