JEAN PAUL GAULTIER
DIVINE ELIXIR
2025
PERFUMER
Quentin Bisch
salt
frangipani
tuberose
benzoin
tonka bean
‘Inhabit the spirit of Jean Paul Gaultier’s with a captivating spritz. Jean Paul Gaultier takes the floral scent of the Gaultier Divine fragrance deeper with this elixir perfume. The dazzling fragrance is evocative of the designer’s magnetic runway muses, with refreshing notes of salt and frangipani intermingling with a woody benzoin base for a radiant yet sensual aura that lasts.’ – Harrods
Divine Elixir really does it for me in the opening hour or two, before resorting back to a reasonable ‘okay, but nothing special’. Still, likely my favorite of this generally solid line, which I think I prefer as a whole over Le Male, Le Beau & La Belle. That said, I’ve only smelled the previous version a couple of times briefly, where I did quite like the opening too, but it felt more like a generic sun-tan lotion fragrance at first. The flankers seem to follow a somewhat similar trajectory however, with the Elixir being the most… compact. It feels like a fragrance that has aged a bit more, making all the ingredients feel more like one and losing some of the screechiest edges.
Here, the opening feels a tad more unique and it’s the stand out moment for me. I don’t get a strong saltiness or sea breeze at all, but I do get a really nice take on a vanilla-floral. Compared to the way a lot of big designer releases handle sweetness, the vanilla-tonka in Divine feels elevated to me, especially in this Elixir opening. Smelling the skin up close reveals a lactonic coconut-esque cake. There’s a brighter, fresher breeze to it and for some reason it made me think of banana blossom (which, I have never smelled). It has an airy green floral feeling (although not directly reminding me of tuberose).
What makes it work most for me is a hit of zestiness; what I perceive as a greenish lemon or even lemongrass cuts through the opening (briefly). On the other hand, there seems to be a saffron note here to my nose. Not overpowering or even distracting, but I clearly get a leathery tinge for a while (I saw other reviewers mention rubber). Perhaps this comes down to the tuberose, which seems to have a cardboard-ish, retro, understated direction here (not completely unlike in another Bisch-tuberose contemporary, Aldebaran).
As mentioned, after about an hour or two, the brightness leaves and that hint of freshness in it makes way for a spicier, earthier gourmand-leaning drydown that leans fully into the vanilla & tonka bean. Still, a solid option for that style though; it doesn’t ‘go bad’ and especially smelling it up close, a nice lactonic quality is retained. But as is often the case, it starts to gradually shift into a muddier, condensed milk direction that takes away from the enjoyment of the drydown a bit.
Overall, a very pleasant entry in the Divine saga.
