Frassaï
Ar-gen-ti-na!
I have neglected Frassaï in recent years and feel bad about it. I know owner Natalia Outeda socially, and my former graduate student Klio Maniati worked with her. Both circumstances made me feel I had a conflict of interest in reviewing these, but I’d rather risk unfairness by affection than by neglect.
I recently reviewed Ajedrez and felt the time had come to write about Frassaï again. It is an unusual outfit, and what Outeda is trying to do deserves notice. She is a former senior evaluator in a major oil house. Her intent as an independent is to make grown-up fragrances that pander neither to adolescents, concept art, natural perfume, nor the preposterous recent trend of dirt-cheap compositions sold for £250. Her perfumes have a classical balance of natural and synthetic materials, proper top notes, a time development that makes you want to smell the whole story, and solid, handsome dry-downs that do not disappoint. All these things, once standard in mainstream perfumery, are becoming rarer every day, as the big brands chase niche clichés and stupid profit margins. If this continues, Frassaï and a few other small firms will soon be the only survivors of a race of giants.
For paid subscribers: reviews of Dormir al Sol, A Fuego Lento, Cuir Pampas, El Descanso, Rosa Sacra and Victoria.
