Perfume Review: Parfumerie Generale Tubereuse Couture

Recently I got to try Parfumerie Generale’s “private” scents, Bois de Copaiba, Cèdre Sandaraque, Corps et Ames, Querelle and Tubereuse Couture. I am going to review all five in the course of the coming weeks, starting today with Tubereuse Couture. Having been created originally for Parfumerie Generale’s Russian distributor in Moscow, the scent might join the main line in 2007; if it does, it will be number 17 in the collection. With notes of kalamanzi oil, green jasmine shoots, ylang-ylang, sugar cane, Indian tuberose, Sumatra benzoin and papyrus, Tubereuse Couture is a spellbinding and elegant potion, which portrays the creamy tuberose note on the mouthwatering background of green sweetness. The first accord sets the scene by juxtaposing the brisk citrusy fruitiness with the languid softness of ylang-ylang. The latter is apparent during the whole course of the scent’s development, enhancing the rich, velvety, enveloping effect of the tuberose. Little by little the tuberose note becomes more apparent, it gains momentum, grows stronger, headier…at times it is so rich, so thick, one feels that a knife would cut through the note like through yellow, yielding butter. I am not a fan of dewy and fresh tuberose; the kind of creamy denseness displayed in Tubereuse Couture is the quality I adore in tuberose scents. Being also a big fan of olfactory contrasts, I love the way the sugar cane note counteracts with tuberose, its fresh sweetness cutting through the floral opulence like that very knife. The drydown of Tubereuse Couture is balsamic and slightly powdery; not as intense as the rest of the scent, it has an almost comforting, cuddly quality. Tubereuse Couture, lavish as it is, is not a “carnal” tuberose; it does not have the come-hither, heady voluptuousness of Fracas or Carnal Flower. Its sensuality is indolent, not aggressive. The originality here does not stem from an initial borderline unpleasant accord encasing the beauty of tuberose in a striking, odd sort of frame, like in Tubereuse Criminelle. The couture, i.e. slightly bizarre, effect is achieved by pairing the star note with an almost-gourmand greenness of kalamanzi and sugar cane. Cuir Venenum and Aomassai are two other Pierre Guillaume creations, which feature the same unexpected “edible” feel in compositions that theoretically should have been anything but gourmand. The subtle, elegant strangeness of Tubereuse Couture is enchanting. If and when it becomes widely available, its bottle will join other Parfumerie Generale favorites in my collection. The image is from hawaiiflowersleis.com. Edited to add: thanks to the lovely J., we have been able to confirm that Tubereuse Couture is available as a part of a "discovery set" called Creation Privee No 47 at Parfumerie Generale online store, the set consists of five 7ml sprays (Bois de Copaiba, Cèdre Sandaraque, Corps et Ames, Querelle and Tubereuse Couture) and costs €52.00.