In what is turning out to be a very good year for reissues (are you listening, Dior? get with the program!), Robert Piguet is planning to reintroduce two fragrances from their back catalog this fall, Visa for women and Cravache for men.
Visa was originally developed by perfumer Germaine Cellier, and launched in 1945 (after Bandit but before Fracas). The new version of the “classic oriental” was created by perfumer Aurelien Guichard…
Well, here we are again, very nearly at the start of the mad holiday rush, although it doesn’t officially start until Friday. Are you ready? For anyone else trying to avoid entering an actual brick and mortar store between now and January, here are some ideas for fragrance gifts you can find online:
From Aedes, the Agraria Nob Hill Petit Essence set, with 4 miniature fragrance diffusers in Bitter Orange, Lemon Verbena, Lavender & Rosemary and Balsam. $125…
Fracas was launched in 1948 by Robert Piguet. Like yesterday’s Bandit, it was created by perfumer Germaine Cellier, and like Bandit, it eventually disappeared from the shelves. In 1996 it was reformulated by perfumer Pierre Negrin and relaunched. The notes are bergamot, mandarin, hyacinth, tuberose, gardenia, jasmine, lily of the valley, jonquil, violet, neroli, rose, orange blossom, iris, musk, vetiver, cedar and sandalwood.
Fracas, love it or hate it, is indisputably the queen of all tuberose fragrances. “Every single person making a tuberose fragrance is trying to knock off the classic, which is Fracas,” commented Frederic Malle when discussing the creation of his own tuberose scent, Carnal Flower (via Women’s Wear Daily, 9/30/2005). Roja Dove notes:
Fracas is the big tuberose reference of perfumery, and tuberose is the most carnal of the floral notes. It smells like very, very hot flesh after you’ve had sex — that’s the bottom line. It’s very much in fashion just now, but current fragrances don’t use such an incredible concentration of it. While they may nod towards something carnal, Fracas is carnal all the way. (via The Independent, 12/14/2002)
Fracas, as the name suggests, is not a subtle fragrance. It is in-your-face tuberose…
Bandit was the first fragrance release from Parisian fashion designer Robert Piguet. The leather chypre was created by perfumer Germaine Cellier, and launched on “the couture runway in 1944 with models sporting villain masks, brandishing toy revolvers and knives” (via Fashion Fragrances and Cosmetics). Bandit was eventually discontinued, then was re-launched in 1999 in a new formulation created by perfumer Delphine Lebeau of Givaudan. The notes include neroli, orange, ylang ylang, galbanum, jasmine, tuberose, rose, carnation, leather, vetiver, oakmoss, patchouli and musk.
Guy Robert called Bandit a beautiful but brutal perfume, and that is as apt a description as any: Bandit is not a fragrance for the timid…
Robert Piguet has reintroduced Baghari, a 1950 fragrance created by Francis Fabron. Baghari is described as a “soft oriental” and was the last fragrance introduced by Piguet before the house closed in 1951…