Passion
Goutal (1983)

Passion screeches in its opening. I mean this screeches like a banshee. These flowers have a bone to pick; this tuberose and ylang-ylang set the tone with an attitude, and I think it's because the tomato leaf is pricking them in their arses. Following several minutes of their continued shrieking and the rubbing of their bums from soreness, it dwindles to a mewl and they reveal their more noble and elegant side. Might I add, it's quite the pageant.

The verdant leafiness turns out to be just the right move in making these flowers find their proper voice in the heart after its shrill opening. It seems that a gardenia joins the chorus about fifteen minutes in, and then by the hour, I decide that this is the greenest white floral I've ever smelled. Does it resonate with me? Sure, but I have a surplus of reference tuberoses and white florals in my collection and this doesn't quite woo me as Tubereuse Criminelle or Balenciaga Michelle, but it's not too shabby.

The sweet and rich opening burst of ylang-ylang and jasmine is a beauty. Softly caressing my olfactory capacities, it is of a velvety and quite creamy consistency, and clearly sweet but never too much. Lovely.

In the drydown the floral department remains strong, adding a tuberose to its arsenal. This is a bright and fresh tuberose that lacks any waxy or indolic characteristics. A bit later a herbal undertone is revealed, with notions of tomato leaves and transient whiffs of clary sage being noticeable.

Later on a soft patchouli arises that blends in nicely, but is a little bit nonspecific. An attempt is made to add a perfunctory synthetic non-event masquerading as an oakmoss, which is an insult to any specimen of this lichen that ever populated our planet.

The other import during the later phases of the development is a vanilla note, with a caramelised background that leads to an, albeit less intense, resurgence of the initial sweetness, and is tapering gently towards the end.

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

This spring creation shows its best side in the early stages of a rich and sweet floral bouquet as a Eau de Parfum, which avoids excessive and sickly cheap sweetness. The second half is less impressive, but altogether it deserves a positive score. 3.25/5.

This is a pretty Goutal. Dominant notes of tuberose, jasmine, vanilla, and some patchouli at the end. Tuberose seems to be the main star here. Not overly creative but, pleasant to wear.

Annick Goutal's Passion comes across as a very well balanced, well behaved white floral fragrance that is eventually a little unexciting given my personal tastes. I do get the fresh green opening with a lovely subtle touch of mint, followed by a bouquet of white flowers. I perceive a well mannered tuberose that is more beautiful than heady; this is complimented by a soothing ylang-ylang. The overall vibe is sunny, summery, uplifting. This accord of white flowers, laced with a touch of green, continues for hours before eventually becoming softer and revealing a faint musky-vanillic sweetness in the base. I do not detect any patchouli or mossy aspect. Passion exhibits a duration of six to seven hours on skin, though the sillage is subdued and close after about a couple of hours.

Passion, to me, is not particularly a tuberose fragrance. Unlike hardcore tuberose compositions like Carnal Flower, Fracas, Tubereuse Criminelle or Amarige, Passion is more of a refined white floral blend with tuberose taking the lead. While not too abstract, Passion achieves a great balance among its different elements. To me, Passion is a no-nonsense go-to white floral fragrance that perhaps works best in warm weathers, and possesses an understated aura and a refined elegance. Nonetheless, Passion is missing a spark somewhere, that elicits a neutral reaction personally.

3/5

I wish I could smell this, but it seems my nose has a blind spot with Passion.

I can detect a very light, mild camphor-minty opening, but then only the faintest whiff of a non-descript white floral melange.

I am a great fan of both tuberose (Caron's Tubereuse, Piguet's Fracas) and Jasmine (Luten's A La Nuit), so I do perceive white florals, and find them both heady and joyous.

I can hardly detect Passion at all. From the reviews on this page, it sounds right up my alley. Sadly, the alley is empty.

Genre: Floral

The resurrected Passion marries the brisk, refreshingly bitter green floral style that Annick Goutal exploits so well in Eau de Ciel, Le Chèvrefeuille, and Folavril to a lush arrangement of indolic tropical white flowers, centered principally on tuberose. With its minty top note and conspicuous galbanum, the result suggests a more demure and conventional variant on Serge Lutens's iconoclastic Tubéreuse Criminelle. In fact, if the 1983 version of Passion smelled anything like today's, it could well have served as Christopher Sheldrake's template for the Lutens!

From its mint, tomato leaf, and eucalyptus opening, Passion moves on to a sweet, luminous, and somewhat fleshy accord of tuberose, green jasmine, galbanum, and ylang-ylang. Persistent traces of eucalyptus cool the floral accord, which holds a linear course for several hours before trailing off into a gentle clean musk and vanilla drydown. Sillage and projection are both adequate but never intrusive, and the entire composition has pleasantly relaxed and natural feel to it, despite the tendency of tuberose to indulge in high drama.

Whatever the genealogy, if you're intrigued by the cough drop-plus-tuberose of Tubéreuse Criminelle but can't quite bring yourself to wear anything so strange, (or if can't get hold of a bell jar from the EU,) Passion might be just your thing. Likewise, if you crave tuberose, but feel overwhelmed by the traditionally buxom approach of Fracas and Amarigue, Passion offers a comparatively restrained and easygoing alternative.