La Perla (1987)

by: Dr. Marlen Elliot Harrison

This is another in a series of fragrance reviews that asks, “How does fragrance transcend gender?”

Hello and welcome to “Gender Bender”, an exploration of aroma, gender and scented freedom. Though by no means do I personally prescribe to fragrance having a gender, sociocultural stereotypes about masculinity and femininity often prevail at the fragrance counters and are viewed as important distinctions for many fragrance fans. Join me as I explore some of my favorite 20th century masterpieces of perfumery in my quest to challenge marketing rhetoric and address the question, “How does fragrance transcend gender?”

Summary:The first fragrance from Italian lingerie house La Perla is a patchouli-focused, floral-chypre that follows the herbal-mossy trends of the 80’s.Now reformulated, the current EDT ca 2015 tones down the floral midnotes and amps up the citrus and resins allowing for comparisons to traditional “men’s” fragrances in the same genre.

Perfumer: N/A, please tell us in a comment below if you know.

Try this if you like:  Patchouli, citrus, suede, incense, honey, hints of rose. Reminds me of: Paloma Picasso,  Givenchy Gentleman, Azarro Acteur,  Magie Noire, Aramis (La Perla could be a summer version), Pavarotti for Men (yes, the opera singer), Estée Lauder Knowing, Cabochard.

Pros & Cons: La Perla’s first fragrance has a loyal following precisely because of its quieter demeanor than many of its similarly themed predecessors (Picasso, Fendi, Sisley Eau de Soir); however, this seeming simplicity, especially in the current EDT and according to Fragrantica fans, is somewhat of a disappointment at present as La Perla seems to have lost some of its depth. With a sleek, simple bottle, noticeable sillage (especially in the first two hours), and affordable price tag, La Perla is a fun scent to experiment with despite the disappointing longevity (I imagine the EDP has a bit more to offer).

Though many women might cry foul at the thought of an Italian lingerie scent crossing gender boundaries (and remember, I don’t believe in boundaries), the scent is completely at odds with current “women’s” trends in fragrance and more appropriately, an almost guaranteed success for patchouli lovers of either gender. In other words, one has to really like green, mossy, earthy aromas to even attempt to appreciate La Perla – my other half immediately balked at this, and he is a confessed patch hater.

Notes: “Lemon and bergamot, coriander and cardamom create the top. The heart is floral and sweet: rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang and iris with a hint of honey and pepper. The base is made of trees and resins: patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood and benzoin.”Fragrantica.com

Designer’s Description: NA

Number of times tested: 5+ over the last 2 weeks.

Number of sprays applied for this review: 1 spray to the back of hand from a new EDT bottle I purchasedonline at a discount site (vertical, frosted bottle with the black plastic cap).

Fragrance strength: Eau de Toilette

Development: (Linear / Average / Complex): La Perla EDT offers an interesting journey opening with a zing of citrus and cardamom. Immediately the patchouli and moss assert themselves but not quote as dryly as in other scents; the honey and benzoin soften the sharp edges as the floral midnotes, with ylang and rose being most noticeable, act as a bridge to the lower vetiver and sandalwood notes. Though not listed, I sense suede throughout, perhaps a result of the blending of the other notes.

Longevity: (Short / Average / Long-lasting) The current La Perla EDT stuck around for about 2-3 hours, perceptible only as a skin scent for another 2-3 hours afterwards.

Sillage: (A Little / Average / A Lot) Though La Perla EDT isn’t exactly shy upon application, it does relax rather quickly. I could definitely sense it during the first 1-2 hours, but had to sniff my arm to check its presence thereafter. I think this one might be office safe as it develops and relaxes.

Note about the packaging: La Perla is not currently listed on the company’s American website so I’m not totally sure about distribution and current bottles. Mine is an elliptical, translucent, frosted glass bottle with black plastic cap that arrived in a simple black and tan paper box.

Where can I buy it? Found online for as little as $30 USD for an 80ml tester.

The Bottom Line: I have an interesting history with La Perla as 1995’s “io” was one of the first scents I launched as a “fragrance model”, or line representative; it was almost exactly 20 years ago this week when I first started working in the fragrance industry at Neiman Marcus and Saks 5th Avenue. Though io was not a favorite from the line, I did eventually fall in love with the herbal-lavender-leather of 1991’sGrigioperla (for men; sadly ruined by reformulation) and 2000’s cinnamon-themed Grigioperla Touch;I still wear 2000’s gourmand Eclix and its similarly gourmand 2002 follow-up, Creation; and I have deep love for La Perla’s 1997 follow up, and completely different, La Perla Prive (an unusually sparkling, osmanthus and freesia focusedcitrus-floral). All of this to say that it seems strange it took me 20 years to experience the first scent that started it all, the eponymous La Perla. I think its association with Picasso (heck the bottles are practically the same shape though differently designed), and my strong aversion to Picasso due to a very negative association, kept me away. Moreover, I am not a chypre fan by any means; usually avoid notes like vetiver and oakmoss; find honey to be difficult to enjoy; and rose is one of my least favorite florals. Basically, La Perla should spell disaster. Funny, it was instant love. I’m a big patchouli fan, especially when used in classic oriental compositions that pair the green root with vanilla, amber or sweet resins. And La Perla, to me, is basically a citric, honeyed patchouli bomb with some floral and woody accents. I was immediately reminded of Givenchy’s 1974 classic, Gentleman, and its sniffalikes such as Giorgio of Beverly Hills for Men. To some extent, La Perla also recalls the general aura of the drydowns from early Aramis offerings such as Aramis 900. In other words, La Perla feels like wearing a modern, updated, sleeker version of some of the classic men’s scents of the 70’s, scents which had a great influence on women’s chypres of the 80’s; Lauder’s Knowing definitely comes to mind though La Perla is simpler, lighter, and far less green. I love the freshness of La Perla’stopnotes; the cardamom, coriander and lemon provide a distinctive lift while the florals, especially the rose accents, never feel fussy or dated. Those who enjoy scents like Azzaro’s Acteur will be pleasantly surprised; women who haven’t tried Acteur might want to seek it out – check out my bargain fragrance reviews here at Fragrantica by using the “search articles” function at top. The patchouli in La Perla is well-tempered, sweetened and not as dry and dirty as some might fear. And though I enjoy a dirty patch note from time to time, I find La Perla rather easy to wear. At first sniff I had worried that La Perla was going to be a scrubber, but the masterful blending of herbaceous greens with resins such as benzoin keeps the scent moving in a rather more contemporary direction. I’m so pleased I finally took the plunge with this one and that another blind buy hadn’t turned out disastrous, lol. I found my 50ml EDT bottle from a well-known Ebay seller for $18 US. Now onto the EDP strength of La Perla…and what was this body silk version I keep seeing?