A Lady Never Tells: Apercu by Houbigant

By Donna Sometimes – often, in fact – you just need a perfume that you can wear anywhere. Not too strong, yet with good lasting power. Not too sweet, but unmistakably feminine and elegant. Well-mannered and easy to live with, but not so popular that everyone else is wearing it too. You might call it your “Goldilocks” scent – it’s a perfect fit. I discovered just such a one recently in the form of Aperçu by Houbigant. I acquired my bottle of Eau de Parfum with some good luck in a prize draw. (Thank you, Sweet Diva!) I had read a couple of reviews of this fairly obscure perfume some time ago and I thought it sounded like something I would very much like to try. Lo and behold, soon I had the pretty round-shouldered bottle in my hot little hands. As soon as I tried it I knew I had found a winner. Aperçu opens with just a little burst of spice, which subsides fairly quickly, only to show up later in the drydown. It’s clove and cinnamon, two of my favorite accords. Oakmoss is immediately apparent to me, but it is restrained. Once the spice retreats the scent becomes a lovely floral chypre, eventually transforming to a distinctly woody drydown, smoothed by silken sandalwood. I did not really expect this somewhat dry style of scent from Houbigant; there is none of the clingy powder that is so often found in perfumes from this house. A gentle sweet freshness comes from behind the veil of lemon and bergamot. I knew I detected ylang-ylang, white flowers and neroli, but the presence of cassis was a pleasant surprise. This is one of the fruity notes that is always welcome for me. It gives the scent a round ripeness that is nonetheless slightly astringent. This fragrance is one of those balanced blends that I really like, no single note dominating and no “overdose” of any one ingredient to throw the composition out of whack. (It is not until it has been on the skin for an hour or more that the patchouli even appears to me, and even then it’s just a whisper. Many scents with patchouli in the base make it known right away.) I find myself pressing my nose to my arm frequently to partake of the lingering woods and moss, even many hours after application. I have been wearing this scent regularly and I have found that it is very well behaved even in the summer heat and humidity. The spice notes become a little more prominent when the temperature soars, but the overall effect is never sticky or sweet. I look forward to wearing it in the cooler weather to come when I hope it will reveal even more facets of its character. I hope that I have not given anyone the impression that Aperçu is ordinary, or even austere. Subtle and refined, yes, but sexy in its own way. More of a Greta Garbo than a Jean Harlow, but sexy nonetheless. It conjures up a woman who might wear a severely tailored suit – with lacy lingerie underneath. A woman who does not advertise her charms freely, but saves their expression for her private time. As the product of a somewhat Victorian upbringing, I can really appreciate the hidden power that this approach entails. Only one who knows this woman very well will ever be invited to visit her inner sanctum, only one who is worthy of her will ever have this privilege, and that is just exactly the way she wants it. I have my Fracas moments, to be sure, but for the most part I keep my light under a bushel, so to speak. When I am interested in someone romantically, I may not flaunt it openly, but when the time comes that I want that person to know I am interested, it will be made perfectly clear to him, but not necessarily everyone else in the world. I find that having a delicious little secret is just as sexy as “going public” with one’s amours. Aperçu appeals to me as a perfect scent for the woman with deep but quiet passions. Fragrance description, from FragranceX.com: Aperçu by Houbigant is based on a 'lost' recipe. Launched in 2000 it is a sophisticated scent of citrus and with rich florals. Top notes: bergamot, neroli, jasmine, tuberose, lemon, green leaf, heart: bois de rose, geranium, cinnamon bark oil, ylang-ylang. Base: vetiver, sandalwood, oakmoss, patchouli, clove, cassis. (This scent was first released in 1925 and re-formulated in 2000. I would so love to get my hands on a vintage bottle!) It is widely available from Internet discounters, but you are unlikely to find it in any stores except dedicated perfume boutiques. It should be more popular of course, but like so many releases without designer cachet or celebrity endorsement, it will never get the attention it deserves. Too bad – this one could go a long way toward dispelling the anti-perfume backlash. Just think about it; one day everyone magically shows up to work wearing something like this instead of whatever Froot- Loopy horror is currently in vogue. That’s never going to happen, but I can do my own part by wearing it whenever the occasion calls for it – which is pretty much anytime. Image credits: Aperçu bottle from FragranceX.com. Photo of actress Greta Garbo in 1924 from commons/wikimedia.org.