Bassavina

This is not your grandma's Shalimar, nor your mother's, nor yours, yet it is a recognizable oriental fragrance. I love the purple bottle with the turquoise cap common to all the "Ralphs", I love the name Hot, and while the other Ralphs have been disappointingly tame to the point of bland, I love this fun, over-the-top take on the oriental class of fragrance: loud, spicy, and yummy. It sounds like breakfast: milk, fig, cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup (of all things!) figure in, and yet it is not a caricature, it is, I'd say, Pop Art as fragrance.

I have four fragrances in my wardrobe that have in common the spicy/vanillic thing we call oriental—beginning with Shalimar of course—while each strikes out on its own. If Shalimar is the template, the other three, all 21st c creations, are its modern variations, each with that modern gourmand sensibility, though still recognizable as relatives of the grande dame. Succinctly:

•Carlos Santana I wear salsa dancing,
•Queen Latifah with my late mom's mink,
•Ralph Hot with my yellow Converse All-Stars, and - - -
•Shalimar I wear to bed.

I was surprised to find that Volupté was launched in 1992, as the stylish bottle and the stylized floral scent both strike me as "Mad Men" 1960s. I am struck first by green notes and cucumber, then violet and heliotrope, with some gentle woods toward drydown. It is a well-mannered perfume, not particularly voluptuous in my book. A good work fragrance.

Yatagan made a direct hit on some childhood memories, especially of my favorite relative, my grandfather, who smked Cuban cigars and left the stubs lying about. I was four or five, and would sniff those stubs. Since Yatagan lists no tobacco, I have to think it has elements of whatever scent my grampa wore. It is old-school, take no prisoners masculine. As a female, to wear this would take an amount of badassedness. Not sure I can pull it off, but half a spray under a floral could be wonderful.

This is a departure from the formal architectonic Guerlains of the past. It is first of all floral, not a syrupy tuberose-laden floral, but a springtime floral of muguet and lilac that evokes a city garden. The Guerlinade, a cushion of vanilla, tonka, and coumarin, is not so evident here. Where the older Guerlains are velvet, this is silk organza, light and festive. Luca Turin disparages this fragrance savagely; myself I get a little frisson of "sez you!" when wearing it which only adds to my pleasure.

Weil de Weil is one of the great green fragrances. It starts with a blast of galbanum that is most bracing. A little later, some white flowers—narcissus and muguet to my nose—make their presence known. Although the description does not include leather I sense aleathery drydown, quite subtle as the flowers to hold on throughout. The civet is also subtle; it adds depth and intrigue.

I have owned both vintage and modern version of WdW, and I find them to be similar. I think this fragrance could be used by either sex. It works day or evening, and has to me a quality of bringing the outdoors inside.