Barrister and Mann - Beaudelaire | Rubberset 200-4 | Gillette Pre-war Tech | Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinum black (2)
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Barrister and Mann veterans have enjoyed depth, complexity, and sometimes controversial scent profiles for some time, now. Few can question
Barrister_N_Mann 's uncanny ability to impart mood and history into the essence of these products. Recently we've enjoyed the inclusion of the spectacular Glissant base, offering a performance that matches the scents. In discussing Beaudelaire, I find it difficult to avoid comparing the seemingly related fragrances of Lavanille and Night Music. Despite their vast differences, they feel like cousins with very different life experiences. Lavanille is abundantly, if not rigidly, refined and elegant while Night Music boasts an unabashed sensuality bordering on unmitigated yet glorious indecency. I've previously suggested that Night Music is a sullied Lavanille. Beaudelaire takes a different path celebrating the same depravity but with an air of opulence and lewdness in true bourgeois form.
Applying a few drops of water directly on the soap surface followed by swirls from the damp boar knot unlocked a sodden, dark, leathery, vanilla-esque presence without actually being vanilla. This was accompanied by damp, earthy, green oakmoss. The fragrance was wet, heavy, and caliginous. As I face lathered, the fragrance unfolded to reveal a more green but still murky aroma. When the lather was fully matured the dark was complemented by a faintly sharp, bitter resinous fragrance with some elements of red rose petals at the stage in which the edges darken. Approaching the end of the pass, mildly pungent fern makes its presence without overwhelming the other notes. Then somewhere amidst the subsequent passes, in otherworldly fashion, these notes intensify and ultimately coalesce into a singular accord of their own. One that I am at a loss to fully describe. None of the aforementioned notes are lost, but none of them can be isolated either. It transformed into a fragrance that can only be describe as...Beaudelaire.
The matching splash (are we not calling these Toniques anymore?) accurately matches the soap with similar unfolding. However, after about an hour it sweetens and spices up a bit without losing its earthy, green base.
As I reflect on my first impressions of Beaudelaire, I question how Hallows was never mentioned. Hallows, in its own right, surely fits a dark and murky profile. I've come to the conclusion that despite these shared characteristics, Hallows carries a muted, sinister, and abysmal darkness while Beaudelaire does it with flamboyant whimsy. Beaudelaire is a fragrance that fans of Lavanille and even Le Grand Chypre will likely appreciate. I would even venture to say that if Night Music wasn't for you, yet contained elements you appreciated, Beaudelaire may be calling you.
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