josephine catapano
Editor’s note pending — every credited perfumer eventually gets a written profile here.
The compositions
Fidji Parfum
The opening salvo is unapologetically green—lemon zest cut through with the bitter, resinous snap of galbanum that characterized a generation of French chypres.
Zen Original
Fidji Eau de Toilette
A green floral from an era when perfume didn't whisper.
Cinnabar
Cinnabar opens with a rush of ripe peach softened by orange blossom, immediately lush and warm rather than citrus-bright.
Cinnabar Estée Lauder
A thick veil of spiced florals opens with peach and orange blossom, but the fruit is barely sweet—it's darkened immediately by cinnamon and incense.
Chaps
Youth Dew
Youth-Dew opens with a brief citrus flicker before plunging into spiced amber and incense—this was designed as bath oil that became perfume, and that enveloping warmth announces itself immediately.
Youth-Dew Estée Lauder
Youth-Dew opens with a brocade of spiced citrus and narcissus, but the sweetness quickly gives way to its true nature: a dense, resinous oriental built on cinnamon, incense, and patchouli.