Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Histoires de Parfums- 1889 Moulin Rouge


1889 Moulin Rouge by Histoires de Parfums is a  real Perfume. With a capital P. It has everything: booze, downy powder puffs, intimate animalics, spice, jars of vintage rouge, and silk stockings. Some people aren't into this these kind of fragrances, but I happen to love the richness, texture and vintage feel. Many of Histoires de Parfums "historical" perfume smell quite modern, but this one has  La Belle Époque written all over it in the best possible way.

I smell rose and powdery makeup right from the start, but they quickly become infused with plummy cognac and absinthe, including the sugar cube. The sweetness takes an almost gourmand turn with the introduction of cinnamon. It might be my wild imagination but I think of apple beignets for a moment, before 1889 Moulin Rouge takes a boudoirish turn and I'm transported to the salon and dressing rooms at the Moulin Rouge, as well as to the pampered world of the demi-mondaine women. The rooms there are heavily curtained, slightly stuffy, perfumes with bouquets of red roses sent by admirers and the scent of face powder and tonics. Let's talk about the powdery facet of Moulin Rouge for a moment: usually you get violets and lipstick, but here there's a lot sweet iris and dry iris to make me happy enough to do a version of couch can-can.

With all the things going on in this Histoires de Parfums creation you'd think the sillage and projection would be enormous. Instead, we get a solid long-lasting performance that's actually on the polite and wearable side. 1889 Moulin Rouge is quite feminine and as I said above, perfumy. Smelling it up close in your very personal space it's a sexy fragrance that is equal parts suggestive and sweet. Otherwise, the general impression is of a floral-powder ladylike perfume. I guess you'll have to make them step closer.

Notes: Tangerine, Prune, Cinnamon, Absinthe, Damask Rose, Iris, Patchouli, Musk, Fur.

Histoires de Parfums- 1889 Moulin Rouge ($125, 60ml) is available at Henri Bendel, Luckyscent, Bergdorf, Aedes and BeautyHabit.

Art: The Salon de la Rue des Moulins - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1894.

3 comments:

  1. Oh, does that sound luscious, and luxe—and louche. Much as I claim to have sworn off new purchases, I may have to try this one. Prune and absinthe; the mind reels.

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  2. Toulouse-Lautrec is my fave - love the image! Your vivid review actually makes me anxious to re-sample the scent, too. I don't remember being particularly struck by it when I tried it at Aedes de Venustas while I was visiting NYC, but maybe I was in olfactory overload at the time.

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  3. I have just brought a sample of that with me on a trip to Paris. Very nice, although not my HdP favourite, I think.

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