The High-Ranking Courtesan

[Lycanthrope]

White peony and Florentine iris butter gilded by white ambrette, rice powder, grey amber, pale vegetal musk, and white chocolate.

This perfume is very much fresh, melty chocolate as a top note from the bottle. It's definitely not a very dark chocolate, but I'm getting the milk/white or cocoa butter vibe from the initial blast. This reminds me very much of the No One Heard Her But the Sparrows atmosphere spray and this shouldn't be a surprise as it contains similar notes of white chocolate, iris, and grey amber! I'm actually not getting too much peony, which is sad. This reads to me, as a slightly dusty, foody chocolate-floral blend, very much like the atmosphere spray. This is wonderful, as it's a very nice spray, and now I can smell like it!

[freyasfae]

I was worried this might be too powdery chocolate at first, but the florals started coming out more as it dried, and eventually the vegetal part kicks in. After about an hour, it is my favorite kind of BPAL, where there are definitely distinct different notes, but it all balances out to this delicate floral gourmand. Hard to categorize as either/or because it neither overwhelming one or the other. The amber and musks ground it and give it a certain powderyness, but again, it is not so much I don't like it. It's just a fascinating scent, one of those you get to experience, and it does stay close to the skin on me.

[Lambent]

Straight on my skin from a decant, the white chocolate note is most prominent. A few minutes later, it takes the back seat and the High-Ranking Courtesan smells vegetal (probably the musk) and a bit dusty, as Lycanthrope mentioned. It morphs again into a "perfume-y" floral scent with low throw. Thankfully, it never really becomes soapy or too powdery and dry. I think it's pleasant, but ultimately not one I'm aching for a bottle of.

Edited March 4, 2016 by Kris

[Haltija]

Definitely floral and gourmand at the same time. Something about this is so pretty, I can't stop smelling it. It's white chocolate, rice powder and the Florentine iris butter primarily on me. It doesn't become soapy, but it does go a little powdery and I don't mind because I do fancy powdery scents sometimes.

 

I like it but I think it could be MORE and I will keep it and see what aging does to it.

Edited March 17, 2016 by Haltija

[LiberAmoris]

The High-Ranking Courtesan is such a unique perfume. The white peony, white chocolate, and iris butter are the strongest notes on me when wet, and it's another chocolate-floral mashup that I'm surprisingly digging (as I did the Belgian Chocolate, Orange Blossom, Marshmallow, and Jasmine bonbon). I adore grey amber and here it is again, spanning the other notes and filling in any gaps. The rice powder is a nice touch and gives this a bit of a starchy, powdery note that works well with the lush florals and chocolate (and is really perfect for a courtesan perfume!). The pale vegetal musk comes out on the drydown as the florals melt away a bit, and it smells ever-so-slightly earthy and green.

 

This is surprising at every step, but I really love how unusual and beautiful it is. It smells like pale white, dove grey, pale purple, and pale green on my skin.

[theseagrows]

first off, i get white chocolate and something nose-tickly and clean, which i think is the vegetal musk. it definitely smells like spring, fresh and rooty. i think some iris comes out later and maybe some amber. once the amber, ambrette and rice powder comes through, this gets much more wearable for me. it's very clean and white smelling, very springlike. it kind of reminds me of a fancy floral dryer sheet. at this point the chocolate is non-existent. the more the amber blooms, the more i am liking this. it warms it up and adds depth.

[zankoku_zen]

Peony, iris, amber, musk and swirls of chocolate. This straddles the line between gourmand and floral in a really well-balanced, sophisticated way. It smells delicate and yet comforting. I think the mix of peony, iris and amber is amazing. Low throw, medium wear length.

[Candice Chen]

After the initial creamy-sweet vanillic white chocolate note, High-Ranking Courtesan softens and deepens to a patchouli-amber scent. Not the strong sappy medicinal patchouli of To His Mistress Going to Bed, but a more subdued one that plays nice with the sweet golden amber.

 

If you don’t love foody scents don’t worry. This is not like bathing in a vat of sugary white chocolate or spraying on too much celebrity perfume.

 

To me it resembles Coromandel from the Chanel Les Exclusifs line, a beautiful amber-patchouli which has been described as “powdered white chocolate” on dry-down, except The High-Ranking Courtesan does contain an additional white chocolate note to sweeten it out, and is a bit softer on the patchouli.

 

Beautiful, grown-up take on a “chocolate”-themed scent.

[Little Bird]

I wish that this smelled like Chanel's Coromandel on me, and I'm jealous of people who are getting more of the white chocolate note . I seem to be getting more of the white peony, iris and vegetal musk. It's a sharp white floral and clean, almost soapy, spring fresh floral type of smell. Sort of a clean laundry feel. There's a bit of powdery amber in the drydown, but it's mostly clean and not really earthy or gourmand on my skin at all.