Seven Veils EDP by BYREDO - Fragrance Review

The newest feminine fragrance by Swedish niche brand Byredo brings the scent of the biblical femme fatale - Shlomit (or Salomé). Liquid seduction comes with notes of vanilla, unveiling the sensuality on an orchid, and the danger poison of an oleander. 

SEVEN VEILS EDP 

According to the brand: It is based on the biblical tale of Salome’s dance of the Seven Veils, a story of many layers. Tainted and bejeweled, Salome turns to the art of shameless seduction. Barefooted, sanguine and black eyed, she demands a man’s head on a plate in exchange for one single dance…“On that first morning the moon sinks late and you feel the pull, as if it were night, magnetic in a way the sun could never be. Three memories pervade the air. The way you hold it; the way through fingers you let it slip; and the way the woven silk floats across winds. So now floats a perfect fifth, in a minor chord, from an ancient bow, resonating in our ears louder and louder. And louder still until it grows stronger than even our beating hearts. You rise up, upon your feet, and even higher. With seven veils you dance, swirling, swirling, swirling.” (Ben Gorham)

Salome Dancing for Herod

by Gustave Moreau 1876

Seven Veils EDP was surprisingly good news for me because I always had the feeling that Byredo fragrance developments are more successfully designed for their masculine lines. That, in my opinion, does not mean they don't understand the feminine mind, on the contrary, they know how to seduce us and help our men become irresistible TO US.

The idea of an oriental based on large doses of vanilla and sandalwood is not new, but they did a pretty interesting job.

The opening has a distinguished element: carrots. Here it is spiced with pimento berries resulting in a fantastic combination. Ravishingly feminine, it brought a smile to my face for quite a while. Veil by veil, the fragrance reveals a creamier vanilla, drifting apart from the dark luxurious interesting note of the bean, pitching into creamier tart y treats, becoming unfortunately... predictable. BUT, I don't find this necessarily a bad thing. If you enjoy creamy vanillas with a touch of spices and flowers, why not? So Byredo will not win the Creativity Prize with Seven Veils, but it is still a nice perfume. 
Let's just say that one cannot expect a year round of groundbreaking fragrances. Even niche brands have to play safe to guarantee their financial year. I rather see a nice familiar combination than something said to be creative such as Secretions Magnifiques by ELO, or Womanity by Thierry Mugler. And what about flankers? How many J'Adore fragrances were launched? How many Poisons versions were launched? 
SO, as I always say "being the first does not necessary make you the best", and if I have to choose among many creamy sandalwoods with lilies - probably this one would not let me down. 

The olfactive notes are: carrot, pimento berries, Tahitian vanilla flower, laurier rose, glycine, tiger orchid, sandalwood and vanilla.

Rita Hayworth - The Hollywoodian fatal woman

1953