Wrappings Clinique 1990

Thanks to Lile2007, I can today revive an old love, or at least remember it. Wrappings was also a scent that didn’t appeal to everyone. You really need to have a bit of callus on your scent soul to feel comfortable with it; Wrappings is definitely a bit rough and unruly, at least during the first encounter.

Herbaceous notes sound somewhat inelegant, so let’s rather call it herbs; that way the associations are at least “healthy” and “natural.” Although I have no idea if any truly natural essences were used here. But that doesn’t really concern us otherwise. Which herbs besides Artemisia, or mugwort, are used here, I can only guess, but I fancy I detect a hint of nutmeg and not just the flower, along with a bit of cumin. The top note of Wrappings is spicy-green and really somewhat aldehydic, concealing its true face, which only reveals itself once this extraordinary opening settles a bit. Mind you, it settles, because it won’t completely dissipate throughout the entire course of the fragrance. The green-bitter-spicy note runs like a red thread through the scent.
However, Wrappings becomes more conciliatory in the heart note, which is quite conventionally serious-floral, soft, and rounded. But that was just an intermezzo, as the base really takes it up a notch. Here, there’s a lot that makes the heart of a Chypre fan beat faster. Deep black leather paired with mossy notes, dark patchouli, and the bitter-woody cedar-there’s something special about that.

That Wrappings is no longer available today, I can almost understand, as it really isn’t a mainstream scent. Although Aromatics Elixir has survived, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea either, Wrappings is still a whole lot more extraordinary. I find it beautiful, but most of the old hands at Parfumo will also know that this is not a standard.