When I first got my hands on John Galliano’s newest fragrance, Parlez-moi d’Amour, that comes in a white box with a stamp on the corner top right of the box, it somehow felt like receiving a letter. Opening the box and finding the bottle of the perfume shaped like a rose-coloured glass envelope, still with a stamp on it, just confirmed my feeling. It made me wonder, why do people stop writing love letters? I found love letters very romantic, no matter how short or cheesy they are, the gesture is already very heart warming on its own. I think, people take love letters for granted because of the ease of access of communication through email, instant messenger or even Twitter.
Parlez-moi d’Amour or translated to ‘Speak to me of Love‘ is all about modern day love affair that is bottled and presented through a fruity floral notes. What often drove me away from floral notes is that they feel too old, whereas fruity note tend to go to cheery for me. Surprisingly, this particular fragrance is neither too old nor too cheery for me.
When I first sprayed the fragrance, it opened up with fresh bloom of ginger, bergamot and blueberries which taook the center stage on my skin. Just like any love story, which starts with a loud heart beating moments, this too began with a strong scens. A fragrance should be able to whiff its scents clearly, without you having to press your nose against your skin but after a minute or two, it should settle down nicely. The fruity notes did exactly that.
When the heart notes, with layers of floral notes of jasmin sambac, lavender oil and Turkish rose, came to air, it came seductively that brought the feeling of youth. Doesn’t feeling in love always makes you feel young? While the dry down will bring the musky and woody notes featuring cypress, Indonesian patchouli (yes, it’s a specifically said Indonesian) and musk.
What’s good about this fragrance is that you don’t get a straight floral or fruity scent from the beginning, instead it unravels layers and layers of dimensional scents. Although it’s fronted by Taylor Momsen who has a really rebellious image to her, but the fragrance has no rebellious air at all. John Galliano said, on choosing Momsen as the face for the fragrance, it is because he wanted so a romantic young rock chic and she’s the perfect face to bring this new essence because Momsen embodies the image.
Though this scent is geared up toward the 20 something audience but it’s really fitting for anyone trying to find a scent that has a young feel to it. Like a love letter, you’ll find many wonderful feelings when you spray this fragrance.
John Galliano Parlez-moi d’Amour is available in 50 ml (Rp 850,000) and 80ml (Rp 975,000).
If you’re in the mood for something young, rock and chic, why don’t you visualize it into a mood board and join our mood board contest? It opens till 6 October and if you win, this “love letter” perfume will be arriving on your doorstep!
