ROBERT GRECO
Oeilleres L’Objet Parfumant
2017
PERFUMER
Marc-Antoine Corticchiato
lavender
eucalyptus
broom
chamomile
incense
cumin
hay
styrax
musk
519 bottles have been created.
‘Oeilleres L’Objet Parfumant is articulated around an anti-flower, half green, half animal. “Anti-flower” because I want to echo the flowers that I photograph without mentioning one in particular. With Marc-Antoine Corticchiato we therefore excluded the rose, the jasmine, etc. All these flowers too concrete. And it is partly thanks to chamomile and broom that we managed to capture the general idea with their facets of dried flowers, pollen and honey. To refer to the figures I photograph, another of my wishes was to approach the aspect of the flesh. For this we have searched for the animality in the vegetable notes, as well as in different spices and resins. It was not an end in itself, but the fragrance is loaded with natural raw materials – sometimes pushed to extremes – and will express all the better the organic duality of my images. Between the delicacy of a petal on the decline and the radicality of a fold of skin.’ – Robert Greco
Being a (amateur) fragrance photographer myself, I’ve known and appreciated Robert Greco’s work as a photographer for some years. I knew about his fragrances as well, but I didn’t expect to be able to smell them, so shout-out to my friend Kati for bringing the goodies in from Paris.
As far as Oeilleres goes, there’s a big positive and negative aspect to this release for my taste. What I love and appreciate here is the vintage feeling. There’s a depth to the materials, especially aided by the animalics that’s rare to encounter in perfumes from this era. I think Robert made the right decision to pair with Marc-Antoine Corticchiato (mostly known for Parfums D’Empire, one of the highest quality and best value brands currently available).
The downside is how herbal and green it remains. I don’t often do well with green fragrances, although vintage, mossy scents are definitely an exception. Oeilleres has that type of green that I do love, but at the same time has a grassy, herbal side. It’s very floral as well, but I get an almost minty, fennel-like quality from it. Cumin is probably the most noticeable element to my nose though and up close, it’s too much for my taste. Yet in the air it’s more forgiving and adds a daring, but manageable amount of skank. It reminds me of a better balanced, but similar cumin vibe from the vintage Femme Rochas EDT that I have.
As it dries, it becomes more peppery and warm on my skin. I think it’s the smokiness from the styrax perhaps giving me the feeling of roasted spices. It’s not quite a birch tar (barbecue) smokiness, but there’s a hint of it hiding in the background. I’d say it’s not overly challenging at all, but it’s a constant animalic growl that only a certain crowd will be comfortable with.
I’ve been on a bit of a vintage journey this year and there was an instant connection; to the point where it’s hard to believe this perfume can’t have been more than 5-6 years old. It’s not just the use of animalics and neither does it smell like perfumes in the style of Bortnikoff, Areej Le Dore or Ensar Oud. It fits right in with some of the vintages I’ve been trying. D’Orsay Fantastique comes to mind mostly or even a distant (less sexual) relative to Jean Patou Joy Parfum.
Not my style of scent to wear casually, but a pleasure to explore.