Ténéré Rabanne 1988 Eau de Toilette

Tenere opens with a blast of aromatic rosemary herb-laced lavender with supporting bergamot citrus, as some of the honeyed florals from the heart notes peek through early. As the fragrance enters its early heart the real stars of the show emerge in full force... Slightly powdery rose is wedded to indolic jasmine and earthy patchouli, giving it a bit of a dirty vibe. The starring floral accord joins co-starring sweet honey, giving them some weight while dulling their bite, as deep carnation and powdery orris root join the remaining aromatic lavender from the open in support. As the fragrance enters the late dry-down the patchouli and rose take over while joining amber from the base as the more powdery facets recede. Projection is excellent and longevity is absolutely outstanding at over 24 hours on skin.

Tenere is definitely not your typical male marketed fragrance... It is a floral powerhouse to the extreme and it it pulls no punches. The composition dulls some of the commonly perceived "feminine" nature of the floral accord by adding sweet honey for weight and an underlying herbal earthy bent derived from ingredients like rosemary and patchouli, but make no mistake that this is a floral powerhouse all the way. It is interesting that having now worn Tenere a few times and not immediately clicking with its presentation, I now find the composition is quickly growing on me. I felt just a tad uncomfortable wearing it at first, but that hesitancy quickly subsided and now find it easy to wear, while still not quite clicking with its overall style. The bottom line is the sadly discontinued but still relatively inexpensive Tenere deserves a lot of credit for breaking the typical perceived "uber masculine" powerhouse mold of the 80s, instead going a different more daring powerhouse direction and earning a "very good" rating of 3.5 stars out of 5. Recommended to 80s powerhouse and floral driven composition lovers alike.