4160 Tuesdays
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Vanilla blossom emerges first, but it's almost immediately shadowed by that disarming charcoal note, creating an opening that smells faintly botanical-meets-industrial, slightly smoky and strangely compelling rather than immediately inviting.
The charcoal recedes as talcum and pralin move forward, revealing a powdery, almost vintage-cosmetic sweetness with nutty undertones—the fragrance transforms into something far softer and more classically beautiful, though never quite abandoning its slightly austere character.
Benzoin emerges as the dominant force, lending creamy warmth to what remains of the powder and vanilla, eventually settling into a subtle, skin-scent experience that hovers between sweet and resinous, intimate rather than projected.
Take Me to the River arrives as a peculiar study in contrasts—a gourmand fragrance that refuses sentimentality through the deliberate introduction of charcoal in its opening moments. Marie Duchêne has constructed something genuinely unusual here: the vanilla blossom doesn't announce itself with the predictable sweetness you'd expect, but rather emerges from a faintly ashy, almost smoky haze. This charcoal-vanilla interplay gives the composition an unexpectedly modern edge, preventing it from tumbling into the saccharine territory where most vanilla-praline fragrances languish.
The heart reveals the true architecture of the piece. Vanilla reunites with talcum and pralin, creating a powdery softness that feels deliberately vintage—not in a nostalgic sense, but as if Duchêne is actively referencing the clean, slightly metallic dryness of cosmetic powders from another era. There's something almost theatrical about this combination; it smells like sophisticated self-presentation rather than genuine sweetness. The pralin adds a nutty warmth that prevents the talcum from becoming chalky.
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4.0/5 (170)