Narelle Hanratty reviews Chypre
The chypre family of perfume is probably the most distinctive of all. The combination of animalic, mossy/woody and citrus elements shouldn’t perhaps work; yet by the curious alchemy of “high perfume,” the combination gives rise to a smell that is, paradoxically, ultra-classic and ultra-abstract.
Such was the fame and success of Coty’s Chypre that it’s become the yardstick by which all perfumes are judged by aficionados: the promise — eternally undelivered, eternally renewed — that one day there may be another perfume of its mythic status.
For these reasons, I had a great time at Fleurage with Emma’s Chypre which, I want to state plainly here and now, is so much grander, richer and truer than my weirdo 31 Rue Cambon.