Les Elixirs Charnels - Chypre Fatal
Guerlain (2008)

A milky peach and a bare bone chypre.
What Coty might have lashed up in a rage after smelling Mitsouko for the first time.

The opening moments consist of a fresh and light blast of a mature white peach, with whiffs of pear and well-ripened nashi in the background. A delicate richness permeates the top notes.

The drydown arrived rather early, characterised by the arrival of a spicy rose. Not the - possible expected - rich and dark spiciness often employed for this note, this is a bright rose slightly spiced up by a slightly sweet and light impression of rose blossom, - I don't get any leafy or woodsy rose stems here. This is a rose of a nigh-transparently crystalline nature - it blends beautifully with the top notes into an elegant olfactory delight.

The base adds and ultra-smooth patchouli, with is not at all dark or harsh. Towards the end I get a tonka-like undertone whiffs of a very light undertone of dried honey. This, following the overall character of this creation, is light and rather discrete tonka.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection and eight hours of longevity on my skin.

This is a nice creation, and behind the ethereal lightness lies a sophisticatedly composed set of top and heart notes that denote an original approach to the fruity theme. Maybe the notes lack a bit of deeper substance and texture at times. The base is the weakest link here, as it is rather generic and somewhat underwhelming

This summery scent is a misnomer indeed, as apart from the extremely smooth and soft patchouli note in the base, which is hardy evocative of chypres, the note pyramid of this Guerlain proves detrimentally fatal to its claim of being a chypre.

Overall 3.25/5

A very special Chypre, simple yet with an elaborated feel. I smell it in the shop I'm Brussels and can't stop sniffing my wrist like I have some kind of obsessive trouble. I didn't expect to like it. I'm literally in love with it.
It seems like the notes are upside down. It opens with little fruit, flower and much amber and patchouli and evolves to much more fruit and flower pot-pourri.

There seems to be some confusion as to whether it is pear or peach that provides the fruity note here. My nose tells me it is pear, but a subdued pear, not a sweet, juicy, ripe pear. It is held down and practically smothered by the patchouli and dark rose. Not much vanilla to my nose.

This is in no way a chypre. It is a dark fruity floral that is quite insignificant to the genre and over time rather unpleasant to my olfactory impressions. It is so effervescent that if it weren't for the patchouli it might totally vanish into thin air.

The only thing that proves fatal in this composition is the patchouli, which manages to kill the harmless impression given by the fruit and floral notes.

The price is as usual for modern Guerlains patently ridiculous.

Notes: white pear, rose, patchouli and vanilla.
Very feminine, sweet. Some would find it pretty.
Pears are prominent, kind of a warm pear or cooked pear note.
The patchouli gives an earthy but also metallic note.
Don't really care for this. Not sure why it is called a "chypre".

I think that maybe was a mistake when they created this fragrance. I imagine that someone heard Chypre Banal instead of Chypre Fatal, and then they produced it. Chypre Fatal is your standard modern chypre fragrance, and it does achieve every single point that other more affordable chypres does, like shiseido zen and guccy by gucci. It starts fruity, then it`s dominated by a sweet, almost camphorated, patchouli, supported by a luminous musky base similar to the one found in narciso rodriguez. I think that Guerlain fails taking the modern chypre trend and adding a proper twist, something that would make it familiar but different, better than the other modern chypres available on the market. Considering it the way it is, i think unless you`re really a Guerlain Collector you`ll need a bottle of this one. If it`s a more exclusive fruity chypre that you want, i suggest you trying Mon Parfum by M. Micallef, that for now you can find for a better price at ebay and it`s more lovely and less facelless than Chypre Fatal.