Monday, June 9, 2008

Divine by Divine : Perfume Review

One of the houses I feel a certain affinity towards is Divine, and to their credit, these feelings have been built not on artificial branding strategies or clever advertising, but purely on their scents. Their masculine scents, although perhaps a little safe, are elegant, luxurious and refined. Their female scents have had this rare effect on me, making me wish I owned them from the moment I first smelled them; a wish that did not prove to be a passing fancy. I own and love L’Inspiratrice and look forward to buying both L’Infante and L’Ame Soer sometime in the near future. Surprisingly enough, the only Divine scent that did not actually manage to move me the way the rest did, is the small niche company’s first, homonymous offering, Divine.

My reaction the first time I smelled Divine was both powerful and inexplicable: I was instantly gripped by the strangest feeling of déjà vu, surrounded by a fragrance so very familiar and yet so disturbingly out of reach, I just couldn’t put my finger on it no matter how hard I tried. Even more disquieting than the strange familiarity of the scent, was the way it was stirring my emotions, making me feel as though I was constantly on the verge of reliving some, until then suppressed, rather unpleasant memory. Only there was no such memory... Just the bizarrely unsettling feeling of coming across someone who had, in the past, been important enough to recognize, yet being utterly unable to do so. And this, coupled with a feeling of oppression from the scent itself: It is a perfume that feels like the grandest bouquet of heady, narcotic blooms in a tiny, moonlit room with door and window hermetically closed. A sadness accompanies the fragrance that fills the space...one last time of tearful lovemaking after saying goodbye.

“Open the window darling... Let the night in...”

Divine is beautiful, too beautiful perhaps. She’s got theater make-up on. She looks good from afar, but once you come close enough to congratulate her on her wonderful performance, you’re thrown, overwhelmed by the intensity of her over-defined features. Close up, she can be frightening and quite awe-inspiring. There’s something brutal about her, like a Grand Damme of the ‘80s. She’s a prettier, mellower Poison, but loses the battle, for even though far superior, she is not a recognizable classic and is thus left walking behind. She’s like a sister to Lauder’s Beautiful, only not as sparkly, loving and fun. Looking at her one last time and finally deciding that I do not indeed know her, I decide she is dated.

Image: Flickr, originally uploaded by Vanessa


6 comments:

PinstripedZebra said...

Heh, I see at least one reason why 'Divine' appeals to you 'Divina'...

This is just like a story, I like the way you have written this review!

//Z

Anonymous said...

I first found out about this line from LT's now defunct blog and sent out for samples immediately. I loved all of the women's perfumes but was slightly underwhelmed with the men's since they didn't seem to last very long on my skin.

Christine

Anonymous said...

Dear Divina,
I quite often get this feeling of deja vu from fragrances, and find it unnerving. Some make me feel sad, as if I've come across them at a time when a sadness has been in my life, and yet I can't associate them with a particular person or occasion. It's like catching a glimpse of something in the corner of your eye, but when you look again, it's not there. Your lovely description sums this up much better than I can!
I haven't sniffed fragrances by Divine, and now I feel I must...
Thank you so much for your compliment, Divina,
Hugs,
Linda ;)

Divina said...

LOL! You're funny, Z! Actually, you're probably right: According to research, people tend to be attracted to people and companies that they share their name with. Even if just the initial letter is the same, there is still notable attraction. Part of it has to do with the fact that this type of information is more salient to us.

Divina said...

Christine, you're not the only one I've heard this complaint from! I haven't tested the masculine frags as much as the feminine ones, and it has been a while, but from what I remember they were not performing bad on my skin when it comes to persistence.

Divina said...

Hey Linda sweetie! You should totally test them, I reaaaally, really love these! As for deja vu, it is not often that I get this feeling of sadness I described here, that is why it seemed so peculiar and unnerving. However, it does happen very often that one frag reminds me of another and then it keeps driving me crazy until I figure out which one!

Hugs!

Divina