Robert Piguet – Fracas eau de parfum review

Fracas is the legendary perfume of the brand Robert Piguet, which appeared in 1948 and is one of the most beautiful tuberose perfumes ever made. Since it appeared, it has become a favorite of many well-known ladies, from Old Hollywood to the contemporary pop divas: Madonna, Linda Evangelista, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Kim Basinger, Kate Beckinsale, Brigitte Bardot, Carolina Herrera, Iman, Ivana Trump and Princess Caroline of Monaco – all these ladies were fascinated by this perfume masterpiece.

The Piguet House has given us two more perfume classics base on which we measure all the other perfumes in that category: Bandit, the reference leather perfume – all leather perfumes want to be like Bandit when they grow up,  and Baghari, the pearl of all floral chypres. There were many attempts to create a new masterpiece based on the old perfumes from the mid-20th century, but unfortunately, none of the heirs of Robert Piguet managed that. We should not complain because at least we have the opportunity to smell and buy these three. The Holy Trinity of the house of Piguet, and perhaps of the whole perfume world.

Robert Piguet was one of the most celebrated fashion designers and many other famous designers passed through his studio: Christian Dior, Pierre Balmain, and Hubert de Givenchy, among the most famous to a present-day audience. Ladies worshiped his gorgeous creations, and Vogue called him “King of Little Woolen Dresses”. In the 1940s he met talented perfumer Germaine Cellier, with whom he made Fracas and Bandit. In a world dominated by men, Miss Cellier, with her figure and appearance, as well as the body of work, stirred up stagnant and well-used paths of the obscure world of perfumers. Tall, beautiful, with penetrating and resolute stare, she did not hesitate to move fragrant borders and create avant-garde works that will not only enrich the taste of the audience in post-war Europe but also in the decades to come.

Fracas smells like seduction, a dangerous type of seduction. A seduction that can lead you to death. Dark seduction made of flowers, and the flowers need light for life, and yet the way it is made, Fracas sucks you up like a black hole and does not let you go, does not allow you to breathe to the border when it is impossible to return. When you feel pleasure in losing breath when you feel the pleasure in giving up, in losing yourself in it. Fracas is a dangerous, dangerous potion, as said by Super Dacob.

Fracas perfume composition is floral, dominated by rich, buttery tuberose. When you apply Fracas, you can feel the finest creamy, floral aura around you, thanks to the high concentration of Tuberose Absolute originating in India’s exotic regions. Tuberose is direct, it will either attract and suck you into its white, fleshy, intoxicating leaves or put you off like a strong migraine headache. It relies on her “evil sisters” without whom she is not going anywhere: jasmine and orange blossom. This fabulous trio will immediately make you aware that you have to be the best version of yourself in order to wear them. As if it weren’t hard enough for us, ordinary people, to even imagine wearing something like this, miss Cellier used only the finest Tunisian orange blossom, French jasmine and the most expensive Iris from Florence for Fracas perfume.

The freshness of the lily of the valley goes in three directions. First, by using the leaves of a fresh violet that give a green note to this perfume composition; Second, by using methyl anthranilate – a fruit-based substance that refreshes like champagne and the third, by adding synthetic civet, fresh and animal ones – if you can still remember the smell of the old Kouros perfume, then you know what civet is. All this, which is more than one perfume can or should offer, is decorated and embellished with the lower notes of the vetiver and oakmoss, which give the flower composition a darker, more earthy and daring character.

Tuberose is one of the most difficult materials to master in a perfume craft. Perhaps, therefore, the brave and determined Germaine Cellier chose it to show all her knowledge, skills and gifts. Fracas is a perfume that will make you love white flowers, even if you previously despised it. That is how deep the genius Miss Cellier is and the power of the Fracas perfume. Although now we do not have the opportunity to smell the vintage version, the new version can still give us a charm of reminiscence of the time when the perfume creation, as well as wearing it – was an art.

You can read about more fantastic tuberose perfumes here: Frederic Malle Carnal Flower and Gucci Bloom.

Perfume creator is Germaine Cellier.