I have not heard about Terry de Gunzburg as a perfume brand until last year when I went to Warsaw for the first time as an aware perfumista and had a sniffa with friends. While visiting one of the niche perfumeries in the capital city of Poland I discovered the line, the packaging was especially interesting. Heavy, rather short bottles with very interesting caps that looked like silver UFO ships. I even liked one or two of them, but never enough to spring for a bottle. I’m very picky.
This spring two new fragrances join the line and they’re said to be lighter than earlier compositions, more suitable for spring and summer. The names are Fruit Defendu (shown above left) and Bleu Paradis (shown above right). Don’t you agree that judging just by the names I should expect something quite tropical from both of these compositions. Let’s see how good or bad they are.
Bleu Paradis opens with a bright and fruity note of litchi. It has a very straight-forward aroma that is tropical, playful and full of energy. There’s also something juicy and refreshing about this note making me think of some fancy cocktails or drinks at the beach bar. After a while the composition gets a floral edge when rose accord begins to bloom on the skin. This is not a sultry, oriental rose – Bleu Paradis has a rose that is really toned down, slightly fruity and dewy as well. After 1 hour the blend becomes warmer thanks to the ambery notes. I highly doubt that we’re dealing with natural amber here. It smells kind of mineral and a little bit salty on my skin (think sea water) and as the time flies it develops into something a little bit more animalic. The accord of amber in Terry de Gunzburg Bleu Paradis certainly has a nice portion of warmth attached to it. For the next 2-3 hours the composition stays rather linear only to change a little while later. Cedar introduces the woody facet with a black pepper undertone and unfortunately with some sweat as well. Musk in Bleu Paradis is also more animalic that clean, fluffy or creamy. This is a nice perfume but I have some mixed feelings about it. Maybe it’s because I dislike fruity scents in general or maybe it’s because pairing tropical aromas with more skanky ones like musk, cedar and amber wasn’t the best choice? For sure longevity and sillage disappoint. It stays very close to the skin and lasts 4-5 hours. Is that good or bad for a summer scent?
Fruit Defendu starts off with a lovely cloud of light and fluffy musk. It’s rather clean, curly and spongy like sheep wool, with a creamy, milky vibe to it. After a couple of minutes the opening offers a tropical paradise. There’s a lot of mango in this perfume but it’s few times weaker than my favourite mango perfume which is Bombay Bling! from Neela Vermeire Creations. Mango in Fruit Defendu smells slightly oily and buttery, capturing the feeling of a real fruit in a quite nice way. Later there’s a shot of bergamot which adds a nice tangy twist with a little bit of sour taste, making the composition more uplifting and invigorating. Then, there’s also a pineapple accord which smells very good and it’s realistic. You can almost feel how juice bursts from the yellow flesh as you take another bite of the fruit. Some time ago my family developed a fondness for pineapple and eating it is a great thing for us. This tropical goodness is both sweet and tart, ideal as a component for a fruit salad. Pineapple in Terry de Guzburg Fruit Defendu is just like the one I know. As the perfume takes a progress you might notice some rose in Fruit Defendu – it’s very similar to rose from Bleu Paradis as it’s also light and dewy. In the drydown there are some spicy and piquant flavors provided by pink pepper. On the whole I think that Fruit Defendu is a lovely summer fragrance. Light, happy and energetic. It also lasts longer, for around 6-8 hours, staying closer to the skin anyway, could be a little bigger I think.
Terry de Gunzburg Bleu Paradis and Fruit Defendu both are in concentration of eau de parfum and they were composed by perfumer Michel Almairac. Despite the fact that each of them makes a focus on tropical fruits, the perfumes go in two different directions. If I were to choose one to pack in my bag for the summer, I would take Fruit Defendu. The only bottle size is 100ml, previous Terry de Gunzburg offerings were also available in 50ml. The bottle design of two new perfumes is similar to the older ones, the flacon was transformed to be taller and more sleek to make it look less heavy.
Chemist in the Bottle 