PG3 - Cuir Venenum, Parfumerie Generale

Can you imagine what happens when the fetishism of the leather is associated with the sacredness of the myrrh, both melding with a rich orange blossom, the voluptuous flower of the erotic on a warm and desirable skin? The result is PG 3 - Cuir Venenum, an opulent and sensual fragrance, one of the scents in Parfumerie Generale perfumes line, created by PG founder and perfumer Pierre Guillaume.

Each PG fragrance bottle is boxed in an elegant packaging, following a minimalist style of "heavy chunk of glass" and is numbered, what implies that the liquid fragrance is the most important and  its scent without any classification between genders, reinforcing tha the most relevant is also what is behind of Pierre Guillaume's creativeness and daringness, both transformed into real perfumes.

His collection of fragrances started in 2002 as niche one as a new olfactory alternative against the tasteless mass-market fragrances, a very common behavior and statement of founders and perfumers of niche perfume houses. In order to form his distinctive and full of personality range of fragrances Pierre Guillaume has composed his scents based on some new perfume making processes as what PG states in its press material: "such as "photo-affinage (photo-refining or smoothing olfactory peaks by ultraviolet radiation), his creations are imprinted with a "vibrant" or "melancolic feel".(1)

 
Indeed, smelling Parfumerie Generale fragrances is an experience full of contrasts and facets, most of them dual sensations or extreme associations. It occurs mainly because Pierre Guillaume ornaments PG fragrances with rich, vivid and dense compounds, all blended and influenced by the touch of his nose style, hence they tend to be fragrances to fill a  magic and elegant vision of perfumery, indulging the senses in dark and sensual or lively and bright moments. 
 

Particularly, the employment of exotic notes such as the Canapa Sativa seed oil in PG 2 - Cozé, the Wengé wood and the delightful toasted hazelnuts in PG10 - Aomassai plus some personal olfactive preferences plus the perfumer style makes me think that Parfumerie Generale is a type of formidable "World Perfumery" based on the same concept of the "World Music" is.

Through its fragrances it is possible to have different sensations like to be in various excitingly unsual cultural and social rituals where scents lighten and darken our enigmatic and obscure facets, taking part of mysterious and exotic tribes around the world and, at one time, having a sophisticated cult french fragrance. 
 

PG 3 - Cuir Venenum features notes of citrus, orange blossom absolute, leather, myrrh, cedar, coconut and musk and according to the house “it shows a new oriental and erotic facet that gives it depth and mystery” (2). Considering how the main three notes orange blossom, leather and myrrh act on and are explored in the fragrance, Cuir Venenum is a potential poison of seduction as a sweet dry oriental fragrance highligted by a considerable resinous effect of the myrrh rendered by the orange blossom and, closely intimate hints of leather which arouse mysteriously in this PG.

The first approach of Cuir Venenum is a voluptuous sweetness smell, clearly myrrh-scented layered by some leathery accords. The fragrance is completely possessed by this heavy, sensual and powerful oriental combination and, at first layer, the chords of citrus are very fast like to look at the freshness of a luxurious fountain placed in an Orient palace and, suddenly feel on the body the warmth sensation of being seduced by a mysterious woman or man next to this fountain when the seductive notes embrace the skin.

Images of myrrh and opopanax resins perfuming seduction places are pictured on the olfactive journey and, the Cuir Venenum is envisioned as the aroma of  sensual temples where the sacred scents are blended to desires of trangression for sensual pleasures, smelling the other’s body as smelling a profane orange blossom.

While the orange floral is tempered by this warm-balsamic, dry wood scent in a feminine vision, Cuir Venenum seems to be have one unique purpose: make us to portray in our minds how erotic and delightful might be the real strong face of this mysterious leather which, in the middle of scent development,  is better highlighted in the fragrance and the myrrh becomes sharper. 

At this moment, Cuir Venenum  seems to be more balanced among the three main notes. The seduction and the fetishism around leather note is adorably oriental as contemplating a Egypty queen, a feminine image representing a sensual orange blossom that is among her seductive slaves dressed in leather clothings while resin incenses are burnt in a sumptuous palace. A scenery of sensual luxury and liberal desires. 

 
Even if indulging in East fantasies, Cuir Venenum may be also a poison for those who might not appreciate fragrances which have a real intimacy with sweet-balsamic myrrh chords and also is not a type of fragrance for those who expect one scent with a strong and “pure” leather note. 
 
In general, the leather does not linger here as a standard leather fragrance and that is not the purpose because there is a reinterpretation of this note on Cuir Venenum. In this PG fragrance, leathery chords are intriguingly suggestive and capture the “cuir” theme under a different perspective, much more mixed to the flower, resins and woods and behaving as middle and undertones.

Even Parfumerie Generale does not make any classification between women and men’s fragrances, this perfume is more feminine, what results in a good option to break some olfactory paradigms, including that one which classifies the leather as a male note.

In an exact manner, the beauty of Cuir Venenum is an evocative leather, stimulating some erotic imagination when are joined raw materials which are so sensual and sacred. The beauty is a luxuriant fragrance that someone may wear and be a human goddess or human god in oriental leathery scented dreams. 

For purchasing information, visit the official Parfumerie Generale website.
 

Quotations 1 and 2, from printed press material Parfumerie Generale.
Images: Parfumerie Generale, Vanessa Pike-Russell, saquan

Author: Cristiane Gonçalves (crisgonc)
Fragrantica Member

Cristiane Gonçalves (aka Cris Rosa Negra) is fragrance writer from Brazil and has a multilinguistic background and education. She is  self-taught in perfumery issues, owner, editor and writer of her two international blogs, Perfume da Rosa Negra (the pioneer Brazilian Perfume Blog) and El Perfume al Aire (in Spanish).

Cris's writings are highlights at Perfumecritic.com as a active contributor writer. Cris is also a Senior  Human Resources professional experienced in renowned companies and is involved in the development of the attars culture  as a  oriental fragrance expert/consultant.