Cuir de Gardenia Aftelier 2013 Solid Perfume

Uncommented Scents No. 24

For weeks, a ghost has been haunting international blogs: Aftelier's Cuir Gardenia. The fragrance is celebrated in American and some European perfume blogs as the pinnacle of the 2013 releases. No other scent has been highlighted and praised as frequently in my research.

Now, this doesn't necessarily mean much. Objectively speaking, bloggers are just people, copying from one another, following trends and hysteria, and getting infected with the fever of the latest seemingly ultimate fragrance like a contagion.

But the readers of blogs are also just people and become curious when a scent is frequently counted among the best new releases on the market of unlimited fragrance possibilities. Moreover, the combination of leather and gardenia seemed so appealing and new to me that I was quite inclined to follow this lead. Additionally, Aftelier (the fragrance label of Mandy Aftel) is thoroughly likable, consistently focusing on the production of scents from natural ingredients in their workshop (the sense and nonsense of such an endeavor can certainly be debated), and they also have a charmingly homemade, albeit by no means unprofessional, online presence, where one can order the fragrances directly from America, albeit at steep prices.

So, I decided to order two samples of Cuir Gardenia (Solid Perfume and Extrait / Liquid Perfume), along with samples of some Aftelier fragrances that had piqued my interest here on Parfumo (Shiso, Fig, Cepes & Tuberose).

I am indeed very taken with all of Aftelier's offerings. In my view, there are no failures; on the contrary, they are character fragrances with a very individual expression that will likely appeal to only a few, but they have their own unique charm. For those generally interested: On Aftelier's homepage, there is a dedicated section "Samples," through which one can order samples of the desired fragrances directly to their home.

Cuir Gardenia is a traditional European scent from the perspective of an American perfumer, a modern fragrance from the viewpoint of post-postmodernity, a scent from the era of metamorphoses of our time, looking back. This does not feel wrong or forced at all, but rather is composed with confidence and idiosyncrasy, so idiosyncratic that the fragrance will likely only be worn by a few, despite the current hype in relevant blogs.

It seems to me to be fitting for the Roaring Twenties, a "modern" scent viewed through the lens of the 1920s, or in other words: a post-postmodern reference to the modernity of the 20s: jazz, women with flapper haircuts, roaring parties, F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," decadence, champagne, clubs. Those who are put off by this from today's sober perspective might be better served with Anat Fritz's scent Tzor'a, or fragrances from Comme des Garçons or Etat Libre d'Orange, to define a counterpoint.
I actually hold all these brands in high regard, but I can also be enthusiastic about Cuir Gardenia.

Cuir Gardenia is, and I want to emphasize this with reference to the Roaring Twenties, a scent that is modern in its own way because it has the courage to invoke and reinterpret another era: the weight of conservative leather as in Ten by Knize (1925), enchanting gardenia and jasmine as in Zibeline by Weil (1927) or Gardénia by Chanel (1925). All of these, by the way, are original fragrances from the Roaring Twenties.

From the perspective of the advanced 21st century, the 1920s (specifically from the mid-20s) seem almost progressive: a time after the restorative phase that culminated in World War I, a time before the age of fascism that ended with World War II. Sandwiched between these two beacons of world history, the 20s represent a breakthrough (the beginning of women's emancipation), contradictory and questionable experiments (exploring decadence, drugs), innovative films (including F.W. Murnau), and the emergence of a new music that was perceived as wild at the time (especially jazz), which shaped the entertainment culture like hardly any art form before.
The fragrance deconstructs these impressions and presents them like a kaleidoscope in a new, beautiful form. It deserves a certain respect for this, even if the appearance of novelty is only limited compared to the aforementioned fragrances.

Nevertheless, the combination of leather and gardenia is still original, quite rare in fact, especially among unisex fragrances, none of which are listed in the database as more well-known representatives that dare to make this combination. Among women's fragrances, the classics Bandit by Robert Piguet and Jolie Madame by Balmain stand out, while among men's fragrances, Aramis Classic or Halston Z-14 catch the eye.

All of the mentioned fragrances have become legends, whether one likes them or not. Whether Cuir Gardenia can achieve this remains to be seen, especially since Aftelier, as a small manufacturer, will hardly have the charisma of the aforementioned fragrance houses.

At least it's a charming attempt on a sidetrack, which in this way also brings the circle back: to the innovative fragrance houses Comme des Garçons, Etat Libre d'Orange, or perfumers like Geza Schön, who deserve praise for their courage to venture concepts far outside the mainstream.