WHAT I SMELL: Victoria opens with a sparkling and warmed pettigrain which is quickly met with a bubblegummed pink lychee that becomes a bit chewy with the addition of a rich and rounded tuberose. The perfume radiates wonderfully in this semi-sweet fashion with the thickened and creamy tuberose at the forefront along with a soft rose which helps to even out any of the strong facets associated with tuberose. After some time, the perfume begins to quiet and the florals seem to float above your skin. Underneath, there’s a slight projection that smells rather like cocoa, but only in the faintest of ways. The perfume continues to slowly soften with a quiet and seemingly powdered oud settling underneath the creamy florals adding for a lightly earthy dimension. What I really love about Victoria is that it’s rather tropical in nature without succumbing to being loud or garish and it wears wonderfully smooth without any sharp edges. Victoria is a beauty that is secure in its femininity without having to overcompensate on being girlish.
From the Frassaï website:
Victoria is inspired by Argentine essayist and editor Victoria Ocampo. Victoria was a patron of the arts and the first woman to be admitted to the Argentine Academy of Letters (1976). She was “the quintessential Argentine woman” according to famed Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges. Her circle included some of the most relevant artists and intellectuals of the twentieth century.
VICTORIA is a fragrance of depth and sophisticated strength, a bold contrast between creamy tuberose and opulent oud.
Notes:
Top: Petitgrain, Litsea Cubeba, Pink Lychee Jungle EssenceTM
Heart: Tuberose Absolute, Styrax, Morning Rose
Base: Oud, Patchouli, Olibanum, Castoreum
Victoria Ocampo (Anselmo Miguel Nieto, 1922)
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: I’ll stick with the perfumer’s inspiration, Victoria Ocampo. The following is a link to a Vogue Mexico overview on the life of Victoria Ocampo (article in Spanish).
THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE VICTORIA: serene, sublime, secure
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT VICTORIA: None found.
BOTTOM LINE: I would say that Victoria is one of the best perfumes in the Frassaï collection; and that’s saying a lot since they are all fantastic in their own right. Here, Victoria is wonderfully feminine without being overtly so and the tuberose is perfectly controlled and contained. There’s also tropical feel to the perfume that manages to live on the edge of the tropics which makes it more approachable. To me, Victoria is absolutely divine.
- Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
- Scent: Floral Woody Musk
- Nose: Irina Burlakova
- Classification: Leans feminine, but easily unisex.
- Expense: $190 for 50 ml. eau de parfum. Also available in 7.5 ml travel size for $47. Pre-orders available on a limited run of 500 bottles via the Frassaï website.
Sample courtesy of Frassaï. Opinion my own.
WHAT I SMELL: The opening of Corpus Equus is anything but quiet with its burst of birch, soured leather and hint of a soft floral that quickly moves completely to a urinous birch tar. The composition is cool and rather damp and it smells as if a campfire has been doused by cold water and where the smoke from the fire has infused into your clothes. Sometimes that can be a comforting smell. Here, it just feels pungent, soured and rather jolting. The leather does come out slowly and it does help to pull the perfume away from the fire and in doing so it helps tame it to a more wearable stage. Corpus Equus continues to settle and with it comes a sharpened note which helps to continue to cut the birch tar. Here, the perfume becomes more of a leathered radiant forcefield which is more earthy and grounded in its feel. In the end, a smooth buttery layer begins to come forward along with a soft amber. What started off as a raging stallion has turned into a rather tame pony.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A dude ranch. For city folk, the ranch may initially be a shock to the senses, but soon enough the scents of the ranch are smoothed out for their suburban patrons.
WHAT I SMELL: Jazmin Yucatan opens with an aquatic tinged passion flower that’s a bit chewy and which quickly explodes into a rounded aquatic infused jasmine. The perfume is big without being overwhelming and it’s clean and fresh with just a hint of jungle earthiness. You can almost feel the sun-kissed jasmine being tossed by the warm winds pushing northward across the Yucatan Peninsula. As the perfume slowly develops, an earthy vetiver creates a rattan like base for the jasmine to sit upon. In the end, Jazmin Yucatan settles into a cottony fresh linen. Jazmin Yucatan is quite linear, but that’s just fine, because it’s meant to be worn in the heat of the warm Mexican sun where it can lightly radiate its floral beauty.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Jasmine wafting amongst the Mayan temples dotting the landscape of the Yucatan Peninsula.
The Scented Hound 