After I have tested yesterday Delina EdP and was rather disappointed, because the fragrance was for me only a sweet mishmash, in which unfortunately neither rose nor rhubarb were recognizable, I give today his distinguished sister, the Delina Exclusif, a chance. I have no great expectations. I expect the Exclusif to be even more pompous, even sweeter, and even more intense. Should I be wrong?
The beginning is surprisingly positive this time. The fragrance initially shows itself high-class, mature and dignified. While I lack a bit of a fragrance concept with the EdP, the Exclusif obviously knows what it wants. The Delina DNA is recognizable, but while the fruits seem somehow sharper in the EdP, they are ripe in the Exclusif. The scent is exclusive. The sweetness is restrained and balanced, at least at the beginning. Pear, lychee and bergamot dance minuet. If Delina EdP is a fragrance for princesses, Delina Ex would rather be the perfume of a queen.
So the top notes are convincing, until a synthetic note creeps in that I can't define. The fragrance becomes increasingly floral, but I would have imagined the Turkish Damask rose more concise. I'm long into the heart note now and have to slowly realize that the rose isn't getting rosier here after all. I would have liked a freshly bloomed rose to take the lead, at least for a while. A good rose fragrance can do that. Here, one seems to have considered the rose "too little". There is therefore a lot of sweetness on top. I love oud. But this oud is too subdued for me. It's hardly recognizable, so gentle has it been made, stripped of all oriental wildness. What's the point of oud at all? The usually very powerful incense I also recognize only with a lot of imagination.
The closer we approach the base note, the sweeter the fragrance becomes. But amber, vanilla and musk are kept on a short leash. This, by the way, is true of all the fragrance notes that come together here. As if one were afraid to allow the individual fragrances too much freedom.
None of the fragrance notes may unfold, show personality, be wild, sensual or mysterious.
Parfums de Marly is, after all, trying to evoke the 18th century in their fragrances. And that seems to have succeeded. Because Exclusif has the same soulless beauty as the baroque parks with their accurately shorn hedges and trees, which for me no longer have much to do with nature.
It's a courtly world in which everything has its order - right down to a boundless boredom that one tries in vain to combat with teasing games. There are no secrets to be found here, not even believable charm, just an almost aching superficiality devoid of questions, riddles, depth. It is what it is, a light floral fragrance, sweet and pleasing without being tainted by sophistication.
This is the world of Louis XV and Marie Antoinette - luxury, aloofness to the point of losing reality, whimsical gimmicks that don't even have the power to be properly decadent. Ultimately a dance on the volcano in the - still - protected realm of artificially created pastoral idylls. Showing that you have money to lose at gambling or to spend on expensive fashion, jewellery and headache-inducing hairstyles. Or on crazy bets. Who can build a cute little castle in just one month? God knows I don't want to be a noblewoman in the court of Marie Antoinette or Louis XV ...
Since I lack the gene for this senseless extravagance, I'm probably not a candidate for Exclusif, which carries that spirit. Not everything has to be highbrow or heavy on thought. I know fragrances that are light and carefree and bring joy.
Exclusif is far from that, however. The fragrance is expensive. Not everyone will be able to afford it. He is therefore elitist - a value that seems desirable to many. Those who need it, a perfume around the € 230, - (75 ml) will perhaps upgrade. Also and especially if you receive it as a gift. Prestige object just.
In order not to misunderstand me: I see in perfumes absolutely no adequate means for class warfare. I too am willing to spend money on fragrances that are even more expensive than Delina Exclusif. I'm thinking of my small collection of Kurkdjians, Oud satin mood for instance, which is a sweet-floral fragrance in a similar league to Delina. Also with damask rose, oud, amber and vanilla. But there's something about this fragrance. Something untamed, strong, wild, free. There's desert, fantasy, inspiration. A fragrance that I never get bored of.
Delina Ex, on the other hand, seems very banal in its synthetic sweetness. I like the fragrance better than Delina EdP, but I will not buy the perfume. Why, that turns out only gradually, namely after about estimated three hours of cultivated boredom. Had I in the "middle part" of the fragrance development still felt the perfume as well-behaved and adapted, now shows that in Delina Ex but also something else. The fragrance is increasingly dominant, without continuing to be something special.
Perhaps only I feel that Delina Ex by its considerable durability gets the potential to be perceived as annoying at some point. Now the fragrance no longer shows itself tame and subdued, but reveals a vulgar side that is decidedly intrusive. There is nothing aristocratic or classy here anymore. The opposite is the case. The scent is loud, intense and astonishingly vulgar. The queen has long since left. The perfume would now be attributed more to a cheap prostitute who wants to attract attention by any means necessary and clings to you in a Velcro-like manner.
So lastly, Delina Ex has found an unexpected wildness after all, but it doesn't make the scent any more likeable.
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