Flight 870 from Montreal to Paris. What would you do if you had a one way ticket? How would you feel? What would you wear?
It definitely sounds more romantic than the similar flight from our local airport, EWR Liberty, but to be honest it's been decades since any flight has been a civilized affair, and Newark has nothing do with it. In any case, Vol 870 YUL-CDG by perfumer Isabelle Michaud of Monsillage tells a story of a departure, an emotional journey, and going after your dream that incidentally is about creating perfume.
One of the interesting features of Vol 870 YUL-CDG is how different it smells when dabbing than when spraying properly. I didn't like it very much back in 2011 when Monsillage released the perfume, and all I had were a couple of dab-on samples. I actually thought it smelled thin and almost aquatic, which I assure you it doesn't. Only when I got to spray the fragrant and give it full body wearing did I experience its true beauty. Vol 870 YUL-CDG offers one of the most beautiful and full-bodied ylang-ylang note you'll ever smell. It's the most dominant part of this Monsillage fragrance, and it leads the way into a delicious slightly spicy delicate fruit nectar phase. It's soft, round and feels very accomplished: this is not the fruity floral at your local mall. Instead there's a velvety layered feel, almost tactile, that plays beautifully with the way it develops into the dry-down.
If the description above seems to lean towards a traditional feminine perfume, the base is completely gender-neutral.A musky woody warm skin scent (that's the ambergris, I think), that's every bit as sexy as you'd expect a first night in Paris to be. There's something very human to it, This is the moment you alight and leave the aircraft and find yourself in the new city on all its foreign yet inviting scents, the droves of people walking the unfamiliar streets, the stores, the stores, the cafes, and the unknown.
Notes: Balsam Fir, Cedar Leaves, Pine Needles, Cypress, Clary Sage, Bergamot, Osmanthus, Ylang-Ylang, Apricot, Peach, Nutmeg, Clove, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Guaiacwood, Labdanum, Opoponax, Musk, Ambergris.
Parfums Monsillage Vol 870 YUL-CDG ($95, 50 ml eau de toilette) is available at Twisted Lily, where you can also order a sample.
Photo: Norman Parkinson- Cardin Hat Over Paris, model Nena von Schlebrugge, 1960.
Great review! I've clearly had luck on my side with this scent, as my only experience with it has been via spraying since a friend sent me a spray decant of it and I never have had a dabbing sample. I'm currently on a tropical flower bender and the brilliant ylang-ylang in this has had me reaching for it time and again. That is so interesting that the scent is so different when dabbed versus sprayed - will have to try dabbing it. I never sample a scent without also trying it on DH's skin to see how skin chemistry may change it, but I'm afraid I rarely think about application distinctions. And I'm now realizing that that may be quite an oversight on my part. I'm wondering if there are certain groups of fragrances that are more impacted by application methods than others. Will have to start seriously experimenting.
ReplyDeleteAnna
Fantastic image for a fantastic perfume. I bought the sample set following your review of Celeri, and spent the next two weeks just swallowing the whole thing up! It was shipped to the UK within a blink of the eye, with a very sweet hand written note. I surprised myself by draining this one first - gorgeous. I also love EdC and Aviation Club - such good value for very beautiful nuanced fragrances. They have that lovely abstract aura that I love.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your finds, and for spending the time to include such beautiful imagery. They brighten up my days!
I love this scent! I too notice that some scents differ depending on whether they are sprayed or dabbed on. In addition to the lovely ylang ylang, Isabelle Michaud's use of evergreen notes like birch, pine and cypress help to prevent things from becoming too fruity-floral. And she also skillfully manages to avoid the dreaded car air freshener effect that pine can create. Thanks Gaia for your reviews of the Monsillage line - it was your reviews that led me to order samples and eventually full bottles from this house!.
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