Goutal Paris Folie d’Un Soir and fashion sketches by Olya Bar
Can a fragrance represent the moment that changed someone’s life? Often it comes down to one decision that has the power to change the entire trajectory. The latest fragrance by Goutal Paris, Folie D’Un Soir, is inspired precisely by that.
The fourth fragrance in the Geraldine collection dedicated to Annick Goutal’s “stage” or modeling name captured an impulsive evening when Annick Goutal decided to leave her life in France behind her move to London where she later pursued a successful modeling career. Folie d’Un Soir is an intriguing composition that breathes confidence and femininity; it’s the empowerment one feels when one is ready to plunge into a new life. Excitement pulses through the veins like perfume accords. Each wave makes us feel the emotion, adrenalin, and beauty of the unknown. Annick’s life in London became a vivid time in her career, full of haute couture fashion shoots and extravagance.
French cafe via Unsplash
Goutal Paris Folie d’Un Soir catches the beguilingly deep feeling of triumph on a beautiful evening spent in a lavish lounge over delicious cocktails. A glorious event venue, thick plush carpets on the floors, the walls are lined with old oil paintings, and the cocktails are shaken behind a centuries-old mahogany bar. Young Annick is sitting on a chesterfield couch, surrounded by friends, and feels like her life in London needs to be shaken up just like that old-fashioned she just ordered. It’s time to feel the allure of life in London in the 1960s. It’s time for a change.
London via Unsplash
Goutal Paris Folie d’Un Soir opens up with a vibrant burst of pink pepper, like a pink blush of cheeks when one feels the party’s intoxication, the feverish feelings of leaving everything you have known and felt comfortable behind you to leap into the new stage.
collage by Olya ©
The Turkish rose plays the lead role here, a youthful softness of the petals as if it was the skin of a young woman, soft and delicate to the touch. The heart is enriched with aromatic myrrh and deep sensuality on incense, slightly smoky, a touch balsamic, and absolutely addicting. There is a tactile feeling that Folie d’Un Soir brings to the wearer as if you were gliding your hand on the buttery soft suede. The base is lined with leather and dusted with cocoa powder, adding a gourmand feeling to it all without any significant sweetness.
collage by Olya ©
You will inevitably notice a slightly vintage vibe to Goutal Paris Folie d’Un Soir, a modern spin on the familiar structure that feels comforting yet has a kick of novelty woven throughout. I would most certainly reach for this as a special occasion, something that makes me feel festive yet cozy, comfortable yet with a promise of something exciting. Each one of us has an extraordinary story to tell, each year brings a new perspective, like a chapter in a book that slowly unfolds into a novel and can never be identical. A leap of faith, perhaps, is something we all need at least once in our lives. It sometimes takes a fleeting second for life never to be the same, a spritz, a moment, a decision.
Editor’s Note: The perfumers for Goutal Paris Folie d’un Soir are Mathieu Nardin (please read his Young Perfumer Story here) and Julie Masse (her Young perfumer story is here)
Notes: Pink pepper, Turkish rose, myrrh, incense, leather, cocoa.
The fragrance was kindly gifted to me, but my opinions are always my own
–Olya Bar, Editor
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Available at Twisted Lily