Which Lord George was not wrong about, since Lady Blanche was actually already planning the murder of him, albeit for his money, and not because of the affair, which would only be a scandal for the British aristocracy if it came out and it was clear that Lord George was not always the fine, infallible gentleman... but that was another story.... And again, love at first sniff. Do I have to worry slowly, that I fall more and more to the expensive niche fragrances? Is there more than one "love at first sight"? I'm afraid I can only answer "YES" to that question. Like a butterfly, I fly from scent to scent, falling in love over and over again. Of course, there are also fragrances that I don't like at all, but I'm just not talking about those. Sophie Labbé as a perfumer adds some more, not boring amber notes and generous patchouli to make the pleasure of the fragrance even more stimulating for the senses!

Nothing, except that you two have a lot in common and you are rebellious women," Lord George said, "And damned attractive you both are too!" Looking at the accords, I simply knew this was for me. I love perfumes with smell all boozy and cinnamon-y with just a hint of tobacco on my husband, but he isn’t a fan of those. Which is why I took to buying perfumes meant for men that smell like this! But this? Everything I want in a pretty bottle :) I might be a bit partial though - I was ready to love this even before I smelled it because of the copy from Penhaligon’s. I mean, Clara does sound like the woman I want to be. Although the brand and I still haven't found the right access to each other, the encounter with this Clara is pure pleasure!

CLANDESTINE CLARA

Well, this goes on for a while... it's Lord George and Clara who are busy with amorous activities, even if their dialogues might sound like they're from a bad comedy, but that's just the way they are. Lord George is a well-known and esteemed nobleman, Clara is a woman who often mixes with the nobility, but she is not a lady herself, because she is not noble. On the contrary, she is rather a thorn in the side of most nobles and the British royal family, because she does not behave very ladylike, as the nobles put it. She likes to have a drink, smoke, be loud and speak her mind, comparable to the Queen's sister, Princess Margaret, who was also a colourful personality and therefore a rather difficult person for some of the royal family. The rum scent is softened by the musk and the amber-patchouli blend, which gives the sweet-spicy gourmand scent a powdery note that is clearly present for me. Simply Divine. Not at all alcohol impregnated, but fine and noble. We need rum, rum, rum, otherwise we'll die of thirst" - a line from the song "Es gibt nur Wasser" by the shanty group Santiano. To be honest, I rather appreciate as a drink gin and tonic. However, rum in this form, just wow. Just when Lord George had said this, a loud meowing suddenly came from the sofa. A cat was on it and looked at Lord George expectantly.

The Clandestine Clara, what a funny name for a perfume, isn’t it? I couldn’t help but buy a decanter of this bizarre fragrance. Bizarre, why bizarre? Because it aims at a female audience, even if it contains a lot of boozy, spicy, and dirty accords that make you think of a perfume that is anything but feminine. Otherwise, a lady with a penchant for fine booze. The explosion of rum and vanilla offers a fragrant aroma reminiscent of luxury rum. I can imagine a 10-year-old Don Papa, a Diplomatico Ambassador, or a Matusalem Gran Reserva. These rums have a hint of vanilla in common among their flavors. On the nose, the sweet notes are vibrant, with those pleasant hints of vanilla that distinguish the production of these rums. It is spicy vanilla, far from edible. As it turns out, Clandestine Clara shares more than a few bites with those luxury rums, and not only the warmth of the brownish juice color. It is one of those rums that you have to sip, hold a little in your mouth to savor all the nuances, then swallow it and feel your throat burning with pleasure. Penhaligon’s Clandestine Clara Eau de Parfum opened with boozy rum and vanilla with an alcohol bite before becoming a more vanillic, honeyed amber spiced with cinnamon. The opening was incredibly short-lived and there was little progression after, so it ended up being a more linear scent (which is not a bad thing, merely a characteristic of a fragrance!) as the amber and vanilla became more balanced and got slightly musky over time. The brand described it as a “true gourmand, spicy and sweet in equal measure,” with the following notes: But like every evening Clara goes home alone, to her own little apartment, paid for by her own little money. She hangs out her dress, she can afford the services of a laundress and she does so with the greatest satisfaction. Tomorrow she will wear another one, and with the best will in the world she cannot bear the smell of her dress after a day's work in her apartment overnight. She goes to bed at dawn, freshly washed and completely unscented. Uh-huh... but I can do things that probably not even the princess can do!", Clara replied snippily. For testing, I used two sprays from a 2ml sample applied to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise. LongevityI decided to try Clandestine Clara after looking for more boozy fragrances, and it turned up with its rum note, which was also paired with notes like amber and patchouli that I tend to enjoy. It’s not as heavily spiced as it could be, given the cinnamon in it, and the honeyed aspect of the amber really came through. I didn’t get any distinct patchouli, and I think if I had, the scent would have appealed to me overall. It was a pleasant experience, and it’s a scent I’d wear again if I had a bottle, but I won’t be buying a full bottle! Available Sizes It had a lightning fast opening, and then the projection and intensity of the notes subdued: it got lost in vanilla haze of honeyed amber with moderate richness and depth but was still an airier, lighter-weight scent compared to other honey-heavy amber scents I’ve tried in the past. The cinnamon spice came in and out of focus, while the vanilla was most noticeable at a distance (the amber was more present closer to my skin). The drydown was slightly musky amber-vanilla and was hard to detect on my skin after eight hours of wear. Application It had moderate projection for the first half hour with light sillage, but it hovered only a few inches above my skin after an hour of wear. I could detect it on my skin for about eight hours. Personal Thoughts Another beautiful winter warmer in Penhaligons' Portraits collection. I don't love Clara quite as much as Yasmine and Constance, but I like her a lot. The cat meowed again and Lord George could have sworn he heard some kind of satisfaction from the cat meowing.