4 Sexy Paris Sillages: Perfumes that Say Follow Me, Fragrances that Say Remember Me {Fragrances of Paris} {Perfume Streetwear}
How best to report on sexy fragrances but as a form of up-to-the-minute account of what you encountered on the street when you were involuntarily pulled into the aura of seduction of a perfume?
The following are four perfumes that made me stop mentally and think about them while walking (or sitting) on an ordinary day, in an ordinary venue, realizing how infinitely seductive an atmosphere they could create. I did not halt and think "these fragrances are beautiful" or "What great taste!" but rather the perfumes seemed to have an uncanny ability to become part of the personality of the woman and prolong her presence, but also address itself to you.
The women who wore them were definitely enhanced by the scent they were wearing while creating an impression of mystery since what the perfume has to say, it expresses it without words.
Paris smelled and looked all the better for it.
Shalimar or Eros Unleashed
My epiphany came the other summer day smelling a trail of Shalimar left by a young woman who otherwise seemed to be completely lacking of any self-consciousness regarding her fragrance given her casual urban look and main occupation at the time: chatting with a group of friends, perhaps even holding a biker's helmet in her hand as I recall. But Shalimar, it has to be reasserted, is one of the great love fragrances of all time and a great erotic masterpiece. The vanilla and leather in it were designed to kill...
To see the young generation feeling comfortable wearing what could just as convincingly waft from the back of a courtesan in a silk kimono climbing up the stairs followed by a gentleman in 1920s Paris, is a testament to the versatility of this composition. Reflecting upon it, I think the young Parisian might have been wearing Shalimar Light which is just as seductive but in a fresher register. Of course the Extrait is really the way to go.
This fragrance definitely says Follow Me.
Paris by Yves Saint Laurent or Eternal Femininity
Then a second experience occurred when I came upon one of the best stereo skin renditions of Paris by Yves Saint Laurent I have ever smelled. It was a woman walking anonymously on a discreet side street in a provincial area of the capital. It must have been the new Paris Premières Roses as there was a more transparent quality to the instantly recognizable accord of Champagne and roses of Paris. Divinely sexy and feminine, with a marked suggestion of natural recreated human musk mingling with the eternal feminine flower, rose. Very charming.
This sillage said Remember Me even more than Follow Me. Its poetical eroticism left you with a hopeful pink-tinged vision of Paris while suggesting historical depth thanks to its slightly retro charm.
Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Extrême or Mystery Maintained
Despite the fact that Flowerbomb is popular and pretends to a lack of a sense of nuance by being bottled in a hand-grenade, it is also a floral fragrance, thus more suave than it seems. The perfume hits the nose at first with its heavy, sticky-sweet and milky notes but reveals hidden subtleties. It demonstrates that sweet notes can turn into honey traps rather than feel like you never outgrew the candy store.
The Extrême version seems to be the version of choice in Paris as I see the shelves constantly depleted of it. It's a mix of genres, a fragrance at once like a sexy-bonbon and one in the tradition of the seductive womanly sillage meant to left men panting behind you.
I had the opportunity to spend two hours or so smelling it in the dark on someone in a movie theater. It kept me almost as occupied as the movie.
It says Remember Me more than Follow Me because of its intimate tonality. It may actuallly be saying Come Lean In.
By Kilian Love = Des Filles à la Vanille Quelqu'un m'a Dit Je T'aime or Double Addiction
This orange blossom composition has an addictive quality to it. The eau de parfum plays out the theme of a candied orange blossom which never feels juvenile. It manages to draw on the combined power of sugar and sex thanks to a carnal bouquet made even more irresistible by its skinny dip in a bath of crystallized caramel.
The Filles à la Vanille is actually a dupe of By Kilian Love, but you might prefer it for its more marked woody sandalwood sensuality and lack of controversial facets, like the tropical rubber exhaust of Love. Also for its much more light-hearted price tag. Love By Kilian on the other hand is lusher, with an incensey drydown that the recreation lacks, is more qualitative and therefore more expensive. You can buy a refill if you just want to buy it for the jus though.
Encountered in the Métro one day, I just wanted to continue following its trail.
A Follow-Me scent is identified by its rapid awe effect. If you crave it long after it's gone, then it would also be a Remember-Me perfume.
