L’Absolu For Her, Narciso Rodriguez

I’ve wanted Narciso Rodriguez L’Absolu since the first time I smelled it years ago, but I didn’t get myself a bottle because I wasn’t looking for this kind of smell. Sometimes, you know there are perfumes that you like, but they’re not really on your wishlist; hence you don’t get it (at that time) but determine to get it one day.

Finally, that day came for me; my first Narciso Rodriguez perfume.

I have tried most of their perfumes, but I always came back to the L’Absolu. And this one has become one of the most memorable perfumes for me because I got it as a farewell gift from my dearest colleagues. They know me so well 🙂

L’Absolu starts with a bold, sensual, rich white floral accords embedded in a chypre universe.

A golden silhouette of orange blossoms slowly emerges from beneath, gleaming, honeyed, fruity. The balsamic and ambery notes underneath bring a vanillic nuance, creating an illusion of a warm chocolate scent. They blend entirely with the tuberose and jasmine, twisting the flowers’ bright and flirty personality. Moreover, revealing their dark and mysterious side.

L’Absolu’s chypre DNA is powerful, loaded with the woody and earthy patchouli, blended with creamy sandalwood, united by resinous ambers and vanilla, and enveloped by exquisite musks. The combination is warm, intimate, and polished. The fragrance blends nicely on my skin and leaves musks and sandalwood dry-down after 8 hours.

L’Absolu is a gorgeous fragrance as a whole. Each material serves its purpose nicely, and the composition is balanced and round. It’s not the most natural and refined chypre fragrance, but it is a well-made one. I like the cinnamic facet of the florals. It provides some ornament to the flowers, gives some push at the top, and subdues the indolic aspect, especially with the help of ambers.

I notice that the movement between the patchouli, sandalwood, and musks is quite fluid, with sandalwood and musks getting stronger as the fragrance develops on the skin. The patchouli beautifully stays in the background, smelling woody and herbaceous. The musks are fruity with a skin-scent finish.

Aurelien Guichard created L’Absolu in 2015.

He is also the perfumer behind ten other Narciso’s fragrances. And now he founded his perfume brand that I find super gorgeous. I’ve smelled all of them and talked about them here, and wrote about one of them here.

If I should describe L’Absolu in one word, I’d say, classy. It is definitely not a young and flirty fragrance–I don’t even think it was made for a younger crowd. Smelling L’Absolu, I imagine a lady, quite mature, with great taste, and sexy. She is an attention-getter. L’Absolu is a lovely perfume to be worn at night for its sensuality, to a party for its elegance, or in the winter for its warmth. In fact, it is my go-to fragrance this winter.

I love how L’Absolu blooms under the cold–woody and musky with some sweetness. It’s so addictive.

How about you? What’s your favorite winter fragrance? Do you wear Narciso Rodriguez as well? Comment below!

See you in my next blog post.

Cheers,
Gia.