Scentzilla!

Luca Turin’s latest article for NZZ Folio has just been posted online, and his subject matter this time is perfumer Jean Kerléo’s creation Sublime. I love his comparison to the old gods (though the myth lover in me is pained by the mishmash of Greek and Roman names), mainly because their feet of clay were not so neatly hidden as those of the god from the Jude0-Christian tradition, so that they seem easier to understand. And of course, they are a raucous bunch, which makes them awfully fun. In addition to the perfume review, there’s even a great personal story to boot! Neat.

I do not wear Sublime; Sublime wears me. It pulls me around like a river, and at the end of the trip I am both exhilarated and relieved when it ends.

As I wear it, there seem to be three layers to the fragrance. These layers seem as if they were seperate perfumes in their own right, yet connect tenuously from one to the other. Sweet, slightly tart fruit drip into a warm, nearly oily scent. This first period lasts me twenty minutes, and the oily lingers only long enough to usher in the second phase. It is then that a clean floral chypre surrounds me without any notions of sharpness. The florals fade and leave oakmoss behind to walk me towards the last phase. Cozy and vanillic, this end period is the one that sticks longest to my skin. The drydown of Sublime is far richer than many newer perfumes made to focus solely on a vanilla theme.

If I didn’t know any better (and in truth, I don’t) I’d almost say Kerléo composed Sublime as a perfume version of an Exquisite Corpse. I could single out and enjoy any of these layers individually. However, he fused one layer to the next to create a whole that leaves a grander impression than just the parts. Sublime may well be steeped in the classic tradition, but I don’t personally believe it was made as a throw back to an earlier time. Rather it tossed forward with its release in 1992 a hint at what was to come. While the minimalists may currently be the cool kids, it’s hard not to notice the perfumers seeking ways to express themselves uniquely while still deepening and expanding the boundaries of traditional perfumery. There’s room for everybody I think.