1740 is a perfume by French niche house Histoires de Parfums, founded by Gerald Ghislain for the sole purpose of creating an olfactory library where fragrances would take people through history and tell stories of famous and infamous people and events. As each and every one of historical figures carried the sum of the experiences of generations who lived before them, as well as hallmarks of the culture in which they grew up, but had something special and unique that set them apart from all other beings in the universe. So does every perfume of the Histoires de Parfums. They always add an element of surprise to the traditional perfume families, and peculiarity that makes the whole brand novel and unique. 1740 is no exception.
From the house Histoires de Parfums say that 1740 is:
A truly unflinching scent for the modern male hedonist. A perfume where Leather and Davana explore the scandalous liberties of the Century of Lights.
1740 is inspired by the notorious figure of Marquis de Sade, and the year itself marks the year of his birth. I am pleased to say that, apart from the name, this perfume bears no resemblance to the actual figure of Marquis de Sade, nor to his works, which I naively encountered during my student days. Unlike reading the Marquis de Sade, which takes us through a state of surprise and shock, then laughter, then vomiting, and finally total numbness, the smell of perfume of the same name offers us a completely different experience: surprise, pleasantness, enjoyment and joy and finally olfactive ecstasy.
What 1740 perfume shows us, as well as the personality and work of Marquis de Sade, is that there is no limit to human imagination – the only difference is how it is guided. Whether by the power of Eros, the creative power of love, or the Thanatos, the destructive power of darkness. Reading the works of Marquis de Sade, you will discover the endless possibilities of destruction and the lowest urges that seas upon the destiny of man and mankind, while with the fragrance 1740 you will discover the bright part that makes us hope that in spite of our nature we can make, create something like gods.
The perfume composition of 1740 perfume is a woody spicy, albeit so juicy and intoxicating that you will smell a magical elixir made up of exotic fruits and potent, aromatic herbs and spices well-woven into a unique and integral whole. The opening is dominated by a fragrant note of a special kind of wormwood, which has a strong and distinctive aroma of apricot, wine liqueur, or very ripe fruit. Its sweetness and warmth gently envelop the wearer and absorb his senses, breaking down all the fences of criticism or resentment. Not even Luka Turin could resist this scent, though he also asked the key question: Why resist at all? I agree with that, especially since we so rarely have the opportunity to smell a successful combination of leather and spices, relying on an amalgam of fragrant resins and patchouli. At the very bottom of the pyramid, precious immortelle, which in itself can be perfume, at the top of the wormwood, takes us from the first to the last second of the 1740’s unusual and unforgettable perfume path, but offering refreshment and enjoyment every step of the way. Why resist? Indulge in delight, unlike the others in the opus of Marquis de Sade, satisfaction in 1740 is completely safe and…legal.
[Fragrance notes] top notes: bergamot, davana; middle notes: patchouli, coriander, cardamom; base notes: cedar, birch, labdanum, leather, vanilla, elemi, immortelle.
[Fragrance group] woody spicy.
