Gaultier Divine Elixir Parfum 100ml

Two materials, nothing else: Gaultier Divine Elixir Parfum 100ml is as short a composition as this house has put its name to, and in an elixir concentration that turns out to be the point rather than a shortcoming. Tuberose is the first and the loudest. It is the heaviest white flower in perfumery, fleshy and creamy with a faintly rubbery, almost green edge underneath the richness, and it is a material that fills a room without being asked twice. Concentrated as it is here, it does not so much open the fragrance as announce it, and anyone who finds tuberose overwhelming in smaller doses should test this before buying.

Tonka bean is the second and it exists to make the first one wearable. It is warm and soft with a dusty quality and a quiet bitterness beneath the sweetness, and it sits under the tuberose like a cushion, taking the sharpness out of the flower and extending it for hours longer than it would last on its own. Quentin Bisch composed the pairing, and with only two materials to work with the balance between them is the entire craft on display. There is no development to follow and no base waiting to surprise you. What changes across a wearing is the ratio: tuberose dominates the first two hours, and from there the tonka gradually takes over, so the fragrance ends much softer and warmer than it began. At this strength expect heavy projection early and a very long stay afterwards, including on clothing the following day. It is aimed at women, it belongs to cold weather and to evenings, and 100ml is a great deal of something you will only ever need one spray of.

Jean Paul Gaultier is a Paris fashion house. The designer's first collection for women came in 1976 and his own boutique in the city in 1984. Perfume arrived in 1993 in a corset shaped bottle that has defined the brand since, and Puig, the majority owner from 2011, brought the fragrances fully in house in 2016.