Songes
Eau de Parfum, Goutal (2006)

Songes pursues a roughly similar track to Manoumalia in that the jutting sharpness of ylang, jasmine, tiaré, and frangipani has been softened by, and partially subsumed into, a creamy sandalwood. However, while the flowers in Manoumalia have been melted down entirely into a fine floral silt, only partially identified by hints of identifying rubber or fuel (ylang) or fruity cream cheese (tiaré), in Songes, the individual flowers still smell brightly and recognizably of themselves.

The shiny-dirty-plasticky jasmine is the main player in the EDT, which has a woody but still quite bright, translucent texture, while a banana-ish ylang dominates in the EDP, with tons of creamy, animalic musks fleshing out the landing. Both versions are supremely graceful and classically beautiful; but only the EDP smells as cuminy as a woman’s inner thigh.

Well, ok, listen. Both versions have cumin. But the addition of billowing, cumulus-sized white musks to the sandalwood and vanilla of the EDP has the effect of blowing hotly on the cumin, amplifying it to a point that makes me blush. The EDT is bright, clear, and sensual – the EDP is dense, creamy, and frankly suggestive. I own both, because I love Songes in every way, shape, or form, and also because sometimes I like to choose between single and double cream.

There's no musk, no civet, no ambrette seed, but I'm finding this sexy in the most sophisticated way. FBW. Va Voom!