After Carrie’s review, I just had to try this and Dorothy was kind enough to send a sample. I am no match for Carrie’s eloquent and evocative prose, but want to add my impressions to hers.
I, too, thought Eau de Camille when I first sniffed this—a lovely soft green, not sharp, and not at all resin-y to my nose; initially a soft citrus green which quickly turns into something much fuller. Not rain forest, which to me is a tropical smell, heavy with earthy dampness and oozing florals, but a plush, yes, dense green—green velvet, ah yes, green velvet! Tres Bon has a plush, velvety texture in the way a good red wine has that texture.
From the soft citrus green and lavender opening, it moves seamlessly into the unabashedly floral heart, supported by more green and creamy, powdery woods. On my skin, it is very feminine; I have a hard time imagining a man wearing this. The rose here dominates on my skin, and with the lily of the valley adds a lovely floral sweetness; those of you who aren’t rose lovers, don’t write this off—despite the rose in the top and heart notes, it is too complex and too balanced to be called a rose fragrance. While definitely floral, it is not a hit you over the head with flowers fragrance, either, and the base notes add warmth and fullness to the composition without it ever becoming “just” an amber (or musk or vanilla or moss) fragrance.
What I enjoyed most was Très Bon’s cohesiveness. Instead
of one accord fading away to the next, each builds on the one before, like
a good music score or a kaleidoscope: the notes swirl in, adding to and changing
the overall pattern, but even as the pattern changes, the individual colors
remain. Aside from the fact that it’s not resiny, this is too floral to evoke
Seve Exquise for me, instead a softer, more complex, woodier Beautiful or a
warmer, woodier Sabi.
Thanks to Carrie for bringing this to our attention and to Dorothy especially for sharing.
