Byredo Baudelaire

Judging generally by comments on a number of sites, Byredo receives a fair amount of criticism. I haven't tried a lot of their perfumes, but I do think that Baudelaire is quite decent.

It opens sweet, woody and warm, with a mix of comforting spices. The notes, as far as I can gather, include juniper berry, caraway, black pepper, hyacinth, incense, leather, papyrus, patchouli and black amber. The spices to me don't smell particularly peppery, and while no sweet notes are listed, the opening feels ever so slightly gourmand to me. Again, while not listed, I soon detect a smoky vetiver note. In fact, had I not read these notes, I would have gauged this perfume as a smoky vetiver scent. Perhaps this effect is caused by a combination of juniper, incense and patchouli. I don't really know. The heart continues in much the same fashion, slightly green, a bit smoky, a bit tangy and a hint of leather joining the fray. Baudelaire smells very good, no doubt about that.

In the dry down the smokiness does fade away, leaving what to me smells like a vetiver and patchouli accord, not unlike what I smell in Le Labo Vetiver 46 or ELDO's Fat Electrician. At no point do I detect the floral hyacinth, nor is the black amber particularly evident. I'd say that Baudelaire strays towards masculine, with its earthy patchouli, leather and what I think is vetiver, but I don't think a woman couldn't wear this by any means. Overall I think this is a very good fragrance and certainly enhances Byredo's reputation in my opinion. Having said that, I'm not sure I would buy a full bottle of this. It's very nice, but falls just short of being special, I think.

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