Blanc de Courrèges Courrèges 2012

Piquant red on top and woody underneath, this is built like a
fru-chouli. But the fru isn't fruity - it's leathery and pink pepper, and the chouli is not just patchouli - it's more like a pillow of sweet iris.
It opens up grey-red - like burgundy wine, and fades to a dim grey ochre. Despite the name, it never reaches white.
So, if it isn't a fruchouli, and it isn't white, what is it then? Hard to say. An experiment that didn't quite work?

Blanc de Courreges - White Perfume
Is that really the translation? When I see the bottle, read the name of the fragrance, and look at the ingredients, I would think it’s a fresh, cozy scent. It is described as floral-fresh. But the contents of the bottle convey something completely different. For me, it is a fruity rose scent. Initially delicate, like a white rose, and then becoming heavier like a blood-red, hot rose.
It reminds me of Snow White and Rose Red or of Aphrodite.

When Aphrodite - the goddess of love, beauty, and sensual desire - was created from sea foam, she was naked like any newborn. When she became aware of her nudity, the goddess tried to hide her nakedness behind a bush. Coincidentally, the plant was a rose bush with magnificent white flowers. Strengthened by this myth, pure, unadulterated love and youthful beauty are still associated with white roses today.
However, Aphrodite herself was not very strict about fidelity - thus, the symbolism of the white rose was expanded to include the red rose: Although Aphrodite was married, she maintained contact with numerous other men. One of them - the handsome Adonis - fell victim to a startled boar and bled to death in the arms of his divine lover. The dripping drops stained the flowers of the rose bush dedicated to her red, leading to red specimens representing the passionate side of love.

This is exactly how this scent is. Initially delicately fruity from the lychee juice and sparkling from the pink pepper. Sparkling, not sharp as pepper usually is. Then delicate like a bouquet of white roses, loosely tied with bright iris flowers. The stems bound with stripes of light woods, the ends rubbed in patchouli, light, without becoming too earthy or overwhelming. A hint of musk, as delicate and transparent as chiffon yet noticeable. And in the dry down, the transition from the white rose to the red rose. Fruity, rosy, blood-red and radiant. Slightly spicy, as if you were licking the break point of a chili with the tip of your tongue.
A successful rose scent. But not fresh, rather fruity and never cloyingly sweet!

Here it is now... A little glimpse into my past days...

When I was a little, lively girl, my dear mom had a lipstick from Avon in a bold, matte chimney red. She kept it in her wardrobe among her favorite things. For me, it was like a treasure hunt every time, as she also had great jewelry in the same spot, like those huge, bright clip-on earrings that were unavoidable for every woman in the 80s.
Whenever she was at work, I would put on her killer high heels and struggle my way to the wardrobe to sniff her lipstick. Those moments were the most beautiful for me back then..

Blanc de Courrèges starts powdery-rosy, the top note is very retro and "lipsticky," and for me personally, it is the ultimate time machine! Because suddenly my mom is in her early 30s and I am in preschool age - AND! - I am standing, with big almond-shaped eyes, in front of her wardrobe! For 2 minutes.

Very quickly (unfortunately) the powderiness recedes a bit and the floral notes push to the forefront.
Turkish rose, iris, and white musk create a strong and very long-lasting feel-good scent.

Unique.