Wisteria Hysteria by Nathalie Feisthauer for CdG/Stephen Jones 2014

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

Hi there Niche Nerds,

Sometimes I look at a notes list and an idea of what a fragrance will smell like pops into my head, an olfactory guess. When I first wore Wisteria Hysteria it was a complete surprise. That pretty white bottle, those interesting green/spicy notes, I thought they would be a blind for a modern, sweet, light, slightly green, spicy and creamy composition. BOY was I wrong.

Wisteria Hysteria by Nathalie Feisthauer for CdG/Stephen Jones 2014

Wisteria Hysteria Stephen Jones FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Cloves, mate, carnation
Heart: Wisteria, rose, incense
Base: Musk, styrax, benzoin, amber

Wisteria Hysteria opens GREEN, so outrageously green I find it hard to believe this is a mainstream UK designer release, well Stephen Jones is a milliner and hats are part of design right? This is a fabulously edgy green, very Comme des Garcons metallic science fiction and also verging on a natural perfumery style, quite the dichotomy.

Wisteria Hysteria Stephen Jones Millinery FashionStrokePhoto Stolen FashionStroke

Sweet green, a funky, gothic, marshland fragrance. There is nothing here of my memory of our enormous wisteria vine that grew over two 30 foot tall tree stumps in our back yard. Spicy green, that only softens slightly with the introduction of the bouquet in the heart yet still has a cool unburned incense mixed with old BarBQ coals. Weird, unusual, interesting and moreish.

Wisteria Hysteria Stephen Jones wisteria Cliff FlickrPhoto Stolen Flickr

After about an hour Wisteria Hysteria calms down considerably, becomes a softer, creamier version of itself but still holds the green tight. At some point through the heart I get a scent that reminds me of Indian spices on some of their packet snack foods, spicy and delicious but HOT!

At this point I am instantly transported to some of my earlier visits to India. I would be there for around 6 weeks and the first 2-3 weeks I would be eating as much Indian food as I could and loving every bite. Then at around the 3 week point I would suddenly get overwhelmingly homesick and turn bitchy. Varun would be waiting for this and produce some Indian snack foods and mandarins or mangoes depending on the season. Those delicious snack foods would tide me over and I would be OK to deal with till the end of the trip. So Wisteria Hysteria brings to mind some incredibly happy reminiscences of some of the best times of my life.

Wisteria Hysteria Stephen Jones Indian Snack Foods OpenCagePhoto Stolen OpenCage

Then it is softly, softly green to sweet, warm, still green dry down.

Further reading: Now Smell This and Grain de Musc
LuckyScent has $165/55mlSurrender To Chance has samples starting at $4.50/.5ml

Did you get to try this? Is Stephen Jones a milliner that you know?
Portia xx

 

 

16 thoughts on “Wisteria Hysteria by Nathalie Feisthauer for CdG/Stephen Jones 2014”

  1. Hehe, I haven’t tried this and can’t tell if it’s something I would like, but I enjoyed your portrayal of homesickness in India, Portia. I remember spending 8-10 weeks at a time in Korea and hitting that wall around 6 weeks. I’d get myself to the military base and chow down on Taco Bell big time! 🙂

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    • What is it about that 4-6 week wall Sun Mi? It is killer. If you have no way out you want to go a little bit crazy.
      Korea seems so Anglicised nowadays, India is too. I reckon I could go 2-3 months now until I really had to scream,
      Portia xx

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      • That’s true – though not everything is as it seems. I remember going to Pizza Hut in Korea and letting my family order… we had pizza with mayonaise, ranch and baby corn on it… hahahaha! That did not quell my western cravings. 🙂 But it’s been several years since I’ve been back (my, 4 or 5 already) – so I can’t imagine all of the changes and wouldn’t be surprised if I could go for much longer now!

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        • HA! Yes, sometimes things surprise you. We had a similar pizza surprise in Korea but Jin LOVED it, he was home.
          Do you speak any Korean? I think having a speaker with you helps.
          Portia xx

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  2. i had completely forgotten about this perfume… and THANK YOU for mentioning it has something in it’s structure that IS very much like a natural perfume…something i cannot put my finger on.

    i remember being asked to smell it, and while i was perfectly weirded out by CdG’s very alien notes (and also intrigued)- there remained something very familiar and it’s structure was simply beautiful.

    a perfect walk down hysteria lane!

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    • Hey there Einsof,
      PHEW! Sometimes when I write what I smell I worry that it’s a Portia-ism and not something others can smell. As you know my nose plays tricks.
      When you corroborate my story I let out a huge sigh of relief.
      Thanks.
      Portia xx

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  3. I love that hat, Portia! I want to try making a hat out of pipe cleaners and Gomez feathers. I have been collecting Gomez’ feathers ever since he was a fledgling.
    Not only a great hat but a fantastically funny name for a fragrance! I want to try Wisteria Hysteria for the name and of course for the alien, green, pseudo-natural scent that you describe! Gomez has a great fragrance of his own. I sort powdered honey.
    Azar xx

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    • Hey there Azar,
      I love the smell of parrots. Fluffy powdery musk in my nose.
      If I were you I would grab florists wire and attach a couple of Gomez’ feathers on the end of each wire, then get some florists tape and green the wire out. Totally do-able. Have them coming out of a huge silk flower attached to a comb or clip, done.
      Portia xx

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      • Wow! I love your hat idea, Portia! I will give it a try. Years ago I made corsages with my own home-grown, big mama BLC orchid blossoms. (There is nothing quite like a 7inch pinky-purple BLC or cattleya on the shoulder.) I think I still have some florist supplies around here somewhere that would be perfect for this hat project.
        Azar xx

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