Just before Christmas, I checked into a cosmetically well-stocked pharmacy to take a look at the L'Occitane range for gift inspiration. And in the end, I got stuck at the Caudalie shelf.
A slender, tall, warm-colored bottle, rather boring, but with a heavy wooden cap, giving a tactile sense of quality, catches my eye: Parfum Divin. I test it expecting a floral-fresh, subtle scent that hardly has any sillage and doesn't last particularly long, just another... cosmetic line fragrance (oh, these prejudices..).
Surprisingly, a warm, lush wave spreads across my skin immediately. I was still under the spell of the delicate L'Occitanes from the adjacent shelf and unprepared for this attack. Friendly and floral, dense, lush, and velvety-warm, this wave rolls over my skin, enveloping me like a soft, peach-colored, golden-rosy skin. Vanilla is immediately present, providing a continuous sweet softness, while warm musk quickly and steadily intertwines with the lush, sweet fruits and flowers.
Throughout its duration, it remains quite linear; perhaps the scent "settles" a bit and merges more closely with the skin, but it doesn't change its character, and there are no surprising transformations compared to the initial impression. Everything feels like warm, sweet women's skin.
The floral aspect is dense, diffuse, and not particularly rosy in my perception, rather white-flowered (Frangipani perhaps..?), I hardly perceive any pepper, and there's no trace of grapefruit; instead, I am firmly convinced that there are still some peaches hiding here or a little bag of ripe mirabelles has been squeezed into the bottle. Overall, it's not overly opulent, and the scent is ageless; I can easily imagine a young woman or someone of a more mature age wearing it. It is not overly sophisticated and, despite its certain lushness, not overwhelming.
But one thing is clear about the woman who wears this scent: she is one hundred percent woman. She is a "Femme." There is not a hint of unisex, nothing androgynous, nothing sporty, nothing herbal. The woman who wears this fragrance has long, flowing, shiny hair, lush curves, full lips; she is a complete woman, warm, soft, and sensual, and also a bit motherly.
And since I already mentioned the mirabelles: this must have been the scent of the mirabelle girl, the first fragrance victim of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille: sweet, velvety-soft skin, plump, smooth forms, luxurious silky hair, and from her fingers (and perhaps from her sensual lips...?) drips the honey-sweet juice of the yellow fruit...
Yes, I know, I am shamelessly using a cliché here, but these images inevitably come to mind when I sniff Parfum Divin. As you can imagine, the sillage is good, and the longevity especially for a cosmetic line fragrance is quite impressive.
What a beautiful scent! Really beautiful. That's what comes to mind. But in terms of type, I find it quite narrowly defined; personally, it is not made for me, although the velvety warmth is very attractive and alluring.
However, if a woman is the right type, I can’t imagine a more seductive, beautiful, and erotic scent than Parfum Divin, and I strongly recommend giving it a try.
She is not a Femme Fatale; she is a Femme Totale.
Edit 1.3.15:
Yes, yes, that's what happens when you get hooked on your own comment -- now the scent is indeed mine, and maybe I will become a bit more of a complete woman when I wear it, who knows, who knows... ;-)