Vert Pivoine Histoires de Parfums 2006

Histoire des Parfums has always impressed me with the scents they create and I appreciate their effort of trying to let us take a glimpse at the epochs we have read about.
Yet, when it comes to reconstructing the scent of peonies, flowers that I love in my garden, the effort is lost.
Peonies have sort of bitter/sweet scent, deep and haunting .
The Vert Pivoine is sharp and cold and I was waiting for a more pleasant developpment after the first burst of ice-cold green scent, but it never arrived and , as Sherapop put it, one can find better compositions of peonies on the market.

As someone who finds most mainstream peony frags not only unpleasant but actually unwearable, I cannot claim to be surprised that VERT PIVOINE is my least favorite of the otherwise splendid offerings from the house of Histoires de Parfums. I had always thought that it was the aggressive, synthetic, blob-like, infinitely expanding rendition of peony used in the vast majority of less-expensive perfumes that made them unbearable to me. After wearing niche-quality VERT PIVOINE, I realize that the fact is that I simply do not like peony at all. VERT PIVOINE boasts a triple dose of the note, making it take three times longer to evaporate away. Désolée.

Although this perfume does not make me ill and is not a big-time scrubber—as many peony frags are for me—it will never find its way into my collection. If you love peony, you'll probably like this one, but it is unclear to me that it is significantly better than some of the many mass-market peony frags available everywhere you turn. There is a touch of rose here, but this really is a big fat peony frag, at the end of the day. Still, I don't want to claim that VERT PIVOINE is bad, for to do so would be equivalent to saying that Bassetts Allsorts are bad because they contain so much black licorice. In fact, they are great—provided that you love black licorice! And I do! But I digress...

(Peony) rose scents like rose soap can really be harsh. And I mean that quite literally. Many of these candidates (whether peony or rose, it doesn't matter here) are almost painful to the nose. They smell toxic-soapy, piercing, stale, sweet, not pleasant. So: harsh.

“Vert Pivoine” is a rose soap scent, but not in the classic sense; rather, it resembles handmade natural soap. Do you know those glycerin soaps made with natural essential oils (produced in small workshops or at home)? Those with colorful marbling and wild patterns, freshly cut from the soap block and sold by weight? They smell wonderful: super delicate, (rose) fragrant, almost edible. Quite different from classic, industrially produced rose soaps (no matter how high-priced they are).

Anyone who has a weakness for this kind of rose soap 2.0 should definitely take a whiff of “Vert Pivoine.” In my opinion, the perfume is a monothematic homage to handmade (peony) rose soap. It perfectly mimics that lovely scent-even in the same fragrance intensity and sillage. Unfortunately, also in longevity.

Thanks, Hasi-another hit!

...actually! You smell slightly of roses, you smell fresh and lightly sweet, you also contain my beloved vanilla and the beautiful sandalwood. And yet, you are not my type!

Such wonderful gourmands are presented to us by HdP, floral scents like Tubéreuse 3 and Tubéreuse 2. But I own more beautiful rose fragrances than this one. Much more beautiful.

Vert Pivoine does not smell green, because right from the start, a large bouquet of blooming peonies spreads out, sprinkled with a bit of rose water and lightly sweet. This note is very beautiful, but it does not last long.

What I can perceive next is a bit unsettling. It is still peony and also rose, but somehow faded and no longer so beautifully fragrant.

The base could actually be very nice, as it contains everything I need to snuggle up. There is the sandalwood, the vanilla, and musk - providing softness, light sweetness, and a gourmand note. The cedar adds a bit more strength and presence. But there it is again, the faded rose and peony.

Les Parfums de Rosine can do this 1000 times better. Therefore, I will stick with those and gladly forgo Vert Pivoine.