Paloma Picasso's "Minotaure"

Pablo Picasso is a name permanently etched into twentieth-century history. To this day, the Andalusian-Spanish painter/sculptor is one of the most widely recognised figures for his distinctive body of work and his contribution in co-founding the Cubist art movement of the early 1900's. As a Spaniard, the bull and bullfighting made an early appearance in his work, and, in the 1930's, Picasso's works chiefly featured Le Minotaure - a half man half bull figure appended from Greek mythology. In Picasso's mind, and in his art, this ancient beast takes on various behaviours and roles. Sometimes begging compassion and sometimes the violent aggressor, the Minotaur emerged as the dominant figure in Picasso's works during this period, and many affirm that the beast represented the artist's alter-ego.

Much later, prior to his death in 1973, the artist's daughter Paloma Picasso featured in many of her father's works. In the following years, Paloma moved into the field of jewellery and fashion design, and created her eponymous perfume in 1984 - an opulent feminine chypre. In 1992 Paloma Picasso resurrected the Minotaur theme from her father's work and launched her first men's fragrance Minotaure.

To me, this IS the embodiment of the Mediterranean, in an unrestrained, virile manner. Its tangy blood-orange citrus head is swiftly underlined by radiant geranium and then warmed by smouldering sandalwood and spices. But at the heart of this beast is a very rich leather that can't be beaten. Raw, brawny and sexy, it has the provocative smell of a napped leather motorcycle jacket that has been warmed by a man's body - like a beating heart laid upon honey-like amber and soft musks. Much like her father's alter-ego, it is both tender and untamed.

This fragrance epitomises the feeling of a warm southern European night. It is an entrancing creation that will draw people in closer.
A work of art.