Chypre Palatin Parfums MDCI 2012

My more than six-month abstinence from this forum had a whole range of reasons. One of them is that I am currently testing almost no fragrances anymore. I find myself in a phase where I enjoy the nearly 100 fragrances in my collection and, on this occasion, gently reduce the collection when I notice that I hardly wear a perfume.

Such a period of reflection is quite advisable (not so much for the perfumeries, perhaps not so much for this forum either), it takes some pressure off the kettle, grounds you, and creates clarity.

For me, one such newly gained clarity is that Duchaufour is a perfumer before whom I kneel as an artist (I find almost all of his fragrances incredibly fascinating, some I consider breathtaking, genius scent masterpieces, solid "tens"), but whom I do not enjoy wearing. Therefore, if I should ever fall into a rapturous fever while testing that creates a desire for possession: I will resist or perhaps only obtain a decant. With the firm knowledge that I won't even finish it, but will ultimately swap or gift it away.

Tycoon, Trayee, Jubilation XXV Man are examples of Duchaufour's fragrances that make me shudder, which I fortunately never bought. Timbuktu, Dzongka, and Rappelle-Toi are also fascinating but were not for me (I forced myself to use up my decant of Rappelle-Toi). I did buy Kyoto and Avignon and I do use them. But both very rarely.

Chypre Palatin fully belongs in this category. I was under the spell of this fragrance for years, circling around it..., and now I am saying goodbye to the rest of the decant in my swap box. It is a powerful, opulent scent on the edge of the Chypre genre, with hardly any of its lighter, playfully floral side, very precious, very golden, very majestic. A colleague, who has little knowledge of fragrances, was reminded of the classic "Opium" (women's version) from the 70s; at first, that seemed absurd to me, but upon closer reflection, this Chypre has something bell-bottomed-oriental about it, and the fragrance pyramids also show a few interesting similarities. There is no question that the performance of this fragrance in terms of longevity and projection is extraordinary. At this table, everything is done in a big way, not in a small way, and if this dish is too rich for someone (which is not far from the truth), they eventually wish it off the table but must keep feasting and indulging.

The name of the fragrance seems to me, here the Francophones may enlighten me, ambiguous. It probably does not mean "Palace Chypre," even if one intuitively thinks that as a half-educated French speaker like me, and even if it fits this almost baroque Chypre. I believe there are three possible interpretations: "Palatin Chypre" (after the hill in Rome), "Pfalz Chypre" (which can refer both to the region of origin of the Saumagen and more generally to an imperial palace), or "Palate Chypre," an intriguing interpretation for this tincture that certainly also lounges into the gourmand territory.