There are brands which make excellent perfume that are not well-known enough. One of those are the fragrances under the luxury car imprint of Bentley. It isn’t an unusual thing to see a luxury car brand on a bottle of perfume. The brand identity is worth its weight in gold. As well as the aspirational ability to own something from a car line you might never otherwise be able to afford. As a result the perfumes are made under the auspices of one of the larger beauty companies. The results have been mixed overall. Lalique, who oversees the Bentley fragrance line has seemingly put more effort into making something as memorable as the car. Bentley Beyond Rich Pimento continues that.
Marc Roesti
Most of the credit for the sustained excellence of these probably goes to Lalique creative director Marc Roesti. Last year he oversaw a collection dubbed Bentley Beyond. All three releases were very good with Wild Vetiver my favorite. I was hoping for more and Rich Pimento is here to fulfill that wish.
Karine Dubreuil-Sereni
Mr. Roesti wanted a fragrance redolent of Cuba. He turned to perfumer Karine Dubreuil-Sereni to compose it. I was expecting something brash. They upended that by making a soft Oriental which whispers of tropical nights.
The opening is bright citrus through grapefruit leavened with rhubarb. This is becoming my favorite citrus top accord because of the vegetal quality of the rhubarb against the sulfurous nature of the grapefruit. It makes me think of spring whenever I encounter it. The promised pimento comes along with baie rose. This is such a pleasing soft herbal peppery accord. Geranium and rum provide a boozy floral pool to float them on. Patchouli and olibanum provide a soft shadow to wrap around it all. It ends on a plush amber providing the warmth of a humid night in Cuba.
Rich Pimento has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.
As I wore this, I always felt I was walking in Havana after the bars had closed before the sun rises. It is that after hours feeling of possibility in the tropics that embodies Rich Pimento.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Bentley.
–Mark Behnke
Recent Comments