Firstly, let me just say it's embarrassing when one's colleague walks in to find one with nose stuck in crook of elbow. But it's Kiki! It's Vero Profumo! That's my defense except I would just get strange and/or blank stares if I try to explain it. I was not willing to spend my weekend in a strait jacket so I just kept quiet and red-faced.
Anyway. So here I am with Kiki EDP on my left elbow and Kiki Voile d'Extrait on my right elbow.
They both start out similar with a blitz of citruses that you can smell a mile away. From there on, they split up and go in different directions. Like Alice Prin and Kiki?
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| Kiki de Montparnasse, Moise Kisling |
The inspiration behind this creation was the Queen of Montparnasse, Kiki, who was born Alice Prin, illegitimate and in abject poverty, She was adored for her easy-going manner and boundless optimism which earned her the title of Queen of Montparnasse during les Années Folles (The Crazy Years). She was also known for her multiple talents including being a artist's model, nightclub singer, memoirist, actress and a painter.
Montparnasse like Montmarte before it, was a hive of intellectual and artistic souls in Paris. The community embraced all oddities without reservation and people came from all over the world to partake in the bohemian lifestyle. Marc Chagall describe Montparnasse as such, " I aspired to see with my own eyes what I had heard of from so far away: this revolution of the eye, this rotation of colours, which spontaneously and astutely merge with one another in a flow of conceived lines. That could not be seen in my town. The sun of Art then shone only on Paris."
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| La Ruche et Montparnasse, Chagall 1978 |
Kiki EDP emphasizes the passion fruit. The sweet sourness of passion fruit pairs beautifully with the herbal bitterness of the lavender and the fresh minty smell I associate with geranium (think of Frederic Malle's Geranium pour Monsieur with its invigorating spicy freshness). I sense some powdery notes and musk in the base of the EDP, which help keep the passion fruit in check. I find the sillage of the EDP to be much stronger than the Vd'E but I think it's because my skin tends to project fruity notes well.
Kiki Vd'E is a different bundle of herbs altogether. The bitter herbal lavender here is matched with caramel, unusual and stunning actually. I used to find lavender hard to like and a tad boring due to it's long association with sleep aids and colognes. However Serge Lutens' Forreau Noir which turns sweet creamy tonka and almonds with lavender into a sumptuous gourmand beauty, taught me to be more open-minded and less jaded. Kiki Vd'E is another fine example of how to be creative with lavender and make it a subliminal example too! The musk is more apparent in the Vd'E than the EDP and the passion fruit played down but still noticeable. I get an earthy patchouli in the drydown of the Vd'E but not in the EDP, that stays quite fresh and aromatic throughout its lifespan
Lavender in colognes tend to smell cold and unfriendly on me but not here. In Kiki EDP, it's all smiles and fruity sweetness. In the Vd'E it's not as bubbly as the EDP but it is still warm and personable.
Both are seriously amazing creations and my mind is piqued as to what the extraits of Vero Profumo must smell like, but I will leave that musing to another day after I win the lottery (but in that case I won't muse over it, I'll buy the whole line in a heartbeat). I've added both Kiki EDP and the Voile d'Extrait to my want list. Bittersweet, special and a bit of a bohemian.
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| Kiki de Montparnasse, Man Ray. |
