Flamenco
‘Flamenco’ from Ramon Monegal’s Spanish Collection is the best selling of his range and SHOULD be everything I ever wanted in a fragrance. You see, I’m half Spanish and used to flamenco dance. So I know what it is to be a hot-blooded señorita, as the duende (that’s the Spanish equivalent of the Jedi’s force) is strong with me... but I can’t relate to this one. It’s very fruity-sweet, as initially you get the pumping raspberry which is unrelenting throughout. It reminds me of a quality version of Al Rehab’s ‘Tooty Musk’. Alas, I remain a (half) Spanish lady who can’t relate to this Spanish ladies fragrance. I’m sultry, not fruity, I’m passionate not sweet. This is the liquidised smell of the flamenco dance emoji mixed with fruity car air-freshener. This is the most generically feminine, of all of Ramon Monegal’s collection, and I’m wishing he’d have been more avant-garde, as ‘Flamenco’ is morphing into a (much better) relative of ‘La Vie Est Belle’. The longevity is very good, as it’s still faintly on my skin the next morning.
Monegal describes ‘Flamenco’ as “my olfactory manifesto to the Andalusian character tattooed with fire on the soul of Spain. Intoxicating emotion expressed in song, guitar and dancing which, under the spell of the Alhambra, transcends in perfume: salty tears, like the southern dew, a fan of orange flower petals, rose and jasmine, interwoven with sandal and cedar wood with a base of voluptuous nectar of saffron stamens, amber and musk. Flamenco is a profound and passionate art... it’s a unique state of mind. It’s my forbidden hypnotic fruit!”
And to be fair, ‘Flamenco’’ is perfectly described as a “forbidden hypnotic fruit”. It’s an exotic, ruby-red, fruity fragrance - it’s just not for me. But... if you love lively, fruity, sweet scents, then look no further than to ‘Flamenco’, as everything Ramon Monegal does is of amazing quality with gloriously rendered concepts. I’ll just dance to my own ritmo (rhythm).
TOP - Raspberry, Violet, Orris
HEART - Red Rose, Jasmine, Rosewood
BASE - Cedarwood, Amber, Musk