Orchidée de Minuit by Chloé

In Galicia, when grandparents took food out of the pantry and one item was being opened for the first time, they’d say ‘Nena, colle, enceta o pan’. It’s a privilege to be the first to ‘encetar’ this fragrance, so I’ll be brutally honest. To start with: I absolutely love it. No ambiguity. I like it. Because although ‘experts’ talk about quality, originality and fantasy, in the end perfumery is subjective, a personal taste in a specific context and moment. What does it smell like? Broadly speaking, I recognise a thickened, sweet and deep syrup, with dark facets, but not like a disco concoction; rather, elegant and distinguished. Basically, it’s a sun-decanted orchid with pleasant flowers, drunk on sugar and macerated in rum. It’s a balanced and harmonious formula, nothing stands out, nothing overwhelms or irritates: it’s not too boozy, nor excessively oriental. This fragrance is like the Bhutan national football team: nobody knows them, they play in ‘high class’ tournaments with sportsmanship, without winning anything or standing out, but getting along with everyone. That orchid is recognisable like in other current works: as tasty as Van Cleef’s Orchidee Vanille, as sensual as CK’s early Euphoria, as iconic as Tom Ford’s Black Orchid, but tastier, snobbier and less adult. The only, huge drawback is its longevity and sillage. Oh dear… it’s terrible. Which doesn’t justify its price (approx. €125/50ml), as it lasts only 2-3 hours within a personal bubble. I own it because I’m obsessed, but it’s far too expensive to be a cologne with pretensions and an aura more fragile than my desire to go to work. I imagine it fits the ‘silent luxury’ line, but it’s so ‘silent’ that you don’t even notice it. In short, if you’re a gourmet and looking for something tasty, not too seen or overused, you’re in good hands. But if your aim is to make an impression, unless you have a privileged pH, change direction. Winter literally eats it up. Perhaps macerating it for months or waiting for the sun will change things. For now, it’s very short. That said, if you’re above good and evil and that doesn’t matter to you, you have exquisite taste, go ahead, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.