Mild timing trolling aside, Female Christ has been one of my favorite scent discoveries so far in 2021. I only had to wear it twice to realize I definitely needed a full bottle of this in my collection. But with such a commanding name, you know I’m gonna take you on a quick history lesson!
The house itself, 19-69 was launched in Paris, in 2017 with an initial five fragrances under the direction of Johan Bergelin, a Swedish artist and product developer. The house currently offers 13 unisex fragrances and 9 candles. According to the house, the name 19-69 stands for ” “freedom, tolerance and counterculture. The inspiration includes different iconic moments of counterculture throughout history.” Indeed, their tagline is “bottling counterculture”.
So it’s not exactly a shock then that Female Christ has a counterculture story behind it. This was from a piece of political performance art now called The Female Christ by Lene Adler Petersen and Bjørn Nørgaard, carried out on 29 May 1969 at 15.30. At that time, Adler Petersen walked through the Copenhagen Stock Exchange nude and carrying a cross. You can read more about this and see a photo of the performance here.
So with the inspiration behind the fragrance explained, lets take a look at the notes.
Female Christ Notes
Top: Eucalyptus, patchouli, pimento
Heart: Rhubarb, wintergreen, red thyme, geranium
Base: Vanilla, amber, benzoin, cinnamon bark, cashmere wood
It’s not a shocker that such a complex piece of art would translate into a complex work of fragrance. So how does it come together?
Verdict
You’d better like patchouli as a note, because there’s no escaping it in this fragrance! That said, beyond the patchouli there’s a tangy, sharp sweetness that I find addicting.
The spicier elements of Female Christ, melding with the patchouli, have a borderline medicinal presence, but it never goes overboard thanks to the resinous base. I’ve talked before that I tend to not like amber scents because they have a sticky/tacky texture to them. Not so in Female Christ. The amber and benzoin serve to cushion that medicinal tang and keep it from going off into clinically unpleasant, leaving us with a nicely sweet component from the vanilla and cinnamon to smooth out Female Christ into something that is both made for the winter, but light enough for a spring or summer break.
You’re left with a tangy, rich, (every so slightly fruity) sweet scent that will definitely call to mind a feeling of the counterculture, and command attention. That’s not to say this is a skanky funk bomb that should be avoided in a crowd. More like this will, to anyone fortunate enough to get a whiff of you as you walk by, make them wonder what you’re wearing. (That said, do not mistake me saying this as declaring Female Christ a compliment chaser. I’ve already made my thoughts clear on this concept and would not classify this fragrance as such even if I believed in such a thing.)
However, I will caution against overspraying as too much of this will indeed become a walking hippy gas bomb and turn you into that asshole.
Longevity is pretty standard for an EdP concentration, and I get around 6 hours on average. The sillage trail is very lovely, and the projection, provided again you didn’t overspray, is assertive, but not screechy.
If you’d like to sample Female Christ, you can pick up an 0.7 mL vial from Luckyscent for $4 , or, if you’re feeling daring, you can also pick up a 100 mL bottle from there as well for $175. Obviously, this is starting to veer on the more expensive side, but for such a unique fragrance, this is fairly reasonable for the size if you can afford it.
Overall, if you’re wanting a unique and commanding scent to reach for, I’d suggest giving Female Christ a try.
Side note: This is a darker liquid, so be careful when spraying on lighter colored clothing!
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The Fandomentals “Fragdomentals” team base our reviews off of fragrances that we have personally, independently sourced. Any reviews based off of house-provided materials will be explicitly stated.
