Pulp by Ben Gorham + Perfumer for Byredo 2008

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Guest Post by Dionne
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You Want Fruit? You Can’t Handle the Fruit!

or Happiness in a Bottle

Hey-o, fume fiends! It’s good to be back post-Christmas, and I’m hoping you all had a wonderful holiday as well.

One of the fun and interesting challenges of writing for APJ is deciding on a perfume to review, because I typically want to write about what I’ve been wafting lately. But like many of you, what I wear is influenced by the weather, and where I live it’s cooooold right now (was -25°C in these parts Christmas week) . I’m rocking my heavy snugglers. I had every intention of writing a review of Queen by Queen Latifah until someone at Facebook Fragrance Friends mentioned how hot it was in Aussie-land right now, and since there’s no way in Hades I could wear Queen in the heat of summertime, I’ll hold off until….hmmm…. maybe the southern hemisphere’s autumn when winter is still lingering around here?

SummerVsWinter trojannewsjpgPhoto Stolen TrojanNews

So, what to pick instead? An idea came because of a discussion I had on Christmas Eve. We had a bunch of people over for our annual fondue, and as the evening wound down a good friend checked out my fragrance collection. As we smelled and chatted, she asked which ones influenced my mood most. After showing her one of my I feel really smart right now category, and my how YOU doin’? fragrance, and an I feel pretty, oh so pretty perfume, I mentally slapped myself in the forehead for not bringing out today’s offering at the start. “You have to smell this one. It’s the happiest perfume I own.” And sure enough, just the waft from the piece of paper I sprayed it on brought a gigantic grin to both of our faces.

Pulp by Byredo 2008

I first smelled Pulp in Las Vegas about two years ago, when The Engineer and I got away for our 20th anniversary. Good man that he is, he was perfectly willing to tag along for a day while I hit a bunch of perfume counters and squealed over a bunch of lines I’d read about but never encountered before. The SA’s at Barney’s were especially delightful: “Ohhhh, a perfumista. Take your time, we like you guys.” After a good hour moving slowly through different collections, sniffing and generally geeking out, the Byredo rep said, “Try this. I think you’ll like it.” Cue my first big Pulp-induced grin; it was love at first huff.

Pulp FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

That first rush of delight whenever I smell this has never gone away. Like many perfumistas, I have crushes and infatuations that come and go as some hot new thang comes along, but Pulp belongs to a select group that I can’t ever imagine myself going without. In fact, I don’t think The Engineer would let me be without this. I wear a lot of things he likes, but he can only remember the names of two of my fragrances, and asks for them regularly. Black Cashmere, and Pulp.

Notes from Fragrantica:
Top: bergamot, cardamom, blackcurrant
Heart: fig, red apple, tiare flower
Drydown: cedar, praline, peach blossom

Technically, Pulp is big dollops of fig and blackcurrant and apple, but once they’re all thrown in the magical pot of the perfumer and bottled, the vibe I get is rhubarb.  Juicy, tart, in-your-face rhubarb. And did I mention juicy? Technically again, this is supposed to be a fruity-floral, but screw that. Pulp went and created its own category: the fruity-fruity. I get great longevity off of this, but it’s rare that I don’t, so take that for what it’s worth. Also, this has some serious waft. In my experience that just amounts to oodles of compliments, but be advised. Grinch-type people could find their hearts growing three sizes when they smell you.

Byredo has 50ml/$145 but only send to USA & Europe
MeccaCosmetica in Oz have 50ml/$158 with FREE Oz Shipping!!
SurrenderToChance starts at $6/ml

happy-new-year fabiovisentinPhoto Stolen fabiovisentin

Have a joyous 2013!

Dionne

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22 thoughts on “Pulp by Ben Gorham + Perfumer for Byredo 2008”

  1. I’m not much familiar with Byredo line yet. I only tried Mister Marvelous and Rose Noir. Pulp sounds interesting but I’m not much into fruity scents. But I will try to sample more from the line.

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  2. I haven’t tried any Byredos besides Pulp myself, Lucas, so we’re in the same boat, although La Tulipe, Green, Black Saffron and Seven Veils are on my TBS list. It’s funny that you mentioned you’re not into fruity scents, because before I tried this I didn’t think I was either. Now I find myself loving Bombay Bling, Pear+Olive, Par Amour Toujours, and Strawberry Passion Green as well as Pulp. So be warned if you try this! 😉

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  3. Hi Dionne!

    Happy New Year!

    What a gorgeous, lovely review! I truly felt your love and happiness associated with this as I was reading.

    I’m slapping my forehead now as I’ve never tried Pulp, yet Byredo is readily available here. Sounds like the perfect antidote to post Christmas holiday blues. I shall go check it out! BTW: loved ‘how ya doin’ ‘ frags! 🙂

    Madeleine x

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    • Happy New Year to you too, Madeleine! Do let me know what you think of Pulp when you get to try it. Some people have reported an over-ripe facet to it that I simply don’t get, so Pulp may not work for you; if not, I cheer you on in your quest for joyful frags – I think every perfumista deserves at least one of those in their collection.

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  4. Even though I’m also not that much into fruits (other than eating them ;)) Pulp is one of a few that I really like (Bombay Bling! is another great example). But I’ll need to test it sprayed to see if it gets too much.

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    • Fruity fragrances occupy only a small corner of my own collection as well, Undina, but there really is something about a full-on juicy frag that can tug at the heartstrings. We can just claim it makes us well-rounded perfumistas. 😉

      Bombay Bling has inspired me to try other mango/peach perfumes, mainly to see if anything a tad less expensive also makes my heart go pitter-pat…. but I suspect eventually I’ll just break down and get some.

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  5. Great write up! Pulp is pretty awesome. And I agree with Undina – Bombay Bling! is another good fruity scent (with a terrible name)…
    Have you tried Multiple Rouge? If not – think Pulp, only a little less sweet, a touch more synthetic, with a big wet dog accord and a hint of spice… it’s mouthwateringly gross ❤

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  6. Thanks, Freddie. I haven’t tried Multiple Rouge yet, but my sometimes-working brain says it’s by Humiecki and Graff. *goes off to double-check….YES! I got it in one! (well, except for spelling Graef wrong.)

    You know we’re advanced perfumistas when a description like “more synthetic and a big wet dog accord” gets a reaction of, “Oooooooooh, sounds interesting…..”

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    • Thanks Steve! (although Portia didn’t write this post. I think she’d be surprised to discover she’d morphed into a suburban SAHM from Western Canada. ;))

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  9. Yum, that’s a great review! I’m not so big on fruits either but on some days, especially in late winter when all one wants is warmth and summer, I crave fruitys with a vengeance, and Pulp sounds like a scent for those days! And now when thinking of Byredo I realise my job will be relocating (the same job, just situated in a new house) in mid-January and by then I’ll be at a 7 minutes walking distance from the Byredo flagship store! Haha, that thought made my day 😀

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