In 1987, due to the fact that there were so many pieces of jewelry in the Cartier collection with the leitmotif of panthers, Cartier asked perfumer Alberto Morillas to create a fragrance  in its honor and called it Panthère de Cartier. It was a big shoulderpad fragrance like so many perfumes in that era. I had a mini of Panthère de Cartier back then, and I loved the bottle, with its twin panthers clinging to the sides. I currently own some of this perfume that is from that time or a little newer maybe but it still is a nice chypre.This year Cartier revealed La Panthère by in-house perfumer Mathilde Laurent, who has created a lage number of recent Cartier scents, including Baiser Volé and Les Heures de Cartier Parfums.. I first tested it on skin when I had received a sample from my Neiman Marcus. I have to say that it made me giggle because underneath all of the very perfumey opening is a pretty sexy little perfume. Today I wore it for the whole day, and during the morning I felt like a very severe lady, the kind with coiffed hair, perfect make up, perfect outfit, and who sits without any sign of a slouch. But let's look at what's under that lady's beautiful skirt.

Panthère de Cartier brooch with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and star sapphire in platinum setting

One of my first perceptions of this perfume was that it was finally a ladies panties scent that I could identify with. A lot of people identify certain perfumes as panty perfumes but I mostly don't see it. One of those is my dearly beloved Joy by Jean Patou and if I found underpants that smelled like that I would have no idea what was going on with the person who wore them. But this fragrance has a more subtle approach to being a little dirty. Cartier lists no notes other than gardenia and musks (I know there's more to it but I like to hear it out of the horses mouth).

"Stockings" by Helen Swoop

It opens with a bit of tart, overripe fruitiness that gives it that feeling of perfumed gentility, and then we can see what lies under the just-right-tight skirt. The finest, sheerest, stockings are like skin against her thighs. She is wearing a beautiful garter belt and her panties are missing. Her lover, as she departed that morning to go to work, stole them from her so he could inhale her scent throughout the day. She noticed, and secretly smiled. She is not a woman of the night, rather she is very clean, so the scent of her is also quite clean, but it does have a little undercurrent of sex. The musk in La Panthère provides that titillation as it blends with the remnants of the decadent fruits. As the perfume wears on a bit the gardenia appears as if floating in a cloud. It's subtle but very beautiful. It's not a big tropical flower, but soft, as though some of the lady's perfume has permeated the fine silken garment. One can see why her gentleman put it in his pocket.

"Gardenia" by Simon Bell

If you try La Panthère, I encourage you to just let it go through its journey; it has a fairly long life on skin and goes through several changes. Oh, and can we talk about the bottle? The graphic face of a panther is carved from the inside of the bottle creating a dimensional effect behind a smooth surface. Gorgeous.

I received my sample from Neiman Marcus in San Francisco. La Panthère is available on the Cartier website in several sizes starting at $72.00 for 1 oz..and at stockists online and in-store.

Tama Blough,Managing Editor