What I think I eventually found out with Delices Cartier is that the top notes of a perfume are a very peculiar moment, which deserves even more attention because it passes quickly.
Virtually any perfume behaves differently at this initial stage, but mainly two things can happen: either the notes will set down immediately and at the same time in orderly fashion, no messing around. Or, if you’re lucky enough, you will have 30 seconds of total chaos. And in that brief lapse of time you may smell the quirkiest and most interesting things ever.
Pretty much what happened with this Cartier Fragrance, whose opening gave me a WTF moment, with an inextricable mix of fruity gourmand and bitter notes, like a rotten fruit that still makes you want to eat it. But read on, because this was just a brief (marvellous) moment and the rest of this Cartier Parfume will be different.
Once the madness is over, Delice Cartier will settle down to a controlled red cherry sweetness, backed up by lightly spiced pepper. The smell is at times quirky, slightly laminated (although not at the levels of Gucci Rush) and not always entirely pleasant.
As it goes on, it will add a powdery halo a la Naughty Alice, that will make it more attractive. In the end, woodsy and musky notes will put the fruity notes to bed (you can feel them snoring in the background).
All in all, Perfume Cartier Delices reminded me of Nina by Nina Ricci (anyone out there feels the same?): same controlled sweetness, same faint fruits, with the light pepper in the background. And also a quite similar bottle, not apple-shaped, but still spherical and with a similar red.
And – but this is just me – like Nina, it didn’t drive me crazy for the same reason: too controlled, too afraid to cause disruption to the world to have a definite personality.
I wish the top notes had lasted forever.
If this perfume was a color it would be this:
Cartier Parfum
Delice Cartier Fragrances