New NARCISO Eau de Parfum Poudrée Explores the More Vulnerable and Tender Sides of Intimacy
Narciso Rodriguez understands how to interpret nuances via fragrance, how to aromatically emulate the subtle differences between a glance and a stare, between a whisper and a murmur, between a sigh and a gasp, between a breeze and a gust. That’s the genius of his latest opus, NARCISO Eau de Parfum Poudrée ($97 for 1.6 oz. and $114 for 3.0 oz.; exclusively at Bloomingdale’s stores): how it takes the DNA of its predecessor, the NARCISO Eau de Parfum, and reworks it ever so slightly to create a more tender, delicate, vulnerable aroma.
Like the original Narciso EDP, the NARCISO Eau de Parfum Poudrée opens with a floral bouquet, but the choice of blossoms is slightly different. Whereas the original scent featured top notes of gardenia and Bulgarian Rose, the Poudrée version boasts top notes of Bulgarian Rose, jasmine, and orange blossom, which together create a more subtle and diaphanous layer of scent. The heart of the fragrance, however, is the key difference: whereas its predecessor featured an amber and musk center, this one forgoes the amber and instead piles on the powdery musk for a more elusive feel, a more understated take on sensuality. The base notes of vetiver and white and dark cedars remain unchanged, so that the enchanted forest quality of the original scent perseveres, giving the composition the mysteriousness that compounds its allure.
The bottle’s design perfectly echoes the feel of the celestial potion inside. Whereas the NARCISO EDP came in a cube-shaped, translucent, milky white bottle, the Narciso Eau de Parfum Poudrée is presented in a transparent, clear, cube-shaped glass bottle with a blush pink, soft-sculpted half-oval container seemingly suspended in its center. A blush-colored top completes the design. Not only does the usage of blush pink in the bottle design convey the fragrance’s sensual overtones, but the fact that it’s tucked away inside a glass casing also seems to allude to the scent’s elusiveness — after all, it’s the unobtainable that truly fascinates us, the mysteries we can try to unlock but never truly solve, the life-long enigma that is a lover’s brain and heart.
Speaking of the fragrance, Rodriguez said the usage of nude shades has been essential to all his collections and that, in this case, it was meant to celebrate a woman’s glow, the scent that radiates from her nude skin. That’s precisely the feeling you get when you experience this aroma — you imagine the scent as a silky camisole grazing your skin.
It’s the type of scent that will remind you of intimate moments, like waking up to find your significant other silently admiring you as you sleep, a sliver of sunlight peaking in through the bedroom window blinds and landing atop your face. It’s a dream sequence that you don’t want to end, a memory in the making.
