Calypso Robert Piguet for women

Oh thank you so much Yamba1 for introducing me to this gem. I wore it all day yesterday, and in the supermarket I kept running into myself! The smell lingered in the aisles so it has massive sillage. Having steered clear of florals for years, I am now finding with further testing that there ARE actually some nice ones out there. I must say this one seems to be wrongly named, from a fiery rhythmic dance I expected a more dramatic spicy perfume - this should be re-named "Ballet" for its femininity and gracefulness. The geranium and orris root were always going to make this a go-er for me!

Robert Piguet CALYPSO is a gentle, friendly floriental perfume with a dominant, slightly sweet amber base. To my nose, the florals are absorbed into the sweetened amber layer rather than being independently distinguishable. This is definitely far more ambery than floral, it seems to me.

I do smell the rose geranium in the opening, but it is coated with and muted by the light amber layer. I would not describe CALYPSO as a thin oriental (a genre of which I am not fond), but nor is it very thick or insistent à la hard-hitting classic oriental perfumes. I am curious, actually, whether the gentle demeanor of this recent reformulation is intended to make the perfume more appealing to modern wearers.

All in all, CALYPSO smells nice, but it will not forge a permanent memory trace in mind. Very inoffensive while still being pretty, this perfume would be difficult for anyone not to like.

To be honest I don't have much to say, because you have to experience this beauty for yourself. Calypso is pure luxury....a beautiful bright pink powdery rose against black velevety background - that's how I visualize this scent. Very deep and feels more complex than the notes reveal. It doesn't last for half a day, but for solid 5-6 hours. I saw some reviews mentioned low sillage, but if you noticed the spay dispenses very small doses of perfume. Try to double spray it and you will easily stink up the room!
This is for sure going to be a permanent staple in my collection.

I agree with Mellyhelly, it does not smell like a combination of single notes but instead it's a powerful mixture of unknown, incredibly wonderful notes. I am talking about the reformulation and have no idea regarding the original. Either the reformulator, Monsieur Guichard, made an excellent job - and this is more than possible, more than probable - or the original was so wonderful that no reformulation could ruin this lovely scent.
All the positive adjectives apt for a scent can be applied here: original (it does not resemble any of the many scents I have encountered in my life), refined (not too loud, not too tamed, just right), complicated (without being a messy array of ingredients), modern (but not so trendy that in a few years it will be outdated), classic (but not only for ladies or "grannies"). Just perfect. My compliments to Monsieur Aurelien Guichard, I am a purist and rarely do like reformulation but I can hardly imagine Calypso more perfect than it is. I regret its not being more widely popular: we would not end up hiding our nose at the cinemas, restaurants, shops ... when close to a woman not wearing lovely masterpieces such as Calypso.

This perfume smells very special on my skin. Before reading here I didn't even notice that it is about rose geranium! It's a faint perfume at first, I can barely smell it on my wrist and it never gets loud, but it smells delicious nonetheless! There is a tad of powder but just a vague hint.
Rose geranium, iris root, suede, patchouli? I have no idea. It smells none like the single notes smelled alone. It rather smells globally like a very elegant, subtle yet present feminine perfume, very attractive and almost relaxed in its beauty but knowing where it's going to! I could say it smells very "nice" but it doesn't render the right and complete idea.
It also reminds me of something smelled in the '70s, a typical feminine smell, both tamed and elegant.
Also addictive.
If you expect a buttery tuberose bomb like Fracas, you're not on the right road! Calypso smells completely different and much less obvious to describe. It somehow escape definitions.
In its tamed and subtle way it lasted for hours on my skin and I found myself smelling my wrist in delight until I decided to wash my hands!

Put quite simply, Calypso is the most beautiful geranium fragrance I've ever encountered.

Calypso is not the somewhat harsh fragrance of the common windowbox geranium as in the photo above. Not at all. Instead, Calypso is pure rose geranium, Pelargonium 'Graveolens', whose leaves you can rub between your fingers to transfer the essential oils to your skin.

The orris root adds a mellow softness to the rose geranium, the mildest of patchouli adds a "chewy" texture (that I consider patchouli's most important contribution to any fragrance that includes it) and the suede notes create a buttery "taste" while citrus and amber combine in a way that's imperceptible to my nose except to add a certain sense of sunshine.

I've worn my sample several times over the past few days and each wearing suggests a linear structure because, I suppose, it is so very well blended. While I'm disappointed in its 4-6 hour longevity and nearly non-existent sillage (it stays very, very close to my skin), I still deem it full bottle worthy because it is so incrediby beautiful. Speaking as a life-long gardener and life-long lover of fragrance, this goes to the top of my want list.

Strong geranium and silent rose at the opening, after that comes patchouli. It doesn't develop very much on my skin. Sillage is low, the smell itself is classic, but not loud.

A promising name, but not my type of scent at all. First I thought I had mistakenly tried on a male scent. It's so masculine and harsh somehow. In the heartnote I smelled a nut scent very strongly and the scent went a bit softer. The staying power didn't seem too good on my and I guess on me orris root, suede, amber and patchouli came out most, which are not my favourites in a scent. All in all on me it was like a nutmeg scent with a very masculine side.

my first impression is the amount of patchouli as I don't like patchouli, but saying that my beloved VISA also have patchouli and dispite that I adore it.I wore Calypso for 2 days now and I can see lots of simmilarities to Visa the rose and orris root soften the patchouli, and the mandarim keep it sparkling. I think this is a new favorite. Recommended.

I have tested most of the Robert Piquet perfumes and am the happy owner of a bottle of Bandit. I've been desperately keen to sample this new offering from the house, so today I made the trip to one of the few places in my city that sells it.
I was so excited to have that first test spray, yet when I out my nose to my wrist, I could barely detect anything. Definitely not the like bold and assertive fragrances such as fracas and bandit. I felt a little bit like a child whose birthday gallons have just popped!
BUT, about 10-15 minutes later I began detecting the most enchanting, feminine wafts and I realized this gorgeous smell was in fact the mild mannered Calypso. It took a while to kick in, but I was rewarded by a delicate floral which was balanced beautifully by soft downy leather which served to give this fragrance structure and depth. It is easy to see that there may be distant traces of of Calypso's sister, Bandit lurking behind the geranium! Not that calypso is a bad girl like Bandit. No, she is the perfect lady.

This is pretty, feminine and thoroughly enchanting. Due to it's delicacy, I personally would not recommend this for evening (I prefer the hard hitters for that) but would be best enjoyed by someone who is after a beautiful delicate floral with just enough edge to keep you enthralled.

Calypso (2010 formulation)

Calypso fulfil the basic principle of perfumery for which a fragrance should, first of all, smell good. While this statement may sound obvious, we witnessed too many examples of perfumes smellng like crap (really too many to mention).

A strong bitter geranium and unripe mandarin opening turning into a middle phase where rose makes its appearance with a remarkable presence together with iris. The general lush vibe is enriched by musc and hints of suede that perfectly blend together all the previous elements into a classic floral chypre. Elegant, rich and formal. Maybe not so distinctive and unique and surely not the most successful among the Piguet offering but it still smells damn good.

Rating: 7/10

This is such a gorgeous composition!! My favourite from Robert Piguet. When I first sprayed it on a card, I immediately made an association with Kenzo Amour for some reason. I thought I detected powdery vanilla, but a bit darker, more complex and interesting and less sweet. On me, it develped into smoky, woody rose - amazingly seductive and sexy. That's when I discovered that it actually reminds me of Kenzo Flower (without the sharpness), not of Kenzo Amour. Anyway, I love it!

So, so soft and pretty but not a wallflower in any way! Powdery geranium over the velvety suede, a hint of sweetness..wears close to the skin but lasts for ages. Quite subtle but far from ordinary!

Have smellt this one yesterday in Antwerp in a perfume store with niche perfumes. And I like it. In the opening it reminds me a bit to Narciso Rodriquez that same muskyness but fresh of the mandarin . But when it dry's down it gets a bit leathery/ Suede vibe, its a modern classic.

Oh my! My ongoing love affair with Robert Piguet had me expecting a brawny floral hot with spices and leather. Instead this delicately opened with an almost shy mixture of geranium and rose that may be the most perfect floral I've ever experienced. As it's warmed the orange and suede have crept in, making it broader and lighter with that exquisite floral note being improved but not lost. The amber has a gray feeling to it: it reminds me very much of Prada ambers. (I've had my nose on my wrist so much that I now have the perfume on my lips. The taste-smell experience makes the importance of the geranium-rose balance even clearer.)

The name of this perfume is a puzzle--it implies gaiety, loud music, brass and fireworks. This is a deadly serious intellectual and austere perfume that I can only describe as aristocratic or perhaps stately. If it were a goddess it would be Minerva rather than Venus. Not only do I love this perfume I respect it.
Sillage: 1-2 feet
Durability: several hours at least
Fabulosity: Total if you can accept the darkness
Price to value ratio: excellent
10/10

This is a beauty! By far the most wearable of all Piguet scents, at least according to my nose. It is not voluptuous and loud like Fracas, nor sweet and overly feminine like Visa, nor rough and adventurous like Bandit. Ok, I admit, I never tested Futur.
But I love this one. The scent of crushed geranium and roses seems to dominate on my skin, with lots and lots of powder, and roots, reminding of a woman's secret chamber where unspoken pleasures await. This is what I imagine a royal courtesan to smell like. A very high class, pleasure giving female, that knows its worth, and is not afraid of selling it to the highest bidder.
This is a soft woody floral, never loud, never overwhelming. It's velvety in nature, even "squishy". There is a dark side to it, it lacks luminosity. Although not a heavy perfume, there is something about it that makes me think it's best worn after sunset. Middle notes dominate the composition, luckily.
If I was to give a color to this scent, I wouldn't color it in orange and black. It would be a heavy, dusty, rose. The color of the sky covered in sunset clouds, before a heavy storm, with just a few red rays of sun trying to cross over.
Despite the fact that it has few notes, this scent is very complex, and very very unusual. I don't know the smell of the original Calypso, but this is incredibly beautiful and unique.
Somehow, I don't expect it to became very popular though. I think because it doesn't have the sweet and bubbly energy so popular nowadays with the some, nor the heavy and incensy classical oriental mystery that others seek, this will not a gain a large audience.
But is surely won me over!
Sold from the first sniff, and to the last drop of my bottle!

Hmhmhm, a fantasticly romantic new fragrance from Robert Piguet!

I remember not liking reformulated Visa all that much, so I was not really enthousiastic about this one. I love suede and roses, but there are so many things that can go wrong in a fragrance that I was nto sure whether I would enjoy it. Calypso actually really surprised me. I don't know the original, but this reformulation really works for me. The fragrance is quite modern, but at the same time remained very classic.

One thing I was afraid of was the the earthiness coming from patchouli and orris root- two notes that often overpower composition and spoil fragrances for me, but Calypso is not earthy at all.

The fragrance is delightfully soft, slightly powdery, the rose mixes really nicely with the suede undertones. The flowery notes are not your usual boring flowers, the quality of ingredients is very fine as expected from such an established perfume house. It is one of very few fragrances where geranium really shines.

A great advantage for me is that Calypso seems to suit so many different occasions, from a casual outing to an evening at the opera.