Tuesday 10 March 2009

By Redo: Pulp



When I first read about the By Redo scents I thought Pulp would be a paper or newspaper scent- I have no idea why that came to my mind at all but it did- and I still think an inky papery scent would be very interesting.

However it is actually pulp as in fruit pulp. I hadn't thought about this before but fruit is probably my most neglected perfume family. I enjoy scents with some fruit but aside from rhubarb scents (Burberry Brit Red and the CDG Rhubard Sherbert) they don't get me worked up the way a chypre or incense scent does.

Pulp is the scent of fruit that is somewhere between perfectly ready to eat and being a little over ripe and almost ready to be turned into jam. It is the scent of fruit that is so juicy it is literally about to burst out of it’s skin.

Blackcurrants dominate Pulp. When I think of blackcurrants I think of wandering riverside or country paths in late summer, pickeing the berries almost absent mindedly. With the wild picked berries you get the alternation of a very sweet, sun soaked ready berry and the tart berries that are newer, or further down the bush. With Pulp you only get the sun soaked berries and this scent mixes the humble but deliciously succulent blackberry with the creaminess of the, to my English palette, much more exotic fig. These figs are perfectly ripe and juicy too.

It isn’t a sickeningly sweet scent though. Partly I think this is because it smells of the whole fruit including the skin. So many fruit based perfumes smell of the juice of the fruit rather than the whole piece of fruit. This smells of the skin, core, seeds, bits, all of the fruit. The sweetness is also counteracted by the apple note and the cedar in the dry down.

This is an interesting perfume and one I can't immediately compare to any other scents- which can only be a good thing. I am looking forward to revisiting in different seasons. I think it might work especially well in the depths of winter.

Picture courtesy of www.allposters.co.uk

16 comments:

Unknown said...

This one seems to get rave reviews for its sheer fruitiness, which is amazing amongst perfumistas. Someday I hope to attain a sample.

vicki archer said...

I can't really imagine this perfume Rose but it sounds very pretty, almost dainty. xv

Rose said...

Hi Jena, it's unusual, it is basically like jam to start with and then gets mellower. I'm not sure if I would wear it often myself but can see why people are raving. Personally so far of theirs I think Green is the best- but I am waiting for my Gypsy Water sample and that's the one I'm really curious about.

Rose said...

Hi Vicki,
It's a strange but good one, I like it when perfumes push the boundaries and this does.

Tania said...

It does sound interesting, but that's a lot of fruitiness!

Rose said...

Hi Tania, it is a lot of fruitiness! I'm not sure you would wear it to the office or on a hot date, unless your date really, really loved fruit. It's interesting though, quirky. Probably quite a nice one to cheer yourself up.

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Hi Rose- I actually love fruity scents and came across one recently that I loved but didn't want to admit (I'm probably going to review it this week...)

I don't know why I feel like fruity scents are less 'sophisticated', when my nose tells me that I love them and just need to get over myself... Oh dear, why am I so neurotic? :)

Jayne said...

Pulp - the name of it doesn't sound particularly appealing - it would be like wearing Mush, or Fester. It sounds sickly sweet and cloying, but your description does sound intriguing - might have to look out for it and see if it passes the sniff test.

And I have a question for you, as you seem to be the lady that knows (I can see that in capitals - The Lady That Knows *g*). Do perfumes go out of date, and should I get rid of old ones? Currently I have on my night-stand the following (with dates given):

Jean Paul Gaultier 'summer fragrance' in tin - 2002
Chanel 'Allure' - 2004
Lacoste 'Touch of Pink' - 2005
Gucci ‘Rush’ – 2006

Should I keep these? Or bin them?!

Rose said...

Hi Daily,
I will look forward to reading about the fruity scent!
I think there are some excellent scents with fruit like L'Artisan Mure Et Musc but agree generally they maybe aren't seen as as sophisticated. That's why it's nice to have a wardrobe of them though, so you can wear the little black dress perfumes with a little black dress and the fun fruity ones with other things.

Rose said...

Hi Jayne,
I am still a bit undecided on this myself, I liked it more than I thought I would I have to say. I think the name is fun! but I know what you mean, it could conjure of thoughts of rotting fruit.

Aha this is the eternal question. People who know a great deal more than me say they should last for years if kept correctly- that is to say out of direct sunlight and away from heat (so the bathroom is a very bad place). Ideally they should be kept in their boxes and in a dark, dry cupboard- or even a fridge! But it's nice to have them on display too isn't it?

Those should all be fine unless your dresser is right in front of the window. You can normally tell when they have gone bad too- if they smell basically the same theya are fine!

Hope that helps!

Jayne said...

Cheers Rose - that does help a lot! I do like to have them on display (in their boxes!) - there's something about having to take them out each time to use them that I quite like. But then it would be lovely to have just all the glass bottles there instead...

Cassandra said...

Hi Rose, I have tagged you! You've got to come up with 5 reasons why your life is sweet. So glad you like The Shops, it is FAB isn't it? Yes, internet shopping the worst temptation of all as shops are open 24 HOURS!!!! Cx

Anonymous said...

Sounds super-delicious and worthy of some exploration. xx

Rose said...

Jayne, keep them in those boxes! Preserve the precious juice!

Rose said...

Cassandra, I have just been catching up on my netting and will be putting my 5 things up soon.

Yes the shops is fab, very glad you recommended it! Rx

Rose said...

Hi Top Bird, yes it's the thing if you like your scents fruity- and it's a very cool bottle which I always think helps. Thanks for stopping by.