Chekhov was right, and Ricci and Kurkdjian would have done well to remember this with Mad Madame and Midnight Oud. Juliette may be armed, but we're not sure why and she certainly doesn't seem dangerous.
When I read the brand story for Juliette has a Gun, I had in mind fragrances capturing the edgy spirit of the Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio Romeo and Juliet (yes I'm dating myself). Or something in the line of Kill Bill or Gunpowder Milkshake. Instead I find these two fragrances to be the opposite--delicate, well-blended and expressing a sweet vulnerability. In Mad Madame, we have a luminous tuberose that is far more Antoinette in Wide Sargasso Sea than Bertha Mason. And there is very little bewitching in Midnight Oud. On my skin it is an intense, almost cloying tea rose.
At best, I get playfulness with both fragrances, but nothing more interesting. Are these a failure? No, but they are not particularly interesting, especially for the perfume lover with a large collection. I think I would like it a bit more if brands put as much thought into making the juice as avant garde as their marketing. Not bad, but there is certainly better out there and many at a lower price point
