Like drag queens, burlesque performers fascinate me. They’re courageous enough to flout convention and adopt a persona that isn’t accepted at P.T.A. meetings, and they do it all in front of an audience. Although they might perform simply for their own satisfaction, there’s a reason the house is full. Some us wish we had the guts to be ourselves in such an outrageous way.

Dita Von Teese is counting on it. Besides her first perfume, Dita Von Teese, she’s released three other fragrances playing on angles of her burlesque persona: Fleurteese, which I haven’t smelled; and Rouge and Erotique, which I review here. You may not want to put on a corset and dance in a giant martini glass, the fragrances seem to say, but give us a try for a taste of that feeling…

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