08/30/2020
Elysium
815 Reviews
Elysium
Very helpful Review
6
Take A Chance On Me
"That's all I ask of you, honey, take a chance on me." 1973 was the year that the World Trade Center in New York became the tallest building in the world, films such as The Exorcist, American Graffiti, and Jesus Christ Superstar showed in cinemas, the ABBA became more and more famous in all the radios. Lieutenant Colombo was on the TV in every house. But it was also the year in which they launch the revolutionary Charlie perfume for the first time. If you are a lover of floral, aldehyde, and chypre accords, old-school from the seventies, and more mature stuff, this perfume is for you. I remember my sister wearing it while I was more into Chaz.
Nowadays, the box is in a metallic blue color, while the bottle with an exact triangular shape to the original one is now a little spartan, ordinary, still crystal clear. The spray is excellent, even if the finish is not very accurate. Given its price, what matters is the perfume inside, which appears in a beautiful amber color like fine cognacs. The rating makes me think about an underrated fragrance, probably because it is a drugstore scent, and once was so omnipresent.
Back to the fragrance, Charlie is a bitter green-floral chypre, full of citrus, aldehydes, blossoms, and moss. And today, it's far better on a man than a woman, at least the batch I own. The opening is full and deep in aldehydes, and It reminds me of the Chanel n° 5 Première with those similar hints of fresh carrot juice. As soon as the sparkling molecules calm down, the more floral aspects blooms, it smells like many flowers. The aldehydes and some aromatic herbs give it a bright and somewhat green opening, with a slight licorice facet. It is a crisp snap of citrus, dazzling and a little dry, rounded out by a hint of white floral and an early bitter edge of oakmoss coming in the foreground.
After five minutes, the floral accord intensifies, reinforced by pure jasmine and gentle rose, all sandwiched between relics of citrus and a relaxed, mossy base. It's raw, it's green, it's fresh, a touch powdery might be a healthy shot of orris in there, and pleasant. Its radiant florals are more sporty than sexy, the geranium and carnation greening the fragrance even more. The middle stage is green floral, not sweet.
The base is all about creamy woods and animal musks. The blend of vanillic aroma and sandalwood is dominant, and together with the musk, it results in a manly juice. In its dry down, which I smell right now, having had it on my hand for about an hour, it smells something leathery and rubbery, and it has a faint chypre-like dry down, which makes sense because of its citrusy top note and mossy-woody base notes.
I think I like Charlie Blue. It smells like it's made of cheap materials, but the structure is reasonably well-balanced, and its powdery citrus and mossy profile is unisex, bordering on being downright masculine. Because of the reformulation, its ingredients have been devalued, but the composition is still compact, and each note plays its role well. While the whole bitter chypre trend may feel outmoded, Charlie is always a pleasure to touch and wear, and it's good that I don't smell it on many people. Although they declare it as an EDT, it performs as an EDP. It smells earthy, woody, warm, not overly sweet, so it is suitable for cool evenings and nights in autumn. For the price, it's worth a blind-buy and a few outings. I have heard that Red layered on Blue is very interesting. Definitely worth trying with such a great price!
This review bases upon a 100 ml (3.4 Fl. oz) I own since Aug 2020, made in Spain by BEAUTYGE SL.
-Elysium
Nowadays, the box is in a metallic blue color, while the bottle with an exact triangular shape to the original one is now a little spartan, ordinary, still crystal clear. The spray is excellent, even if the finish is not very accurate. Given its price, what matters is the perfume inside, which appears in a beautiful amber color like fine cognacs. The rating makes me think about an underrated fragrance, probably because it is a drugstore scent, and once was so omnipresent.
Back to the fragrance, Charlie is a bitter green-floral chypre, full of citrus, aldehydes, blossoms, and moss. And today, it's far better on a man than a woman, at least the batch I own. The opening is full and deep in aldehydes, and It reminds me of the Chanel n° 5 Première with those similar hints of fresh carrot juice. As soon as the sparkling molecules calm down, the more floral aspects blooms, it smells like many flowers. The aldehydes and some aromatic herbs give it a bright and somewhat green opening, with a slight licorice facet. It is a crisp snap of citrus, dazzling and a little dry, rounded out by a hint of white floral and an early bitter edge of oakmoss coming in the foreground.
After five minutes, the floral accord intensifies, reinforced by pure jasmine and gentle rose, all sandwiched between relics of citrus and a relaxed, mossy base. It's raw, it's green, it's fresh, a touch powdery might be a healthy shot of orris in there, and pleasant. Its radiant florals are more sporty than sexy, the geranium and carnation greening the fragrance even more. The middle stage is green floral, not sweet.
The base is all about creamy woods and animal musks. The blend of vanillic aroma and sandalwood is dominant, and together with the musk, it results in a manly juice. In its dry down, which I smell right now, having had it on my hand for about an hour, it smells something leathery and rubbery, and it has a faint chypre-like dry down, which makes sense because of its citrusy top note and mossy-woody base notes.
I think I like Charlie Blue. It smells like it's made of cheap materials, but the structure is reasonably well-balanced, and its powdery citrus and mossy profile is unisex, bordering on being downright masculine. Because of the reformulation, its ingredients have been devalued, but the composition is still compact, and each note plays its role well. While the whole bitter chypre trend may feel outmoded, Charlie is always a pleasure to touch and wear, and it's good that I don't smell it on many people. Although they declare it as an EDT, it performs as an EDP. It smells earthy, woody, warm, not overly sweet, so it is suitable for cool evenings and nights in autumn. For the price, it's worth a blind-buy and a few outings. I have heard that Red layered on Blue is very interesting. Definitely worth trying with such a great price!
This review bases upon a 100 ml (3.4 Fl. oz) I own since Aug 2020, made in Spain by BEAUTYGE SL.
-Elysium
1 Comment
Jazzy76
DorothyGrace
