Reviews of Pathetique by O'Driù

A mixed sweetness at first. A mysterious sweet. There is a vague waxiness. An old, earthy soil note underneath - must be the truffle. I get a holiday candle accord. A great, expensive candle smell. The sweetness morphs into a delightful incense smell. Mimosa is present. It is a happy note. It's smile inducing. Nothing pathetic, here.

This continually moves in a positive direction. That waxiness begins to verge towards a starch accord. This fragrance seems to become daintier as it moves on. Sweetness changes, moves into a light honey. Pathetique seems to take on an ethereal floral feel. I thought I'd get more of a woodsy-forest flavor, but I do not.

In fresh air, outdoors, I get more hints of earth and juniper. I smell vanilla throughout, even though it isn't listed as a note... A sweet, woody aroma lingers on for hours. Nice!

I didn't do any analyzing of this fragrance at all. I tried directly on skin from a shared sample vial, and all I thought was "MORE."

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Warm, woody, smoky, sweet; even though there's no vanilla or chocolate in this, that's what I get – a rich, creamy, smoky chocolate, with the black pepper giving it a kick of heat. The longevity is quite frankly amazing – I put this on at eight in the morning and I could still smell it, clearly, well over twelve hours later, and that was from just one spray. I love how this evolved over the day – that spicy, smoky, chocolaty note became more pronounced as the day wore on, not in an in-your-face way, but rather like sitting in front of the fireplace, with a nice big mug of spiced hot chocolate, and inhaling the fragrant steam. I love it, and given the longevity, I would seriously consider a full bottle at some stage. Thanks to purecaramel for the sample!

Pathetique is one of the most dry and foward criticism of Angelo to the perfume industry as the name says it all. It's a mock of what marketing has become in the perfume industry, with all the perfume dinasties, fancy imaginary materials and fake royalty histories. The way the name is written on the bottle and it's described shows that this intentions here are ones of bringing back (or bringing for the first time) the ethical path to perfumery again (path etique).

This certainly works because of the wonderful and sensual scent that unfolds on skin. It is for me one of the sunniest moments in Angelo's work as a whole. The languid impression that i feel on Satyricon base is the mood here overall, like a kind of feline enjoying the spot of sun in the middle of the afternoon. It opens with a beautiful honey flower impression that is set against of a quite coconut woody aroma - this is certainly an effect gave by a proeminent use of amyris wood, which has in itself this woody coconut sensation. Then you get a green berry-like aroma that is contrasted with something slightly aldehydic and woody and at this moment i feel like Satyricon is channeling a compact shape of Givenchy masterpiece Insensee. It settles down to a cozy and slightly incensy woody base that lingers on skin with very subtle sweet tones. Overall, it's a fragrance that gives me a relaxing and honest experience. The path is simple: do very good fragrances that speak for itself. They don't need to please everyone with generic marketing ploys, they just need to be genuine and well orchestrated. That this has to be reinforced at this moment of the game it's what is really pathetic in the perfume industry.

This reminds me of Serge Lutens Chergui, and I was on the fence between neutral and like with that one before the sweet, long-lasting base won me over. Pathetique is similar in having a challenging, unfamiliar-as-a-perfume opening that I could grow to appreciate. It is interesting to wear, but not quite for me.

Pathetique unexpectedly blows my old synapses as one of the absolutely best Pregoni's eccentric creations. Honestly a great surprise that anyway just confirms the Angelo Orazio's (by many of us yet well known) immense olfactory talent. Previously a praising word over all the others: uniqueness, yes, a rare quality, veritable peculiarity. Honestly I've never tested on skin something really close to this elusive stuff and while my interconnective nose enjoys playing the game of connections I can't seriously pick up a juice really-really similar to O'Driu' Pathetique. Second, I catch in here a remarkable "detachment/departure" from the classic O'driuesque vegetal-culinary (basically visceral, rural) "apparatus" since I get in here something far more modern, velvety, refined/silky, lounge/ambient and kind of fancy-chic. The juice starts by soon less bitter-sparkling (than usual for the brand) and more silky, something immediately more approachable and wearable (and it does not mean at all banal, synthetic or simplistic). I could find out vague (but really vague, somewhat evanescent) points in common with scents a la Slumberhouse Ore, Tom Ford Noir de Noir (the previously mentioned scents being the ones more "relatively" closely conjuring me Pathetique), Cacharel Nemo, the sharper Parfumerie Generale Aomassai 10, several Histoires de Parfums or Parfum d'Empire Cuir Ottoman (considered in particular scant moments of its run) but Pathetique is something basically diverse and I frankly find quite hard picking up around the right words to fully describe its dodgy substance and the main shades of the final aroma. First of all this creative stuff is a semi-gourmand with buttery-leathery (kind of simil suedish) and gassy molecules imo. What does the juice seem smelling like? Well, frankly I get a musky-resinous (the base) accord of (ostensible) powdery iris (or stuffs like that), vegetal mold (mushrooms??), slightly buttery cocoa, pepper/nutmeg, frankincense, smooth vetiver, suede, wax and something bitter/herbal/licoricey (could it be the note of amyris??). Anyway, probably the officially listed notes are just partial or incomplete since I can't stop catching the overmentioned "presences" on skin. The juice starts kind of liquorous, spicy, incensey and leathery. Opening is pure heaven, you can catch by soon mild piquant spices go merging with something almost buttery, mossy and darkly dusty (kind of cocoa conjuring). I get woods, powdery floral notes, something bitter-earthy and a final wave of silky suede and oakmoss. This modern mystical approach hides a more classic woodsy-ambery-aromatic (warmly chypre, subtle, refined and classic/distinguished) dry down. The balance is superb, also the more "molecular" opening is anyway "well measured" and tamed. The inebriating hypnotic dustiness (pepper, piquant sweet spices, kind of powdered sugar and frankincense) is always on this side of the fence and the silky-fancy dry down is quite dry (almost poudre) and softly talky (in a darkly woody/amberish way). The general atmosphere is quite elusive, bright/dark (chiaroscuro), vaguely gassy and "transfigured". A devilish sleight of hand by Angelo Orazio Pregoni, an aroma's illusionist, an alchemical wizard, a real painter in perfumery (one of the very few in the niche section), a profoundely struggling soul which expresses itself far better by manipulating aromatic notes than by useless words (respectfully, yes, since words are useless if you are such a talented creator). Keep on inebriating us Angelo and let your creations telling everything.

I suppose one mark of "a work of genius" is the disagreement it arouses. If so, Pathetique is the brilliant achievement its creator claims. For me, or perhaps on me, it is simply and literally nauseating. It was on a list of perfumes I wanted to try based on the extraordinary descriptions it's been given. Instead of the half-ounce decant I hoped for, my husband bought me a couple of ounces of the stuff. I don't smell anything anyone else has described, with the possible exception of pepper and vanilla. I have an excellent nose and palate, and I prefer the original versions of perfumes of the 20's through 50's. As a benchmark, I love Bois des Isles, Habanita, and Detchema. I have worn Dans la Nuit and le Dix with pleasure. Pathetique starts with a top note of sweet pastries, moves through the hard-to-identify, and eventually develops a vague aura of burning tires. I find it quite long-lived, and sickening. It is without doubt the essence of surrealist perfume, presumably a personal in-joke by Pregoni, but its PR is its primary value.

Angelo Orazio Pregoni, thank you for sharing your truth through this treasure. Facing our own realities we can all find a Pathétique moment to share. I feel your pain and celebrate this master stroke of clarity in anguished nirvana. Bellissimo!

Pathetique is so far the worst perfume from this house. It smells like sweaty armpits that haven't been washed for weeks and you try to cover up the smell with a cheap deodorant.

Beauty.

Drawn to the memory, of the Masculine hand drawing, no caressing across the curvature of the Feminine on the beach.

Aaaand.

The moments, after climax when a Masculine body and soul are most at Peace and overwhelmed by Such.

Truffles, Chocolate, Art, Creativity.


Pregoni asks to participate. Or not.

Choose the former.

One will see. Spicy Pepper, Cedar and Juniper, Creamy Suntan Lotion and sliced Truffles, Chocolate, Frangelico.

"Compelling, honest, true creativity at its best." Maillard.

This will be yet another pathetic chapter about this perfume!
In fact it is not so normal that those who created a perfume also make its review. But there are two good reasons for this:
firstly we are in 2015 and internet is a popular media, the equivalent of being Modigliani and talking about your own work of art in a local for loser people of Montmartre;
secondly I'm going to die in 2023 so I have not much time to get rich and I hope this review will help me to sell more fragrances!

This perfume is my best work! Not surprisingly this isn't considered the one in the bloggers opinion. Few of the early modern masters got rich off their work; some died in bitter poverty. This is pathetic: Romantic tales of starving artists in picturesque Parisian garrets notwithstanding, the pioneers of modernism endured rejection, ridicule and often extreme privation and hardship to give expression to their extraordinary vision. Do I think myself as one of them? Sure, cause I'm a poor man and, as those artists, I know to be an artist. A time, you can only be thankful that I persevered.

Yes, of course! I'm evoking or expressing pity… This is so normal in niche… Pathétique is a French word, via Latin from Greek pathetikos, sensitive, from pathos suffering.
It is not easy to talk about the concept of this fragrance, the last time I tried (with a Russian blogger who did not know who were kandinsky) it was a tragedy!
I know that sometimes, talking about a perfume, we give importance to raw materials, and we look for easy feelings.
In other words this attitude is the attribution of human qualities to inanimate objects, it is another definition of pathetic.
So it was necessary to give birth to Gian Clod, a perfumer for the fate that met Rosin Patè Dudù, his muse, an Italian lady who has invested the money from the sale of her husband taxi to create a new brand of perfumes, with a French name: Pathétique. These characters represent the emotions, the feelings and views of many niche brands.
All that has been achieved without investing a penny in marketing, using an Iphone (and of course brain too) to shoot some short films. The result has been to attract the antipathy of the whole world of niche perfumery! I wonder why... A blogger depressed (as Kafka was) wrote: “ It's hard to talk about Pathetique without talking about its creator. Mr. Pregoni's character is part of everything, from the scent to its press release description and his interviews about it. My initial impression was that Mr. Pregoni was a progressive free-spirit who sought to work outside the lines out of genuine intellectual artistry, and whose approach was driven purely by a self-deprecating, whimsical sense of humour. I think I was mistaken. Several recent reports from people within the perfume industry that were told to me privately show a very different side to Mr. Pregoni…” One of the tragedies of bloggers is that they have too many friends and they come to believe that something said by someone, perhaps for illustrative or provocation purposes, actually represents that person. If the purpose of an artist is to create a provocation (which etymologically means “to call ahead”) someone had called himself back! Pathétique was conceived as a provocation. My other perfumes are different. If people smell my other fragrances then they are quite different. Pathétique is the only one of mine where my intention was to provoke the audience using raw materials really trivial: starting from a pathetic childhood memory of a sun lotion that my mother used on the beach. In full Oedipus complex, I found the smell of coconut and bergamot terribly sexy! This perfume is therefore commercial? Probably its ingredients may be, but no one can judges the type of white or black with which Picasso created his Guernica. This scent is an open door for true artists, for those brands that are independent from the business world and subjugated by liars. This scent is a closed door to all those perfumers/employees who had nothing to say as they continue to work for famous inspiring unknown persons. This perfume is a work of art, representing the diversity, the originality into banality, it is a symbol. Pathétique is Path Etique, the anti-marketing perfume.

P.S.
Gian Clod probably could not know that, after months and months in which he was photographed with his teddy bear tied on his chest, that same happy bear would become the packaging of another scent that defies the laws of marketing, I think by Moschino.

I love some of the older O'Driu scents, and I can appreciate the populist direction-shift he's taken, but this one's not up to much. It's a woody, balmy, chocolate scent that feels like less substantial version of Ore. There are medicinal facets that sneak through, and something distinctly grassy – which serves as an odd contrast to the cocoa (which dominates) – but that's really all there is to it. It dries down to a semi-mossy, vetiver affair that smells a tad chlorinated. And somehow (not sure how), it lasts for an insane amount of time. Overall, it reminds me of those industrial hot cocoa packets you sometimes see by a water-coolers – a sort of not-quite-cocoa kind of effect. So, unless you're die-hard O'Driu fan (which is understandable given his range), or you're after a strange, medicinal, almost metallic cocoa, I'd skip this one and maintain hope that he returns to what he does best – apothecary-style animalic stinkers. Characterful, but a far cry from his best work.

Starts out with a leafy green accord. I thought there might have been a clove or fig note in there. There seemed to be something plasticy in there (not actually a bad thing). Mellows down to a wood accord. Very nice. Has a lot of earthy notes, which would make one think it would be an allergy nightmare for someone with allergies. Smells earthy indeed. Overall, it's a nice fragrance for the fall and winter. Would I purchase a full bottle? No, but I would purchase a decant. 7.5/10

A few initial impressions. I've not read the notes list so my read on it is purely what it's saying to me (ie I'm probably way off), but here goes.
The whole thing reminds me of a balance of various skin care products (Not a negative), the opening of rich cocao butter laced and white floral body soufflé. There is a green leafy note running though that keeps it from getting puddingy. As it progresses into the heart it reminds me of Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse dry body oil and also of old school sun tanning oil, with a little oily coconut. The drydown takes these elements attenuated and adds a white musk, later fading to a plasticy ambered late drydown. Projection, longevity etc are all outstanding.

I was initially a little surprised as it's a different tact from most of what I've tried re O'Driu, but it makes sense as continuation of the path Eva Kant wandered down. In terms of imagery I can't escape Audrey Hepburn and co sur la plage on the Cote d'Azure, all oiled up with the sun beating down, sun loungers out and parasols nodding in the light breeze.

I wasn't sure what to think at first, but this is basically the perfect ode to an idealised beach life scent. It's like the anti-O'driu, this may sound pathetic but it's wonderfully done, great stuff.

Pathétique is an unexpected change among O'Driù work, almost a rupture, or however a bold twist. It has some clear connections with his previous works (vanilla, some animalic notes, a sort of almost unperceivable medicinal-anisic feel), but the overall mood and many notes are quite new for him. Basically, it opens with a surprisingly white, creamy, sweet accord (almost milky at the beginning), rotond, radiant, also rather peaceful and suspended, meditative and mystical: there's incense underneath the sweet notes, a sweet, talc, dusty, sheer kind of incense (Angelo told me he used two different incense resins here). All is permeated with a weird sort of narcotic, warm, liquid sweetness, halfway liturgic and "uterine" in a way - although I've never had the pleasure to either sit into a uterus or be able to remember the only time I've been into one for a while (and I can say the same for a church). Still this overall feel is deceptive, because shortly a subtle, dirty fog of odd darker notes arises, melting with the white clean breeze of vanilla, spices, white flowers and tonka (I'm referring to notes I smell, perhaps the actual materials aren't there). Between these two contrasting axes, an earthy-rooty accord made of black truffle and vetiver. I don't know how he actually built that truffle note, but it smells quite close to truffles, and it suprisingly fits the composition perfectly, providing an exotic, slightly gassy feel of earth and roots. Plushy clouds and dirty soil, innocence and dirt: a far more "pervert" scent than the other one he made which is actually named "Xvert". I may also think of a nun, dressed in pure white, but with her dirty secrets... and tons of other clichés, so I'll stop and go back to the perfume. Which, speaking of how it actually smells, incidentally also reminded me of some early-2000s scents, notably the most "lunar", clean, futuristic-white ones, like some Costume National, Cacharel, CdG, Lang... I found here that same kind of white, spicy, exotic "whiteness", although Pathétique expresses it in a less synthetic and more complex way.
So overall, quite a remarkable twist from O'Driù's previous style, which was quite more on the herbal/spicy/dark side, more animalic too, and in a way more obsessive and organic. Pathétique is surely quite close to Eva Kant and Peety, still delivering that mellow, ambiguous, woody, rooty, medicinal, mesmerizing feel all over; but enhancing cleanliness, whiteness, sweetness and gracefulness. Personally I find it incredibly refined and honestly irresistible, besides being complex and interesting to "elaborate" and discover - it's also simply a great scent to wear, it's sophisticated, vibrant, warm, unisex. The drydown is fairly drier than the previous phases, always sweet but more dusty, with a darker feel of benzoin, perhaps even a hint of castoreum, then woods, and then again earthy and rooty notes, leather (I think) and a slight metallic feel. More "grey" than white at this stage, with still a weird "fog" all over which provides a feel of talc, just dirtened with dust and soil - I think it's still the truffle note, however that is built (aldehydes?). Pathétique may sound complex (and it is), and surely my erratic review won't help in clarifying how it smells, but the scent is not messy for sure. One of Pregoni's main talents is to manage to stuff a load of notes, shades and nuances in tightly-packed, perfectly harmonic blends, and this is the case too. Pathétique is elegant, versatile, friendly, even "easy" if you don't mind to explore it, and that is a great achievement for sure – to manage to create a scent which can be "read" and used at different levels. Compelling, honest, true creativity at its best. Finally, sillage is huge and so is persistence (money well spent, in short). Better try it first, but if you like it, a full bottle is a good investment for sure. Another (almost the only...) highlight of 2014 for me.

9/10