I don't like to read press releases, usually they are rhetoric of seduction or utter  nonsense; before I  read  Byredo Parfums Mr. Marvelous's release, I just could not surpress thoughts of the memorable Billy Crystal skits on Saturday Night Live (circa 1985)  and his hysterical imitation of Fernado Lamas's "you look mahhhvelous" .

 

So I peeked; the eau de parfum is an homage to the avant garde hairdresser Christiaan Houtenbos the edgy  hairstylist who  worked with everyone from Grace Jones to clients like Calvin Klein since the 80's. Now… add that to copy that mentions France’s post-revolutionary dandies Les Marveileuses.Thoroughly confused?

What could I do? I put the release down, wore the fragrance, tested it  on my DH, I  smelled the ghost of a Poete Maudit-Paul Verlaine.  Ben Gorham is no stranger to the Poetes Maudits, he named a fragrance after one " Baudeleire."

 

 

 

From  Verlaine's  Claire de Lune Fêtes galantes (1869)

Your soul is like a landscape fantasy,
Where masks and Bergamasks, in charming wise,
Strum lutes and dance, just a bit sad to be
Hidden beneath their fanciful disguise

 

The opening of Mr. Marvelous is indeed marvelous (and deceptive) with notes of Mandarin Leaves,and  Neroli Flower , bright and witty. There are notes of green lavender and bamboo, but  my skin didn't pull these (it smelled a moment like ambroxan) The base notes are what remained – the fanciful disguise – dark , somber and mysterious- Black Amber, White Cedarwood. To me the base smells a whole lot like vetiver It has vetiver' s smokey-ness and the warm dryness of the  white cedarwood which doesn't have that aramo of a pile of wood chips.

 

What's even more mysterious is in an envelope a lab sample 10ml  decant arrived which I am now offering to a reader (sprayed twice). Please  leave a  comment  about  anything  you found interesting  in my review and you are eligible for the decant. Or tell us who is your Mr. Marveous and what is his most charming quality. Is it  you ? Draw ends July 31, 2011

 

 

IMHO  Ben Gorham…you look MAHHHHvelous

Michelyn Camen– Editor-in- Chief

i dedicate this post to my husband Didier Cholay, Mark behnke and  to the remarkable Wim Janssens