I'm often surprised by how little I read about the original Agent Provocateur released in 2000. It is a wonderful, slightly dirty, rose fragrance, with saffron to start, and ends up smelling like a modern rose-chypre in some way.
Reading the reviews, this perfume seems to really divide opinion. Those that don't like it seem to be turned off by the perceived 'dirty' note, which some people have described as dirty sex, unwashed vagina and two-day-old knickers. Woah. In truth, unless I'm missing something obvious, Agent Provocateur does not smell anything as sexual as the above, in my opinion at least. Yes, it does have a slightly kinky, dirty element, but these descriptions verge on the ridiculous.
The notes from Basenotes include saffron, coriander, Moroccan rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, magnolia, white gardenia, amber, musk and vetiver. There are some serious florals in the heart, but on my skin I detect mainly the rose, and a wonderful, spicy rose it is too, no doubt amplified by the saffron and coriander. I don't find the florals overwhelming at all. Agent Provocateur manages to be simultaneously fresh and dark, clean and dirty, all at the same time, which is quite a feat.
Agent Provocateur made their name, if I'm not mistaken, by selling sexy women's underwear, so perhaps it is tempting to take the obvious step and assume the perfume will evoke sex. In a way it does. This is a sexy fragrance, but entirely unisex in my opinion, and while it does bring to mind the boudouir, I don't think it is as overtly smutty-sexual as some reviewers make it out to be.
If you enjoy rose fragrances, particularly slightly darker ones, for example Paestum Rose, Rose Poivre, Le Labo Rose 31, etc, I think you might like this one too, at a much lower price, I might add.
