And, in the top we have : : : Aldehydes, Ylang Ylang, Galbanum, Violets, Whiskey, Saffron
In the heart: : : Tuberose, Carnation, Heliotrope, Incense, Leather
And In the base: : : : : Musk, Vanilla, Opoponax, Patchouli, Vetiver…..
I spray on the perfume and I can immediately smell Bertrand Duchaufour. Ah yes, unmistakeably his signature; that familiar, directional, semi-cacophonous dissonance that always, subsequently, coagulates into something more legible – out there – but usually quite fun. That modern laboratory edginess that sometimes strikes me as being over-intellectualized, never instinctual; over-complicated, even, but still, on the whole, rather undeniably pleasing and bright.
Recently, I have come round to this perfumer more and more. His Traversée Du Bosphore is a luminous slice of cosmopolitan Turkish Delight I can’t help but enjoy; I was amused and somewhat swept away by his recent metallic pineapple-fest Déliria, and as for Sartorial, I think I am going to let Duncan tell his side of the story about that one. On him it is wonderful and straightforwardly gorgeous.
Tralala, a cute name, in a cute bottle (if you ask me; I am always somewhat drawn to the carnival; magic toyshops; puppetry and the grotesque) is not quite what you might expect from the waywardly bizarre list of ingredients. Reading those on paper, I would be expecting a heavy orient; brusque, thick, and dense, whereas in reality, as befits the name, the scent is more of a sweet, dangly legged thing that wants to bop about like an overexcited jack-in-the-box in a toy shop.
On my skin, Tralala opens on an effervescent, cherry-leather uplifting overture of red fruit, tuberose, and aldehydes with just a tiny touch of the pre-mentioned whiskey: this is not a ‘boozy’ type of perfume by any means, not liquourous, oozing or honey-thick. No: this is upbeat, fresh, and zany: soon, the white musks and vanilla will hook up willingly with the ylang ylang and the violets to become, strangely, a perfume that was the star of the show at Duchaufour’s alma mater L’Artisan Parfumeur; to me, this perfume is essentially the classic Mûre Et Musc gone haywire. A snazzier, more marshmallowy, Mûre for sure (a scent I love and wear myself) but which can be a bit plodding, insistent and one-dimensional. Here, instead, as befits a perfume by Mr Duchaufour, there is always much more olfactorial detail going on; something zizzing, something pinging, then being narrowly pulled back into line so that the whole can then shine; like his work in the recent rhubarb-tastic Aedes De Venustas, which manages the astonishing feat of turning that tangy, delicious fruit into something regal, plush and austere, this perfume, with its popping, silver-eyed aldehydes bringing all the ingredients up up up, begins stark and fresh and attention-grabbing, yet then attenuates, well-measuredly, into something else; the rhubarb, over there in the Aedes becomes a stately vetiver-incense; here, the bubblicious, almost heady opening of the perfume calms down nicely into a sweet, gentle, and rather sexy, skin scent I am quite happy to carry about with me for the rest of the day, thankye very much. Whistling while I work.
Tralalala indeed.
Thanks for the sample bottle, Bethan!
The Black Narcissus 
Now I can’t wait to sample it. It’s not due to come out until March (unless I heard wrong). I have an affinity for whimsical and sometimes creepy (Marni x 2) packaging and this one ranks high up there! Wonderful review and an enabler pin for you if I get a bottle.
Hold your horses!
Definitely agree about the bottle and packaging. I definitely would consider buying Tralala for that alone, and I do like the perfume, but it is a bit strange in the sense that you get a really strong blast of everything in the kitchen sink but then it all just seems to fade away. Coming home last night the whole kitchen smelled of it as I had sprayed the red velvet pouch you see in the picture three times to get a broader outlook. Smelling it again now I stand by my idea that it is like Mure Et Musc but with added oriental touches and aldehydes, very full and rich. Quite an eye-catching scent, actually. It does seem to fade though, but then again I quite like what it fades to.
Sample first, though, I reckon.
Hmmm, the kitchen sink comparison does give me pause. Well, I’ll be very happy with a mini if it were to be available. I have play money – I’ll just pretend that the Macy’s gift cards burning a hole in my pocket are Saks gift cards. En plus, everyone knows that whatever perfume you buy during your birthday month is really free 🙂
Exactly.
It’s fun, though. And genuinely fun perfumes are not that easy to come by. And that bottle, Hajusuuri-san, that bottle….
I love the bottle and the juice sounds pretty nice, too. Wonderful review!
Thank you. Definitely bottle over perfume, but I like it and will wear the sample bottle I received. Very red, very uplifting and fun: sweet and heady; great for a party.
Violet and Mure et Musc sound intriguing. I was shocked when I saw a photo of the bottle – so weird and unexpected for a Penhaligon’s. But I understand why it had to be done.
I think they are throwing a cute little spanner in their own works.
I adore your review, even though it is not something I would usually think of wearing, you just make it sound so “appetizing”; only way I could express that. The bottle alone makes it more inviting than just the name would, but together it sounds quite enticing.
It is good. The bottle is lovely, and when it comes out here I will try it again.
It’s just……despite the appeal of the scent itself, ultimately it is a weeny bit too BUSY. I like things more tucked in, of themselves, smooth.
I don’t think the scent will be for me, but I find the bow on the bottle to be irresistible!