Eau Divine by Divine : Perfume Review & Sample Draw

There are only a handful of perfume lines that manage to inspire not only admiration but also deep love and devotion resulting in a fan base that is left longingly waiting for their next offering. Divine certainly is the personification of such a niche line, inspiring well-deserved adoration and dithyrambic tributes to their perfumes by perfume writers and critics. I have begun slowly acquiring everything that the brand has ever produced, having fallen deeply in love with each and every one of the perfumes upon first sniff. Even the homonymous Divine by Divine, which I originally shied away from (its strong nature left me with an inexplicable feeling of disquiet and sadness) eventually won me over and is by now one of my favorite evening perfumes. When I was offered the chance to sample their newest fragrance well ahead of its release for a possible review, I jumped at the chance.

Eau Divine is the line’s 9th offering, is name inspired by the fact that it marries freshness with sensuality. Being Divine’s first unisex scent, the contradicting elements do not stop there. This is a perfume that is envisioned to resemble both man and woman, their unique facets brought together in perfect harmony: “…luminous and intriguing, tender and sharp, delicate and provocative, a play of opposites to enhance the union of man with woman.”

This new unisex scent timely plays on the summery cologne theme, but elaborates, venturing further than then norm by adding spicy, sensual, almost oriental aspects, resulting in a beautiful spicy-hesperidic cocktail. Applied on pulse points, Eau Divine quickly fills my imagination with the sun-drenched vistas of the Mediterranean I so long for: Orange groves in the blinding noon light, soft aromatic breezes and a coast like lacework. Aah…! Sweet, juicy citrus with bracing, fresh accents and the citrus-tinged floral character of rosehip are buoyed by the frothiness of aldehydes. Perfectly complimentary, a ginger note - partly citrusy, partly spicy and earthy - helps marry the freshness of the opening with the sensual spicy notes of nutmeg and green cardamom that follow. These spicy notes quietly change the sensory perception of the opening which smoothly transitions from sharp and bracing to a rounder, more sensual heart. The freshness is still there, lively lending cheeriness and joyfulness to the scent, but the undercurrent is beautifully round, bearing the erotic signature of all Divine perfumes. My favorite flower for the warmest season of the year is orange blossom and this perfect summer scent incorporates neroli note in its heart. To help you get a feel for the scent, I’ll say that the neroli here is far more neutral than the effeminate orange blossom note in Fleur du Male as well as being magnificently light and airy, rendering it absolutely perfect for hot weather. The characteristic scent of violet subtly wafts in and out, never taking center stage or ever turning powdery but functioning as a mellower counterpoint to the dry character of the composition. The perfect dryness relents in the drydown, allowing gently sweet, absolutely gorgeous balsamic accents to show through. At this point it feels as though the wearer is no longer wearing any perfume, but as though the skin itself is magically lightly perfumed and exuding the most fabulously erotic musky, ambery scent.

The perfumes of the Divine line have captured my heart with their old-world glamour, with their elegance, their uncompromising femininity but most of all, with their incredibly erotic nature which is present in each and every one. This new unisex entry diverges from the house’s set norm, by presenting a perfume devoid of gender specifications and subsequently missing a great deal of the incredible, red-hot sex-appeal I’ve come to expect from the brand. This is completely understandable, considering Eau Divine is in the classic cologne style. However, those of you that like me love Divine’s perfumes for their animalic, musky bases can rest assured that despite being quieter and far more well behaved, Eau Divine has been infused with a beautiful musk that although perfectly suited to hot summer weather, nevertheless bears Divine’s signature without the shadow of a doubt. This is a true Divine: respectful and true to the classic style of French perfumery, elegant and yes, very much erotic in its own way. With the addition of a summer cologne, the house’s lineup comes ever closer to becoming a complete, high quality perfume wardrobe. Wonderful!

I am giving away three samples of this beautiful, perfect for summer scent that will not be available until the end of July. Simply commenting will automatically enter you in the draw. Due to vacation, I will only be able to post your samples after I return from Greece, however winners will be announced in the coming weekend.


The bottle is offered in both feminine (50 ml, 100 ml & 200 ml) and masculine (50 ml, 100 ml & 150ml) bottles, both styles pictured in this article.

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

L’Homme de Coer by Divine : Perfume Review

Happy father’s day everyone! Tomorrow I am leaving for Paris and I will be back on Wednesday evening, but there is still time for one more review this week. I decided to focus on yet another of the beautiful Divine fragrances, this time L’Homme de Coer. It is appropriate for the day insofar that it is a masculine fragrance, but it is not a scent that reminds me of my own dad and the reasons I chose it are not sentimental: it is simply a wonderful male scent I’d been planning to review for a while now.

Knowing that this is a male fragrance based on the iris, I was quite prepared for that first sniff to transport me to a silvery-gray landscape, glistening with rain of liquid zinc and sparkling powder. This image was shattered into pieces that fell through my waiting hands when I finally smelled the actual perfume... My initial surprise never did turn into disappointment though, for my interest was immediately grabbed by the unexpected green opening. One has to be quick to smell the pungent juniper, that when attended to will be very reminiscent of a dry martini, with its gin-like smell. As interesting as it might be though, I can’t help but be glad that it quickly calms and merges with the scent of cypress to provide a calmer interlude before the scent of pine takes over, enhancing everything with its brighter character. There is a strong sense of freshness now, something that makes me think of aftershave... And even though I would normally reserve the word ‘aftershave’ to describe a male fragrance in derogatory terms, in this case it happens to be my way of conveying the impossible sexiness of this stage. Invigorating and crisp, my heart skips a beat and I feel desire building up deep in my abdomen. There is a slow accession of something previously buried under the evergreen foliage, the advent of the softest sweet, yet still clean smell. A musky sweetness like a neck still steaming from the shower, a neck I wish to bite and taste. And still this warmth builds, the naked chest of a man who’s long not been a boy. His chest is moist with peppery, musky angelica and all I want is to be held by him, all pretences left behind. I won’t mind his chest hair against my cheek, I’ll gladly rub my face against it. L'Homme de Coer is now inducing not just vivid images in my mind, but is positively acting like the hormone oxytocin, inducing undiluted feelings of trust, bonding, calmness and well being... What is happening to me? I remain in this warm, comforting embrace, following the development with eyes only half-open as if in a haze. The iris is now in bloom, soft and beautiful but not as powdery as I know it. It is at once masculine and pretty, splendidly accentuated by ambergris which lends it an unexpected soft marine accord. From this point on, the scent lingers close to the skin, never bracing, never aggressive. It melds with the skin, becoming personal, like something seeping effortlessly from the pores in small quantities throughout the day. It is the scent of a secure man that has lived and knows how to love and give selflessly. It is the scent I’d like to imagine is worn only for me.

Images sourced from www.amazoniaflowers.com and www.worth1000.com

L’Inspiratrice by Divine : Perfume Review

I am not a patchouli hater. No, I am not. Not anymore, that is. I have long enjoyed patchouli as an accompanying note to complex fragrance blends, but have never been able to stand it as a dominant single note, either in high-end fragrances or in oils. Patchouli to me had been interminably associated with headshops, incense sticks that would make me gag, nausea-inducing candles and cheap oils from Body Shop. Nevermore. Not since L’Inspiratrice came into my life, showing me that patchouli can be affective, eloquent, beautiful, inspiring. L’Inspiratrice is to me everything I wanted Prada to be. I never did manage to love Prada nor did I think any perfume so dominated by patchouli could ever become an instant love. It feels wonderful to be proven wrong. Every time I manage to fall in love with a previously unloved note I feel a weight lifting from my shoulders. Learning to love leather through wonderful creations such as Cabochard, Bandit and Piver’s Cuir de Russie was like leaving a ball and chain behind and walking towards freedom. Learning to love patchouli through L’Inspiratrice, it feels like finally, a pair of shackles that was keeping me bound has been broken. My heart is lifted. Perhaps all this sounds like a hyperbole; after all there is no harm in avoiding certain notes. But for a perfume lover, surely, the sense of freedom one attains once yet another barrier has been broken feels like a true gift.

Despite the fact that L’Inspiratrice is meant to be a marriage between patchouli and rose, to me it is predominantly a patchouli scent. I do not know whether it is a shortcoming of my own senses or the result of such an expert blending process, which makes the rose almost indiscernible to my nose. I, perhaps arrogantly, like to think the latter - imagining that the rose has been given a masterful supporting role, meant only as an enhancer to the wondrous beauty of patchouli, the Diva, the seductress, l’inspiratrice. And if perhaps I can imagine the rose’s presence in the opening – and that only after closing my eyes and inhaling deeply – I certainly lose track of its trail completely as the development of this fragrance progresses. I make a conscious decision to not dwell on any of the supporting notes much; I can only be thankful for the fact that they have managed to embrace patchouli with such finess that I, previously unmoved by its charms have managed to see the light, brought to my knees by its redolent beauty. No other note seems to warrant mention. Would it even matter if I told you that behind its luscious trail my skin is caressed by gorgeous, deep musk and the softest vanilla? No... What seems more important is to speak to you of how it unfolds, occupying a myriad of textures with every secret smile. From the fresh leaves of the plant in my palm, to those very leaves rubbed against hard thick leather; from heavy, dark velvet shielding my bare skin like a cloak, to gossamer blue and orange veils billowing from my form once more after having been put away in a chest filled with those now dry leaves for years and years. But L’Inspiratrice is more than just a story of textures, though even that aspect alone would have been enough to impress. L’Inspiratrice is a woman full of mystery, whose stare is full of enchanting magnetism. Her allure is dark and bewitching, as though her blood itself is hot with the essence of dark magic. And yet despite that, she is elevated above anything even remotely common. Her beauty is no trickery; her sorcery is a golden cage she has constructed for herself. Her exquisite charm is foreboding, leaving lips burning with feverish desire -but it is at once forbidding – her ship will always be flying a touch-me-not banner.

Pictures courtesy of www.purplemoon.com and www.netperles.com