L'Arte di Gucci by Gucci

It’s the kind of perfume that reminds me of gangster moll and Hollywood starlet Virginia Hill (played by Annette Bening in the 1991 film Bugsy): drop-dead gorgeous and demanding, but with a feline suaveness about it too. L’Arte di Gucci eau de parfum gives off an air that seems poised between two worlds: the glamorously decadent world of the nouveau riche to which it belongs most of the time, and the more quietly- sophisticated Old Money world to which it aspires at least some of the time.

The best way to describe it in straight-forward terms is to compare it to another very well-known fragrance: Clinique Aromatics Elixir. As you’ll see below, L’Arte di Gucci and Aromatics Elixir share many of the same notes, both are rose-chypres, and to my nose, they are quite similar in terms of their actual smell. There is a world of difference between them, however, in terms of their blending. My problem with Aromatics Elixir is that, while it is quite beautiful and complex in its structure, it is also aggressive and overpowering to the point of being brash. L’Arte di Gucci, on the other hand, is all about clever artfulness in employing such beauty; in other words, there is that same element of reckless showiness about L’Arte di Gucci, but its very smooth blending also imparts an air of agile cunning.

As listed on my bottle (a department store tester bottle that I consider myself lucky to have, as L’Arte di Gucci is now discontinued and, thus, heavily stalked on the online auction and perfume-discounter sites) the notes for this eau de parfum include: rose, tagete (marigold), neroli, chamomile, cassis, ylang-ylang, mimosa, patchouli, cistus labdanum, sandalwood, castoreum and musk.

(By way of comparison, the notes for Clinique Aromatics Elixir include: rose, chamomile, oakmoss, jasmine, muguet, ylang-ylang, patchouli, musk, amber and sandalwood.)

L’Arte di Gucci is a luxurious amalgam of smells: long-stemmed roses and silk stockings; expensive leather suitcases and pocketbooks; high-end cosmetics and indulgent spa-service creams. It’s the kind of scent that demands its wearer be dressed to the nines—with full make-up, hair carefully coiffed, and clothes that are as expensive as they are glamorpuss-showy. The pay-off for wearing this kind of high-maintenance scent is that it delivers a sense of high-flying confidence. True, L’Arte di Gucci is an artful one, so the message it sends might not be the whole truth when it whispers in your ear and says you can land anything you want—or that you can face anything: man troubles, money troubles, Ole Man Trouble himself. But when you are dressed up in killer clothes and catch a whiff of its gorgeous sillage wafting up from your décolletage, you will know that it is at least conspiring on your behalf.

L’Arte di Gucci by Gucci has sadly been discontinued but bottles (especially in the edt concentration) can be scared up on the online auction and perfume discounter sites. It’s thanks to the fine offices of Rei Rien that I was able to obtain my bottle (in the eau de parfum concentration)—so if you’re looking, do try there first! In fact, Rei Rien is a great site to find bottles of many fabulous perfumes.

Samples and decants of L’Arte di Gucci are also available on my website; see perfume catalog for sizes and prices.

Images of the actors Annette Bening and Warren Beatty are from the 1991 film, Bugsy, and were gathered from various sites. I decided to have a little fun and allow myself to go overboard with the photos on this post...just for something different, I guess.

Posted by Suzanne Keller, 2/24/2010.

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