Kirill Chigaev

Kirill Chigaev

Feb. 16, 2026

2/5

2

How many more rose and blackcurrant fragrances need to appear before people say 'enough!'? But don't worry: this time, no roses or chypres were brought in. It all starts with a sharp, clearly synthetic aroma that opens with powdery musk and something fruity-berry. Personally, I couldn't recognize blackcurrant in the fruity note at first, but I easily identified plastic strawberry with ethyl maltol. Yes, it's that same sweetish-patchouli accord found in many mainstream 'women's' fragrances. Around it stretches a lifeless floral accord, which I also couldn't identify as rosy. Rather, it's jasmine and orange blossom, but they also don't evoke any emotions. By the way, blackcurrant does appear in the middle phase. Its sulfuric note, dampened by patchouli and musks, perhaps tries to imitate the effervescent effect of pink champagne. But if I didn't know about it, I wouldn't have smelled any champagne. What I managed to catch seemed more like the fruits of my imagination than reality. In the finale, musk, ambroxan, and something bitter-woody (calling it a patchouli smell is a stretch), as well as a sweet, but not cloying, fruity-lactonic note - the base is quite well-developed. Overall, L.12.12 Pour Elle evokes mixed feelings. On the one hand, the fragrance repels with its acridity, lifelessness, and vulgarity. On the other hand, it attracts attention, like a strange exhibit in a cabinet of curiosities. It seems that a professional perfumer couldn't have created such a caricatured composition, relying on their own sense of beauty. I wonder what the creative director of Lacoste fragrances looks like 🤔