Agent Provocateur
Agent Provocateur (2000)

This is definitely not a modern or trendy fragrance. But that’s part of its beauty if you ask me. To those who appreciate a wide range, this one harkens back to a time where chypres reigned supreme. Nowadays, the term chypre is thrown about Willy-nilly, and most of the time fails to convey what exactly a chypre is. Sure, a fragrance may fit within a standard definition of the word, but I believe that no, most modern fragrances dubbed chypres are done so erroneously. This one here, at least to my nose, captures the soul of a true chypre all whilst delivering a beautiful rose scent and a whole hell of a lot of femininity. If you only like gourmands and sticky sweet scents, you will abhor this. But if your appreciation of fragrance runs deep, this is a great one to be had for a song.

It is dusty, oldschool and sophisticated. Quite mature and unsweet; it's not exactly sexy to me, but it does have sensual and boudoir-ish feel. I read it should be mostly about the rose, but I do not perceive (or don't recognize?) the rose under the cover of dusty musk. Maybe it's because I've been dabbing from my mini bottle, and not spraying? It's not exactly dirty, but it's not clean either. I get the dusty wardrobe feel throughout - somehow it's very common in oldschool scents, I do not understand why. After a while a tiny whiff of spices reaches my nose, and that's when I say - aha! - I can like this after all.
I would not want and would not recommend to wear it to work, somehow it doesn't feel appropriate here. I wouldn't wear it to a party or a date either, though, as I suspect nobody would enjoy it there on me either. I will use my two 10 ml minis at home when alone though - I can't say I really like it, but it has that something that's hard to pinpoint, but it draws you in and makes you sniff your wrists through the evening - and then even reapply some for the night.
Stays until you wash it off, and sometimes even after you wash it off in the shower.

Stardate 20190714:

A very nice rose oud. And for the price a no brainer. This is the first rose-oud I would recommend.
It is softer and blending is nice. Unisex leaning feminine.

An intense rose scent. In the first few minutes I get vetiver, cedar, magnolia, and gardenia, in addition to the rose. It settles down with more rose, saffron, and jasmine. A little goes a long way. The rose smells realistic, to me. It's a cheery but, unsubtle fragrance. You'd better like rose to wear this one.

Today i have tried Agent Provocateur.

After reading Bavard's impressions i was expecting something really good.

The opening was a combination of an ordinary rose and something "peculiar" to my nose, not very inviting, that settled down really quick which was good.
The perfume descriptions mention saffron but that had nothing to do with the saffron i know since childhood.
After that i could only sense the rose with a very linear evolution. It reminded me at some point, just a bit, of Iquitos but the two of them are playing in 2 different categories Iquitos being a few light years ahead of AP. Then about 2-3 hours later the rose remains the same but there was an acidic note, kind like a watered down vinegar, which irritated my nose by sniffing giving me the feeling of getting stitched with fine needles. This lasted about 2 hours and i didn't enjoy this part. I could not detect the y-lang at all, neither the amber or the vetiver notes which supposedly build the base of the perfume. About 4-5 hours later the perfume was not detectable on my skin.
Not something i would buy.

5/10

MM

This is a complex fragrance. The initial blast is slightly alarming, with what feels like an off note, especially compared to what someone might expect from the pink bottle, but as it settles, it's gripping and addictive. The flowers are competing with gamy notes, mostly saffron I gather, and the flowers in this are likely on the gamy side themselves.

It settles into the main accord within a few minutes, and it's strong and intriguing enough to create a mild physiological euphoria.