Dans Tes Bras Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle 2008
6
Helpful Review
Cold Embrace
The most abstract, misunderstood, and perhaps demanding perfume from the house. It feels like a blank canvas on which the individual can draw his/her interpretation of the scent. For the most part, opinions are divisive on whether "In Your Arms" evokes a warm or rather a cold embrace. I stand with the latter. If this perfume intends to evoke the feeling of being hugged, it is a sad hug. I can draw a parallel to another aloof woody-floral perfume composed by Roucel, as poetic as Dans Tes Bras, and I'm speaking, of course, about Iris Silver Mist. They share quite a few elements: the cold air, the cloves, and the woody-incense-infused base.
The first time I smelled it, I pictured this: taking a stroll through a pine forest in early Autumn during a foggy and chilly early morning, wearing a cashmere sweater that has been recently washed and ironed, still smelling of violet and heliotrope fabric softener. That's precisely what Dans Tes Bras evoked in me - a somehow sad/melancholic walk through a forest. The only warmth came from the sweater dressing you. I also get the sandalwood and the incense in the dry-down, the latter only amplifying the austerity. That being said, I absolutely love this perfume and see it as a true work of art. It is such a conceptual smell that will smell different to each person. If I force myself, I can see other angles of it, but the overall feeling of aloofness never goes away.
The opening is the weirdest part as it greets you with a prominent pine accord, a mineral and flint-like smell, and something that I'd address as salty mushrooms in the sense that it feels somehow "meaty." Later, I get the violet and the heliotrope, but the way these floral accords feel is like smelling them through a glass. Or imagine the flowers made of crystals, shuttering once you clasp them in your hands. Yes, I get this ever-present flint-like, mineral, and crystalline quality with the fragrance that comes from the cashmeran. The latter is the major player in the composition, while everything else is either pasted on top or is a direct facet. I believe that the pine accord is also imparted by this molecule, together with the flint-like smell, the mineral quality, and the saltiness. The clove is used to accentuate the cold sensation, and the incense in the base perpetuates the feeling of detachment. The white musk and the sandalwood help to push everything up and add some fluff and creaminess, but overall, the perfume doesn't stray into the warm territory for me.
I find this piece a genuine work of an expert from the man who gave us so many worth remembering compositions over the decades. And then Lauder forced Uncut Gem upon him, poor Maurice. I want to remember him for works like Musc Ravageur, Iris Silver Mist, and this "Cold Embrace" in Dans Tes Bras.
IG:@memory.of.scents
The first time I smelled it, I pictured this: taking a stroll through a pine forest in early Autumn during a foggy and chilly early morning, wearing a cashmere sweater that has been recently washed and ironed, still smelling of violet and heliotrope fabric softener. That's precisely what Dans Tes Bras evoked in me - a somehow sad/melancholic walk through a forest. The only warmth came from the sweater dressing you. I also get the sandalwood and the incense in the dry-down, the latter only amplifying the austerity. That being said, I absolutely love this perfume and see it as a true work of art. It is such a conceptual smell that will smell different to each person. If I force myself, I can see other angles of it, but the overall feeling of aloofness never goes away.
The opening is the weirdest part as it greets you with a prominent pine accord, a mineral and flint-like smell, and something that I'd address as salty mushrooms in the sense that it feels somehow "meaty." Later, I get the violet and the heliotrope, but the way these floral accords feel is like smelling them through a glass. Or imagine the flowers made of crystals, shuttering once you clasp them in your hands. Yes, I get this ever-present flint-like, mineral, and crystalline quality with the fragrance that comes from the cashmeran. The latter is the major player in the composition, while everything else is either pasted on top or is a direct facet. I believe that the pine accord is also imparted by this molecule, together with the flint-like smell, the mineral quality, and the saltiness. The clove is used to accentuate the cold sensation, and the incense in the base perpetuates the feeling of detachment. The white musk and the sandalwood help to push everything up and add some fluff and creaminess, but overall, the perfume doesn't stray into the warm territory for me.
I find this piece a genuine work of an expert from the man who gave us so many worth remembering compositions over the decades. And then Lauder forced Uncut Gem upon him, poor Maurice. I want to remember him for works like Musc Ravageur, Iris Silver Mist, and this "Cold Embrace" in Dans Tes Bras.
IG:@memory.of.scents