JAR ~ Diamond Waters & Ferme Tes Yeux
I’d received samples of two JAR Fragrances (by Joel Arthur Rosenthal, the jeweler) from a friend on the East Coast a while back, but had eschewed sniffing at them. I told myself no perfume is worth what they are charging. They are of the “if you have to ask, then you will need to sell your body parts on the black market to afford them” variety. Mind you, just a small part, maybe a slice of your liver which will regenerate anyhow. Still? Spendy little bottles they are.
I finally decided to go ahead and try them, since I am trying to work my way through all the samples before I buy anything new for a while. The first one I wore was Diamond Waters. I had in my mind this whole idea of riffing on Adam Smith’s diamond/water paradox, and I swear it was going to be hi-larious (this is where you roll your eyes at me now.) Except? No. This perfume is unspeakably pretty. Crap. No snarky fun for me, I guess. Diamond Waters imparts the lingering sensation of a flower bouquet in a cold chill. However, where many perfumes reveal bouquets a bundle at a time, in this fragrance you sniff at them one by one. Like cinnamon softly dusted over the foam of a cappucino, a spiciness floats above each flower, sometimes it is peppery, and sometimes it is cinnamon and clove-like. It rises off the top of white roses, florist’s carnations, and lily amongst others, which circle past my nose in a strange queue. The base is not a base. Not in the usual manner, that is. It has no weight, no intonations of persistent molecules that nail themselves to the nose. I’d ultimately classify Diamond Waters as a marine scent: a glassy “is it melon, or is it marine” note lingers all through the wear of the fragrance, but it is not ’til the perfume is winding down that I notice it. A touch of cedar seems present to my nose, but it’s invisible, hiding inside the glass of the florist’s refrigerated case. Is it worth the reported $400 for a bottle? Yes. Not that I will be buying it, but if I came into an unexpected windfall, I would.
The other sample she’d passed along my way was the Ferme Tes Yeux. I’d read Robin’s interesting review at Now Smell This , and her description of it being “heavily animalic” both intrigued and scared me. Oh good lord was she ever right - there a such a funk in it that I have to reach for an incident that happened a couple weeks ago in order to properly describe it. We’d gotten help moving from some young strapping lads, and after we’d gotten the heavier furniture moved, we fed them a lunch of beer and bones. Young strapping lads are always hungry anyhow, but after all that lifting they were ravenous, and they gnawed their way through every last barbeque rib we had. We disposed of the eaten ribs in the garbage under the sink, and then completely forgot about them. But a couple days later I walked into the kitchen and was overwhelmed by stench. “Honey, I think some rodent found its way under the crawl space and died there. Can you take a look? It smells like dead animal in here!” That’s when I remembered. Ohhhhh. Yup, dead animal all right. The cooked and eaten remains of barbequed cows and pigs. I guess being a vegetarian, that sort of smell is likely more repellant and foreign to me than to regular meat eaters, but boy was it piquantly strong. THAT is the closest I can approximate to the funk of Ferme Tes Yeux. It is one note among many, however, and as it dries down, the animalic power transforms into a musky green sensation. The green shifts into a honeyed smell, like a cross between natural beeswax and Bit O’ Honey candy. I spot jasmine, and then freesia there, too, which winds around the honeyed note and turns the whole perfume into a floral and indolic romp through the farmyard. Ferme Tes Yeux is crazy. Crazy like a fox, though? Or crazy like crazy? Hard to say. But it’s brilliant, and I know there is someone out there who could wear this as if it were forever meant to be.
JAR Fragrances are not available anywhere BUT JAR boutiques, the adresses of which are the only bits of information one can cull from the official site.
June 12th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
I also liked Diamond Waters, however upon wearing JAR fragrances longer, I decided that I can easily live without them.
June 12th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
Ach, for that much, me too. But *if* I just happened to have a spare $400 lying around, I would be all over it.
June 12th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
I liked Diamond Waters, but really not at that price, even if the money fell in my lap. Bolt of Lightening, however, I might just pay for if I had the dough…and Jarling & Jardenia were lovely enough that I want to try them again. I should have stopped with Diamond Waters & Ferme Tes Yeux so I could have remained properly dismissive, LOL…
June 12th, 2006 at 4:56 pm
Bolt of Lightening is one I’ve heard such strange things about, and I have to admit, these two I tried were so unusual that I’m dying to try it now. Or not… could break the bank if I fell in love! :P
June 12th, 2006 at 7:27 pm
Isn’t there a JAR shop in Bergdorf Goodman in NYC? I think I need to stop threre this summer and sniff these. I’m not buying them, but I just need to wet my beak a little. :)
June 12th, 2006 at 8:35 pm
Oh yes, Patty. I forgot to mention it in my post - the fragrances are available only via the shops in New York and Paris. And indeed, they are found in in a BG shop. You must report back on them after your trip! I demand it! :P
June 12th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
The only on I ever tried was Golconda - it is worth every red cent of $400 and I I were rich I would own it, period. Clove carnation, endlessly deep and sensuous, and just perfect. It has probably been at least 15 years, maybe more, since I last smelled it, but it made a huge impression on me. I doubt I will ever see it again, but who knows? Maybe I will win the lottery…
June 13th, 2006 at 6:19 am
I want super-animalic, I like super-animalic! Who needs liver anyway.
June 13th, 2006 at 6:35 am
Tried them all, wasn’t terribly impressed. Plus, here’s a turnoff: I know from a friend who acquired a few bottles that the caps have a tendency to leak. Said friend had a bottle of Ferme Tes Yeux empty in transit all over luggage because of leaky cap, and in that quantity, as you can imagine, the effect is once-in-a-lifetime horrible. (There’s a little plastic circle at the top of the metal cap, which slides out of place and interferes with the tight fit by jamming up the screw threads.) Now, for a jeweler selling $800 perfume in etched lead crystal bottles to have leaky caps? Fuggedaboudit. Better to buy two Guerlain parfums instead. That said, Diamond Waters smelled lurvely on Annie when they put it on her at Bergdorf, and she will have herself a bottle one of these days. :-)
June 13th, 2006 at 6:56 am
My favorite JARs are Golconda and Diamond Waters but, as others have said numerous times, I wouldn’t pay that price. Ferme Tes Yeux is truly vile.
June 13th, 2006 at 8:17 am
I really like Diamond Waters, but my favorite (on me) was Golconda. And (I’m almost ashamed to admit it here), I bought it. Not a bit sorry either! (I’ll be careful to avoid leaking, though–it hasn’t happened yet). It’s just beautiful!
Ferme tes Yeux is, um, interesting.
My least favorites were Jardenia, which I swear smelled like blue cheese, and Jardenia, which for unexplained reasons scared me. The sniffing experience at BG is definitely worth it, even if you have no intention of buying: it’s unbelievably pretentious, really comical, and [she admits guiltily] great fun!
June 13th, 2006 at 10:23 am
Darn! I have heard good thing about Diamond waters. Well I think am sorry I missed my chance to sniff when I was there last September. I opted out for fear I might do something crazy. :O)
June 14th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
Flora, your description of Golconda sounds lemming-inducing. Really, at this point I’d love to try them all.
Hehe, Marina, I dunno - this one is powerfully funky ;)
Tania, a whole bottle of Ferme Tes Yeux unleashed at once sounds… unbearable. Like, medieval torture unbearable. I didn’t know that about the leaky caps. Wow. With all the detail in the perfumes, you’d think some attention to the flacons would be well-placed. Yeeps!
Ina, hehe, so tell me how you really feel about Ferme Tes Yeux. Hee! It packs a wallop, that’s for sure.
Judith, blue cheese??? Wow. Now if you could find a nice salad fragrance to go with it, perhaps it’d be rendered into something more bearable :P “The sniffing experience at BG is definitely worth it, even if you have no intention of buying: it’s unbelievably pretentious, really comical, and [she admits guiltily] great fun!” Actually, it DOES sound like great fun, no need for guilt. From what I’ve heard from others, they felt the same way about it that you do. Especially the wrist massages, which sound archly funny to me.
Victoria, of anyone, I think you’d love Diamond Waters the most - it’s so right up your alley. Consequently, perhaps it IS best to not try it, since I think you would “do something crazy,” heh.