The Retro-Celebrities of Les Cocottes de Paris

by: Serguey Borisov

The new collection of fragrances Les Cocottes de Paris was launched by Anaïs Biguine, previously known by her Jardins d’Ecrivains collection of fragrances and aromatic candles devoted to literature. I'll leave to you the decision of how big the gap is between writers and cocottes (not so great: Jardins d'Ecrivains Gigi was dedicated to the story of a courtesan; Dumas, Zola, Balzac and de Maupassant wrote about courtesans a lot). You'll decide how broad are the views of Anais—who managed to be inspired by the beauty of both words and female beauty images remaining in the photographs, novels, songs, films and operas. I'll stick to only a description of the Les Cocottes de Paris fragrances.

So, the collection of Les Cocottes de Paris.

Take photos of three beautiful women from Kolomna, Adelaide and Cape Town and try to create a more or less solid perfume image out of that. Something goes wrong, doesn't it?

Yes, we are the victims of stereotypes, after all. The homeland of cosmetics and perfumes—Paris, France. At one time some people tried to stretch this stereotype a little wider with the help of "Paris Milano New York" and "Paris London Geneva" and even "Paris Moscow" combinations, and some brands from Milan, London and New York gained some fame out of that. The beautiful actresses, singers and dancers traveled across Europe in search of easy money in the 19th century and some of them were lucky, with money and good marriages. However, the history of each beautiful woman was very personal and too complicated to be described in three words.

La Castiglione

The wormwood bitterness, reminiscent of unlit cigars, promises a long, quiet evening. And then the woody sweetness of patchouli with the sweetness and poignancy of cinnamon—a beautiful lady enters and take her seat in a prominent center place. All eyes are on her, while she is not looking at anyone. Some cognac has been brought already, and a nutty sweetness of desserts recalls marzipan in chocolate. The lady was silent. Flavored tobacco in a leather pouch and wood shavings. Like, we will not smoke until the lady herself would like to smoke. We'd rather sniff. Then the lady starts to smoke, to everyone's amusement, but keeps her silence. Then again, the smoke has a sweet, balsamic, harmless character. A very light shade of smoky black Cade oil (prepared by pyrolysis of juniper wood) accompanies patchouli—that's where the dark leather shade appears. A bit of incense appears in the dry woody ambery drydown. And the lady keeps her silence.

The perfume belongs to the woody oriental family. However, it's far from the depth and richness of the real Arabian Nights numbered a thousand and one. It does not reach the depth of Amouage, for example.

It seems that the fragrance tells the story of the Countess de Castiglione after her beauty was already gone. After her divorce from her husband and after her son's death. She already has helped the unification of Italy, being the official mistress of Napoleon III; she already persuaded Bismarck to not occupy Paris. And then she was forgotten by her grand lovers. The perfume could be linked with the time when the Countess began to hide from the daylight behind blackout curtains, started to wear black only, went out only at nights and was repeatedly photographed in black, trying to return and capture images of  her youth, or wanting to stay in the memory. A silent, quiet, mysterious, melting perfume that is even a little bit sad. It's definitely not Italian by its character.

Head Notes: Absinthe, Citron;
Heart notes: Copahu balm, Liquorice, Cade, Patchouli;
Base notes: Ambergris, Myrrh, Styrax.

La Belle Otero

Oh, this lovely freshness, purity and youth, that denies any of the numerous evil rumors about itself! We cannot believe it! The transparent green accord is fresh and innocent, just a little bit of black pepper spice was sprinkled into sweet green figs. Fig leaves, noble neroli and the rustic simplicity of lavender made the fountain of youth so fresh, and gently (but too quickly, in my opinion) brings us to the main point of perfume, namely violets. Besides fresh green violet leaves, violet ionones' warmth and the purity of iris we could distinguish the slightest woody phenolic animal shade.

I am terribly sorry, but there's no narcissus note for my nose and its beautiful animal-flowery-green powdery languor is lost in translation. As you may have noticed, violets are returning to perfume fashion this year, as well as a century ago (although, then the popularity of violet perfumes kept longer than a year—there is historical evidence of the enduring popularity of violet aromas for the second half of the 19th century! Is it just a coincidence that courtesans were so popular in Europe in this period?). Good white musks and sandalwood notes (Javanol) of distant sillage—all the rustlings are about cleanliness and purity.

All of my expectations about the spicy nature of the perfume (Chaleur Gitane Paul Emilien as a great example of a Gypsy perfume) were in vain. Clear eyes, a perfect marble-like body and a Folies Bergère Paris star's smile. Nothing hints at her Spanish origin or the sexual availability of a dancer. The perfume clearly conveys a lively La Belle Otero character and freshness—and hides all that should be hidden totally.

Top notes : Neroli, Black pepper, Absynth, Fig, Ginger;
Heart notes: Violet, Musk, Buchu, Lavender, Narcissus;
Base notes : Olibanum, Sandalwood, Iris.

Melle Cleo

Yet another perfume that does not fit in my mind with the photos, that of Cleo de Merode, the most beautiful woman of the world in 1896. I have not seen her in real life, but her image was preserved thanks to the numerous photos and rare footage. In the photos, she's the mysterious beauty, diverting her eyes modestly to the side or downcast as if she feels a thousands eyes (and taking into account her photo cards' circulation and online Pinterest, Instagram and other picture resources, she has been seen by hundreds of millions).

In the perfume devoted to her we could smell the only humble element of berry-like rose. Then Melle Cleo performs Sweet and Lowdown, a sweet and spicy exotic floral bouquet with jasmine-like, gardenia-like, and rose-like flowers, and even with over-ripe bananas. It has a slightly pungent unknown accent that constantly eludes naming. It resists any identification. I failed to name it, as it stays between dried fruits and plastic. Woody musky silent sillage is much more suited to Cléo de Mérode's modest beauty.

Top notes: Rosewood, Bergamot, Litchi;
 Heart notes: Belle de Nuit, Ylang-ylang, Rose;
 Base notes: Cotton flowers, Lichen.

Les Cocottes de Paris collection is perfect for tourists. It fits perfectly into the range of three-day Parisian tour souvenirs. A bottle of wine or brandy, check. A set of French cheeses, check. Chocolate or macarons, check. A scarf or a handbag, check. Perfume resembling Parisian history, check. The collection needs to be developed soon as there are so many stars of the late 19th century and early 20th centuries who are left out of perfumes, such as Blanche d'Antigny, Lina Cavallieri, Emily d'Alencon, Liane de Pougy, Princess de Caraman-Shimay, Lola Montez, and many other beauties with turbulent biographies, former sources of gossips, rumors and scandalous news in the newspapers of their time. And while the beauties of the past look no worse than modern fragrance celebrities as Paris Hilton or Christina Aguilera, they do not bore us so much.