Sous le Manteau Odisiasque no. 6 courtesy of Sous le Manteau

Let us be straight for once, rather than losing ourselves in endless considerations and poetic comings and goings: Sous le Manteau Odisiaque is is a gem, perhaps the most precious amongst the Sous le Manteau collection, in my humble opinion. We know that one might say, as often Olivia Bransbourg has : “But Alexandre, you love everything” yet let me be staunch and starkly clear: Sous le Manteau Odisiaque no.6 is a gem. By some perfume sorcery, Nathalie Feisthauer once again has surpassed herself by translating a somewhat obscure formula for an aphrodisiac opiate – a toothpaste that is – into a perfume that has accompanied me all through summer, scenting the terraces and dingy dancefloors of Paris, reaping a heap of compliments every time I was to tilt my head, move my wrists or button-down my shirt – which happened often during the heatwave.

 Sous le Manteau Odisiaque no. 6 courtesy of Sous le Manteau

Yes. Sous le Manteau Odisiasque no. 6 is a perfume meant for loving and being loved. It is meant to gently ensnare, as of a candid smile hiding the darkest and kinkiest of intentions. It beckons for a kiss; for a moment of silence shared between two souls fallen in love. Odisiaque calls for a dream, lived awake.

It calls for love and yet smells of bygone loves and of loves to come.

For it is, indeed, intricately laced with warm and comforting materials, ones so discreet and humble that they can only reminisce the tamed flame of forsaken passions. Melancholic? Yes, but of a melancholy that soothes one’s heart, of memories that forever linger without ever becoming a burden. As soon as I sprayed it, there, on my chest, I felt the sudden urge to go back to that hidden beach on the banks of the Loire where, years ago, I had watched the sun set – un-alone. The air was meekly hot, the waters still as they usually are and the sky chose to wear dramatic hues of pink and red, that hot air balloons pierced like rising bubbles of darkness.

 Sunset on the Loire by Stéphane Yaich on unsplash.com

The leaves rustled. The undergrowth smelt of burnished fern. We drank wine. Les Indes Galantes was playing on a speakerphone. There were laughs and hugs and many a kiss.

It was a good night.

And it forever will be.

How swift we forget the good of past loves… Sous le Manteau Odisiaque no. 6  brought them back, without much fanfare. This night was gone and, suddenly, was there. And now it would seem that I’ve done it again, haven’t I?  The poetic ramblings and comings and goings and losings… What, then, in Odisiaque no. 6 makes me think of summer and of love? Its heart for sure, and the sheen that comes along with it, and the surreal opening that builds up to it.

Sous le Manteau Odisiaque no. 6 courtesy of Sous le Manteau

One should not expect the opulence of a Sous Le Manteau Cuir d’Orient with its shameless and exquisite vanilla sillage, nor even the violent spices of Vapeurs Diablotines… Odisiaque no. 6 smells exactly of what it speaks: of waking up after a long lethargy, the body still warm and stiff from an endless night. It is not bursting, nor too effusive, rather it is tender and hazy like that quiet and intangible state when, lodged between the dream and the real, the world seems but a sea of infinite possibilities waiting to collapse into one.

Summer Meadow by Kent Pilcher on unsplash.com

Odisiaque no. 6 opens with a vibrant and scintillating accord, topped with Ginger and the rosy inflexions of Geranium. The first minutes are energetic, boasting a spicy, citraly warmth and a metallic tinkle. Full of promise and already radically contrasted, one assumes that it will either turn hotter or drier, colder or lighter and this is where it shifts and takes us unawares. For, after this buoyant introduction in the form of an awakening to life, Sous le Manteau Odisiaque  no. 6 turns into a quiet and intimate composition, stuffed with all shades of coumarin. A sunny and irresistible Liatrix plays with a leathery and herbaceous Hay Absolute -the density of which would have us mistake it for a balsam- and a dry and gourmand Mate Absolute whose scent, spangled with pyrazines, borders on addiction without ever becoming sickening. Around this heart smelling of a skin rubbed with summer’s heat, there blossoms a rare essence of Cascarilla, brought back from the forbidden archives of perfumery raw materials for this specific composition. Its spicy fragrance –walking the wavering line between Pink Pepper and Elemi, with the added dryness of a Nutmeg Essence– makes the hushed and gentle sensuality of the fragrance pop and shine; a feat considering that most of its materials usually speak but in whispers.

Sous le Manteau Odisiaque no. 6 courtesy of Sous le Manteau

Far from being too green or brittle, the mellow heart gives way to sweet accents of Tonka Bean and to a vanillic Tobacco Absolute that aptly links the gourmand-ish coumarin with a crisp and nutty Haitian Vetiver. The result of this short and natural formula is a truly aphrodisiac perfume, in that it will only reveal its secrets on a skin warmed  by the sun, sweat, effort and adrenaline that love elicits. Solar, without being too bright; androgynous without being impersonal; sybaritic without being libidinous, Sous le Manteau Odisiaque no 6 turns out to be a love potion such as one imagines them to be, leaving a lot to the magic – or the alchemy – of a skin… and of the ones who’ll smell it.

One thing remains certain Sous le Manteau Odisiaque will not leave you indifferent.

To love or not to love,

is still loving a little…

Notes – Bergamot, Geranium, Elemi, Liatrix, Mate, Cascarilla, Hay, Vetiver, Tobacco, Tonka Bean.

Disclaimers: This review was based on a sample kindly offered by Sous le Manteau. All opinions are my own.

Alexandre Helwani, Contributor.

Sous le Mantaeu Odisiaque°6 courtesy of Sous le Manteau

Thanks to the largesse of Olivia Bransbourg of Sous Le Manteau, we are offering one 14 ml travel flacon for one registered reader in the USA and EU, To be eligible, tell us what appeals to you about Alexandre’s review of Sous le Manteau Odisiaque and where you live. What is your favorite Sous le Manteau perfume?  Draw closes 11/19/2021

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Sous Le Manteau was the recipient of The Fragrance Foundation UK “Newcomer of the Year”Award 2020

Editor’s Note: Odisiaque draws its inspiration from an aphrodisiac formula written in the 18th century by Jean-Claude-Adrien Helvetius, great physician to Louis XV and Marie Leczynska and member of the Royal Academy of Sciences

Please read  Alexandre’s review of Poudre Imperiele here

Please read Ida Meister’s review of Vapeurs Diablotines here

Sr. Contributor Cristian Marianciuc, review of Cuir d’Orient here

Please read Sr Editor Despina Veneti’s review of Essence de Serail here

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