Cartier Declaration for Men

Happy New Year! I am back with a Cartier. I was thinking of doing a more unique fragrance as the first for 2013, but after humming and hawing over what that fragrance may be, I decided a Jean-Claude Ellena designed Cartier would have to do. That Smell will be back to normal next week.

Declaration for Men

Declaration for Men

In Bottle: Citrus, sharp orange, no sweetness–but very bitter with an earthy quality and a spicy kick.

Applied: Bitter orange with a blend of birch in the background. I get some spices upfront too and an almost animalic quality that I’m assuming is coming from an ambery leather combination. There’s definitely something that smells a bit “off” about this, but it’s “off” on purpose, like Declaration is trying to tell me to like it or leave it. Anyway, as the scent ages, it gains more woodsiness, takes on a floral bouquet with warm leather and that constant off smell in the background as the spices roll in. It took a long time for Declaration to get anywhere, it has fantastic longevity and projection so if you want something that will stick around all day and don’t mind occasionally getting a whiff of faint uncleanliness then this might be up your alley. As the scent dries down, I get more spices, more vetiver and a smooth leather that rounds things out very nicely.

Extra: Declaration has quite the lengthy list of notes and the complexity it boasts is no surprise for how much stuff is jammed into it. It smells of sophistication and good taste, but at the same time, it warns the fainthearted off with what people call the “sweaty armpit” undercurrent that runs through this scent. Whatever it is, those who brave it might come to love it.

Design: Declaration has a nice enough look. Simple in general with a bit more attention paid to its cap. It’s easy to hold, pleasing to look at with no garish bone on its body.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy Spicy

Notes: Artemisia, caraway, coriander, birch, mandarin orange, bergamot, neroli, bitter orange, iris, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, juniper, orris root, jasmine, cardamom, leather, amber, tea, vetiver, oakmoss, cedar.

I don’t relish much on the off smell in this. If you’ve followed this blog, you’ll note that I tend massively toward the clean so Declaration was a bit of a surprise for me. I appreciate it on the complexity level, but I think I’ll pass.

Reviewed in This Post: Declaration for Men, 2012, Eau de Toilette.


Cartier Le Baiser du Dragon

My thanks go to LS for requesting Le Baiser du Dragon. I headed out and tracked down a bottle to sample and it’s one heck of a unique, deep, oriental. I will admit I haven’t considered Cartier fragrances much and I’m not exactly sure why. Le Baiser du Dragon is nice oriental.

Le Baiser du Cartier

Le Baiser du Cartier

In Bottle: Sweet almond and amaretto mixed with a sharp green and spicy floral quality with a creamy foody scent to it.

Applied: Opens with a spicy green kick then delves into a sweet almond and amaretto fragrance that hits a bit of a gourmand vibe. The sweet scent mixes into a floral bouquet during the midstage. I get gardenia and jasmine and a green note like leaves. I get a bit of woods in the middle as well with mix of woodsy notes coming up and taking with it a smoky quality that mingles with the rest of the fragrance. The woodsy notes I can definitely pick up on the cedar with a perfumed woody note that’s got to be sandalwood. Le Baiser du Dragon is really proving itself to be a highly complex, very pleasant fragrance. As it starts to dry down, the fragrance takes on a bit of a rose scent as well as a smokey creamy sweetness as the fragrance fades off with a nice and deep resinous woodsy fragrance Basically, there’s a mix of spicy and smokey creamy florals and woods. It’s very deep and very nice.

Extra: Le Baiser du Dragon comes in three concentrations, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum, and a straight Parfum version. The fragrance was composed by Alberto Morillas who also composed Marc Jacobs Daisy and Givenchy Pi.

Design: The bottle design is reminiscent of Cartier’s oriental inspired designs, particularly their Chinese inspired jewelry. It’s pretty evident by just looking at the top of the cap and the overlay on the glass. The bottle itself is nice and easy to hold with these cute pseudo-handles on the sides of the bottle’s glass. Overall, it’s a bit of a retro design but it’s easy to use and functional.

Fragrance Family: Oriental

Notes: Gardenia, bitter almond, amaretto, neroli, orris, jasmine, rose, musk, cedar, sandalwood, amber, dark chocolate, benzoin, caramel, patchouli, vetiver.

I really do love the complexity in this fragrance, there’s so much to smell and analyze and it’s one of the oriental genre’s better fragrances.

Reviewed in This Post: Le Baiser du Dragon, 2010, Eau de Parfum.