Biehl Parfumkunstwerke pc01 review

The best was saved for last

Biehl Parfumkunstwerke's

pc 01 by Patricia Choux

Fragrance Review

Nice gift for a delicate woman!

pc 01 is the first fragrance from Patricia Choux to join the perfume gallery of Thorsten Biehl.

And my first love! When the set arrived back in September, I saw she was the only woman among all the male perfumers of this project called perfume gallery, so I set her as the starting point to get to know the brand.

Introduced in 2007, the fragrance has notes of tangerine, neroli, davana, mango leafs, white flowers, peony, iris, mango, cashmere wood, vetiver and musk.

Described as having a bold, crazy, chic style by the brand, I found her fragrances pc01 and 02 simply brilliant.

Mango leafs

In order of numbers, I review here pc01 first:

The first whiff is a glorious citrusy explosion of tangerine, combined with a delicious green note of mango leafs, an apricot note of davana oil and neroli.

Davana oil is considered to be very expensive and it comes from India. It is fruity (apricot-like fragrance), slightly woody and somehow with a subtle camphorous hint.

When I sprayed in my wrist, the sensation was so fresh and so delicate that I sprayed once again, just to have it one more time.

It has a sweetness implied, but most of the sensation in the head accord is dry and fierce.

In 2005, in Un Jardin sur le Nil, Jean Claude Ellena explored a green mango note combined with grapefruit, to create a beautiful accord. (It is not a secret that I am passionate about his work. I mentioned him before many many times. But I have to be honest and say that pc01 speaks my language rather than Ellena's). But I always learn from this master:

In the book "The perfect scent" by Chandler Burr, Ellena describes the fragrance of a green mango as one of the most astonishing in the world. It is ethereal, luscious, fresh, and rich at the same time, and very exotic. For our disappointment, also very ephemerous; once you pick up the fruit from the branch the smell begins to deteriorate, in a speed of shocking 60 seconds. Meaning that in 60 seconds the smell is gone completely!

Patricia's mangos are more brilliant than Ellena's. It is like they are more polished, with a thicker varnish coating. It also has a nice cooling effect. This is because green mangoes have acetone molecules, as Ellena describes it so well, in Chandler's book, "aka nail polish remover". And perfumers are used to add acetone in their perfumes to make this shimmering and lightening effect, that you find in both fragrances Le Nil and pc01. So acetone, combined with citrus notes of tangerine cools the skin and puts a huge smile on my face. It is a very uplifting accord. And as surprisingly delicious as stolen kiss.

The nutty- acid touch of davana oil is a bonus. I would have settled just with the two others.

The peonies come as an extension of the top notes. Delicate and rosy, they melt in iris and the result is very delicate. It is as if the flowers were climbing the mango tree. Slowly blending and telling the mangoes notes to stay, not to kiss and evaporate. They calm this radiance; they embrace the notes and tell them it is ok if they stay.

Juliet Burnett and Robert Curran

photo by Craig Abraham

Australian Ballet

The fragrance is unisex. It begins rather masculine and it mellows like a lady.

I picture a ballet duet. A sensual, slow pas de deux. The ballerina in the arms of her partner, dancing together, bodies and souls waving in the air to perform a beautiful dance. In slow but firm movements they curl together, they flip, rotate and embrace. She is the rosy flowery accord, he is the green radiance of her world. Together they become one beautiful floral-fruity fragrance.

As I rub one wrist against the other, the fragrance develops the woody - root - muddy notes.

It gets denser and even more exotic. The vetiver is dirty and naughty. Combined with the cashmere and musk, provides a skin-like effect that brings a more voluptuous side to the fragrance. Creamier and sexier, the perfume travels from the exotic jungles of India, performs a ballet duet and jump right into bed!

So pc01 is indeed a nice gift for X-mas for a delicate woman. But it is also a gift with second intentions. Very recommended if you want to get lucky this season!