This stuff is so freakin’ good that I welled up after the first sniff.
Declaration By Cartier was created in 1998 by Jean Claude-Ellena (Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert, In Love Again by YSL, Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Nil and all Hermes perfumes from 2004 on, as in-house perfumer), and it’s normally described as fresh and spicy.
And that’s correct: after all you get the tingle of the “cold spices” like cardamom and caraway (as opposed to warm ones like cinnamon, as Ellena explains to Richard Burr in The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York
Yet, all that won’t really give an idea of what it really smells like. A help came from the review in Bois de Jasmine, which praised the “balance between clarity and depth” that Ellena was able to achieve in this case.
Yes, that’s the thing: with Declaration Cartier the nose goes wide, but it also goes deep at the same time and, don’t ask me why, but if it’s something that your nose is not ready for – like mine for example – the result is a good confusion at first, and then amazement, the one that is beauty’s job to create (god I’m lyrical today).
From beginning to end there is not much evolution, but seriously who needs it with such an amazing smell? Towards the end however, a nice dose of musk makes it warmer, still preserving the same style.
Don’t be vulgar, don’t wear it in an office, unless you’re a serious executive. This stuff is made to impress, so don’t waste it. (EDIT: but if you – like me – are not a social animal, then wear it in the office, even if it’s with polo and denim).
You can find an incredibly long list of ingredients for this fragrance from florals to spices, but the effect you get is of a minimalistic one (one of the highest points in the “weight loss in Jean Claude Ellena’s style” as Luca Turin said in Perfumes: The A-Z Guide
If this perfume was a color it would be this:
Declaration De Cartier
Cartier Declaration Cologne