Review: Perfume Calligraphy by Aramis

Perfumy Calligraphy is the latest fragrance offering from the house of Aramis. It has some very interesting elements to it - it's unisex, for one. The packaging is very rather simple and masculine - very Eastern-sheikh-like (it reminded me of the most interesting job interview I had ever been to - the position was advertised as 'Sales Rep - Pharmacy product line', but what it actually was, was 'Sit on tiny Palestinian man's lap, and occasionally market Sexual Enhancement supplements with unpronounceable names to dodge pharmacists, who would probably also prefer you do so while sitting on their laps').

I've had this scent for a good month now, and my feelings about it has changed so often that you might have mistaken me for a chameleon on a Smartie box. I like it, I don't like it. It smells masculine, it smells feminine. To give you an idea - at a braai, I assaulted two female and 4 male friends with a couple of spritzes each. The girls both said it smelt like an older man fragrance, and the boys all said it smelt like older woman. They were all around thirty-ish, which makes them not the target market - but I found it interesting that nobody could pinpoint the scent (I didn't tell them it was unisex).

Perfume Calligraphy by Aramis

This is the typical dark oriental scent my mom would kill for, and I'm holding it hostage so that she has no choice but to come visit me in December. If not on a 40+ woman that likes a strong oriental scent, I imagine this fragrance combined with a grey-haired man in a brown leather jacket, that rides a BMW cruiser bike when he's not the CEO of his successful import business. Or something.

The Name:
Much like Perfumery, the art of Calligraphy dates back thousands of years, and is known as the most highly regarded element of Islamic art. Perfume Calligraphy reflects the pairing of two ancient crafts, where Arabic script and modern fragrance come together.


The Fragrance:
The unisex scent opens with notes of Cardamom, Lemon and Cinnamon, has a heart of Myrrh, Golden Saffron flowers and Rose Absolute, with base notes of Patchouli, heated Ambers and Musk.


Perfume Calligraphy by Aramis will be available at Edgars stores from 23 July, RRP R1150 for 100ml EDP.


C xx


PS - Captain Courage, my feline friend, LOVES this one. She rubs up against the bottle, licks it off pulse points, and tries to nap close to it whenever possible. Maybe they omitted the inclusion of Catnip extract 'cos it didn't sound as fancy as Myrrh?