Parfumerie Générale Louanges Profanes is a perfume wreathed in Biblical symbolism. When I wear the perfume, this makes sense. It’s somewhere between a pious grand-tante and Madonna’s The Immaculate Collection.
Louanges Profanes opens with a mothball-like lily and a lacquered jewelry chest. To summarize, it’s an indolic floral with sparkling notes and smooth woods. The floral is a funeral-style Asiatic lily, which I love. Louanges Profanes takes me all over the place. It starts to remind me of cherry-scented lip balm and nag champa incense (how angsty 13 year old girl is that?!). I quickly realize that the cherry-scented lip balm could also be some sort of almond liqueur. But, there’s also a waxy note, like lipstick. And something yellow, like narcissus. But, not a fresh, living spring floral. It’s that waxy, sweet, balsamic narcissus that makes me think of vintage Caron perfumes. There’s also a hint of leather in the background. It basically reminds me of classic, vintage perfumes and goth girls with drawn on eyebrows. It’s like a renovated classic with some sort of fetish-y, sexy nun thing going on. The dry-down is powdery with musk, almonds and orange blossoms.
To clarify, I’m all about this perfume. Wearing it has reminded me that I should wear stuff like Caron and Guerlain L’Heure Bleue more than I do.
Notes listed include lily, benzoin, hawthorn, incense, neroli and woodsy notes. Launched in 2008. PERFUMER – Pierre Guillaume
Give Louanges Profanes a try if you like classic floral ambers or white florals. Or perfumes like Grossmith Phul-Nana, Caron Tabac Blond, Guerlain L’Heure Bleue, Oscar de la Renta Esprit d’Oscar, Neil Morris Cathedral and/or Penhaligon’s Ostara.
Projection and longevity are average.
The 3.4 oz retails for $160 at Osswald. Samples are also available for purchase.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – A renovated floral-amber. I mean, it makes me think of Madonna circa 1989, my favorite Caron perfumes and black lace mantillas. Soooo…I love it.
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*Sample obtained by me. Product pic from the brand. Jinx Falkenburg pic from celebrityvault.com
It’s really a shame these companies don’t hire you to do their copy because “a renovated classic with some sort of fetish-y, sexy nun thing going on” is pretty much the best sales pitch I can imagine. This one is definitely going on the to-try list!!
Lol, sometimes I’m like “is the brand owner/perfumer reading this? Because I sort of hope they aren’t!”
But, this one does have some sort of fetish/sexy nun thing going on. It’s traditionally pretty but that leather and cherry lip balm…
So funny…I remember loving this one as orange blossom/neroli with almonds, hawthorn, and musky woods. But I just dabbed some on, and now I totally get the nag champa, cherry Chapstick thing too. I can smell both interpretations at the same time. And this is so a child of Narcisse Noir on me right now. I’ve had my decant for lots of years, so I’m also curious if age has anything to do with how it’s wearing.
Anyway, I’ve been considering a bottle of this for years, and I think it’s one of the underrated gems from the PG line.
Same! It’s so weird. I wear it sometimes and it’s just like the note list…which comes across as a pretty classic (like a Caron or “yellow floral”). THEN I wear it again and it has this angsty teenager that listens to musicians that the diocese deems sacrilegious. In either interpretation, I love it. Sometimes it’s like the elegant child of Narcisse Noir, other times it’s the little punky kid of Narcisse Noir.
Additional info – My sample is fairly new-ish (maybe 3 months old). But, it wasn’t from the brand. It was from a tester bottle (store made sample). I haven’t worn it in warm weather, just this weird winter weather we’ve been having (super cold and like one day where it was 60).
I love it. I’d love to have a bottle. I’m not as familiar with the PG brand as I should be. But, I’m surprised I don’t hear as much about the brand anymore because the stuff that I’ve tried has been so good.