Perhaps one of the most mysterious associations in all of perfumery is denoted by the term “powdery”. Why should one state of matter smell like another? What primeval talcum powder have we all inhaled that smelled like heliotropin? Was it some face powder in a circular box with a little dusting pad? Is it, perhaps conversely, the fluffy aspect of mimosa flowers that causes the association? Does everyone think powdery in response to the same perfumes? Or is it, as Jacques Vaché famously said, that “it is in the very nature of symbols to be symbolic” ?
Even before I sprayed FB’s fragrances on strips, the packaging (one of those miniature inflatable mattresses that you satisfyingly crack open) I felt an invisible exhalation of fine dust come my way. Angel’s Dust, as far as I can tell from the ingredients list, contains no phencyclidine and feels rather like a tribute to Mathilde Laurent’s Guet-Apens/Attrape Coeurs (Guerlain 1999/2005) but without the frustrating, jangling harshness in the drydown that made the original less deliciously comfortable than it should have been. Very nice.
Categories: starred reviews
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