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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Caron L'Anarchiste: Perfume Review

There are various versions of notes for Caron L'Anarchiste; most insist that it contains orange blossom and mandarin, Luca Turin calls it apple-lavender. Midtown Perfume states that the scent contains pear and basil, and that, to me, seems the closest to what I sense in L'Anarchiste. The way the fragrance begins, with that minty freshness of an unripe pear paired with the hints of de riguer floral-herbal cleanliness of lavender, one can't help but feel that the dainty juice won't fill the very big shoes of the name. "Iced" fruits do not anarchy create.

As the composition progresses, however, and the herbal greenness of basil and rosemary and the earthy verdancy of vetiver become apparent, the blend becomes significantly more interesting. It matures, acquires an edge and a raw sort of depth. There is a certain, strangely attaractive cold abrasiveness in the woody accord of cypress and cedar; the dry, stark woods pose an appealing contrast to the sparkly fruitiness of pear. It is when the fruits are placed on that resinous background that it becomes possible to place them in a sort of...dare I even say it... "nihilistic" context. The fathers might have never dared to wear anything not obviously masculine, but the sons are unafraid to spray themselves with pears and apples. And no, hard as you try, it is impossible to stretch the playfully unruly message of the perfume so fas as to say that it evokes Bakunin. An anarchist it is not. It is an adorable rebellous middle child at most. But that is a whole lot adorable.

Available at all sorts of online retailers, fairly inexpensively.

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16 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, wouldn't you love to see truth in perfume names for just 24 hours? "Adorable Rebellious Middle Child" for L'Anarchiste, "Cuddlebunny" for Lauren's Rebellious, "Divine Hamster Cage" for Feminite du Bois, "Never-Found-In-Nature" for Cool Water, etc.. Wouldn't it be fun??
Best,
Marla

1:20 AM EDT  
Blogger elle said...

I am absolutely going to have to go find my sample of this "adorable rebellious middle child" this morning. How could I possibly resist something described like that? :-)

6:21 AM EDT  
Blogger Unknown said...

ah...reading you,after coming in from the intolerable heat, setting the air conditioner...how wonderfully written

7:55 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Marla, yours is a great idea! Give us more ("Never Found in Nature", heh heh heh. . .)
-- Gretchen

12:10 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

I know they smell absolutely nothing alike, but this one is the one that popped to mind when I was thinking of something in the $30 range online that steals the latest Malle,s Lunch money.

1:12 PM EDT  
Anonymous Flora said...

I love this stuff, and I would be happy to wear it myself anytime.

Marla, I like the way you think!
:-D

Tom, I could think of many men's scents that this would eclipse.

4:21 PM EDT  
Anonymous PhinClio said...

I've had the oddest experience with L'Anarchiste. I bought it blind for next to nothing a few months ago (I already had 3rd Man and Yatagan, both of which I love). And the first three or four times I wore it, I just didn't get it. Seemed pleasant enough if a bit loud. Warm weather came and I put it away, in large measure because it felt like a cooler weather scent to me. But then I kept reading people on BN talking about it as a warm weather frag, so I recently tried it on a really hot day. Much, much better. A very pleasant surprise, if still only my 3rd favorite among my thre Carons.

9:31 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Marla,
Hilarious! How about a whole post dedicate to true names? :-)

12:04 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

L,
I think it's irresistible :-)

12:04 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Fabiana,
Lovely to see your comment! I think this should be cooling in the heat too.

12:05 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Gretchen,
I second!

12:05 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Tom,
I've to drag my lazy self to Barney's to sniff the new Fm...

12:05 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Donna,
Me too, I'd wear it with much pleasure.

12:06 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

PhinClio,
Interesting! I imagine it might possibly be a little on a too cool side in cold weather.

12:07 AM EDT  
Blogger NewKidOnTheBlog said...

Firstly, thanks to PhinClio for reminding me that I am in the mood to revert back to Yatagan yet again.

Secondly, while reasonably priced, I would not expect to find this rebel in the supermarket ... hey speaking of anarchy in the supermarket ...

(shameless plug alert)...

Mr. C. FINALLY posted a new rant to his blog :-)

www.deliverrants.blogspot.com

1:44 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Hey, no shilling! :-)

1:50 PM EDT  

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