SheDevil
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SheDevil
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Childhood memory of the unpleasant kind
"A fragrance must evoke the best moments of life" is an immortal quote by the now deceased fashion star Karl Lagerfeld. Unfortunately, fragrances also have the power to evoke memories that one would actually like to bury forever.
To preface: this is my first commentary on a perfume, and it will be one of the critical and very personal variety. Since I know that "Baccarat Rouge 540" has many lovers and followers, and also since my view of the perfume is extremely subjective, I will refrain from rating the fragrance. Nevertheless, I would like to share with you my opinion and associations with the fragrance.
It's the early nineties. I have just been brought to Germany by a German couple from the Romanian orphanage where I spent the first 1 1/2 years of my life. I am very small, pale, slightly malnourished and have not spoken a word. I will not be able to remember all this later (fortunately) - but I will remember what follows.
Since the Romania of the nineties is characterized by poverty due to unrest after the fall of the dictator Nikolai Ceausescu, the hygienic conditions and medical care in the orphanage where I was housed for a long time were unfortunately not optimal. That's why I'm still constantly ill for many years after my arrival in Germany - I have problems with my respiratory tract and digestion and have to spend a lot of time in hospital in Germany because of this.
Because of my constant respiratory problems, my tonsils are also removed - and since the wound in my throat strangely always tears open again, I am operated on three more times in this place within the next few months. After each operation I wake up and am terribly thirsty- but know that I am not allowed to drink or speak.
What I also remember from this unpleasant time is the smell of disinfectant and the tincture of iodine that I am rubbed with before some surgeries- a sweet, medicinal smell that I associate with pain and sadness that I am not (yet) allowed home to my parents.
All these memories came back in one fell swoop when I sniffed the bottling of " Baccarat Rouge 540", which I had just purchased cheaply from a very nice Parfumo. At first I didn't know what I was smelling, but then images of my long ago hospital stays rose up in my mind - disinfectant! Tincture of iodine! That's exactly what this perfume smelled like! How could no one but me perceive that?
After reading through some of the comments, I realized that quite a few people do perceive it that way- for half of the reviewers, Baccarat Rouge smells like luxury, cotton candy, or something equally nice- for the other half, unfortunately, it smells like a doctor's appointment.
Personally, I could imagine that it is the saffron contained in the fragrance pyramid, which provides for the "medical" smell of the perfume, but am unsure.
On a positive note, the scent lasts an incredibly long time on the skin, which is a clear advantage for lovers of perfume - I have this fragrance since yesterday still in the nose, and even though I have showered and scrubbed off vigorously!
I hope I haven't upset anyone with this comment, because that is definitely not my intention. However, I would advise any perfumo against a blind buy of this perfume- rather test a bottling beforehand to find out what you associate the very special scent of Baccarat Rouge with. I am in any case glad to have done it.
To preface: this is my first commentary on a perfume, and it will be one of the critical and very personal variety. Since I know that "Baccarat Rouge 540" has many lovers and followers, and also since my view of the perfume is extremely subjective, I will refrain from rating the fragrance. Nevertheless, I would like to share with you my opinion and associations with the fragrance.
It's the early nineties. I have just been brought to Germany by a German couple from the Romanian orphanage where I spent the first 1 1/2 years of my life. I am very small, pale, slightly malnourished and have not spoken a word. I will not be able to remember all this later (fortunately) - but I will remember what follows.
Since the Romania of the nineties is characterized by poverty due to unrest after the fall of the dictator Nikolai Ceausescu, the hygienic conditions and medical care in the orphanage where I was housed for a long time were unfortunately not optimal. That's why I'm still constantly ill for many years after my arrival in Germany - I have problems with my respiratory tract and digestion and have to spend a lot of time in hospital in Germany because of this.
Because of my constant respiratory problems, my tonsils are also removed - and since the wound in my throat strangely always tears open again, I am operated on three more times in this place within the next few months. After each operation I wake up and am terribly thirsty- but know that I am not allowed to drink or speak.
What I also remember from this unpleasant time is the smell of disinfectant and the tincture of iodine that I am rubbed with before some surgeries- a sweet, medicinal smell that I associate with pain and sadness that I am not (yet) allowed home to my parents.
All these memories came back in one fell swoop when I sniffed the bottling of " Baccarat Rouge 540", which I had just purchased cheaply from a very nice Parfumo. At first I didn't know what I was smelling, but then images of my long ago hospital stays rose up in my mind - disinfectant! Tincture of iodine! That's exactly what this perfume smelled like! How could no one but me perceive that?
After reading through some of the comments, I realized that quite a few people do perceive it that way- for half of the reviewers, Baccarat Rouge smells like luxury, cotton candy, or something equally nice- for the other half, unfortunately, it smells like a doctor's appointment.
Personally, I could imagine that it is the saffron contained in the fragrance pyramid, which provides for the "medical" smell of the perfume, but am unsure.
On a positive note, the scent lasts an incredibly long time on the skin, which is a clear advantage for lovers of perfume - I have this fragrance since yesterday still in the nose, and even though I have showered and scrubbed off vigorously!
I hope I haven't upset anyone with this comment, because that is definitely not my intention. However, I would advise any perfumo against a blind buy of this perfume- rather test a bottling beforehand to find out what you associate the very special scent of Baccarat Rouge with. I am in any case glad to have done it.
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