The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
The name says it all, really. Taboo is Alendor's study in what you're not supposed to do: wear something provocative to the office, choose a fragrance that asks questions, let a scent say something about you that your outfit can't. Operating as an artistic perfume house, Alendor creates each fragrance as a unique creative statement. For their Seductive Collection, the house partnered with Nathalie Feisthauer to create something that looked like a contradiction: a fragrance named for transgression that refuses to actually break any rules. Taboo became that exercise. Bright on the surface. Warm underneath. Never loud enough to scandalize, but never tame enough to ignore.
What makes the structure interesting is the tension between the top and base. The opening reads fresh-fruity, grapefruit and blackcurrant are approachable, crowd-pleasing notes that most perfumers would lean into. But then there's tagetes. Marigold oil has a green, almost herbal quality that most people associate with potpourri or garden clippings. It's not a comfortable note. Here, it's the counterweight. Nathalie Feisthauer uses it to prevent the citrus-fruity opening from becoming sweet or simple.
The evolution
The grapefruit opens sharp, not harsh, but definite. There's a tartness from the blackcurrant underneath that prevents it from feeling like cleaning product citrus. That bright, fruity opening gradually makes way as the tagetes enters the composition. A green note, slightly animalic, that arrives quietly and redirects attention. The clary sage doesn't burst in, it materializes when the citrus starts to soften. Now the composition smells like something else entirely: aromatic, clean, a little bitter. The sage carries the next phase of the fragrance's development, its herbal presence distinct from the soapy cleanliness of lavender. Cedarwood begins to thread through underneath, keeping the composition grounded while the aromatic qualities take center stage. The cedarwood and benzoin arrive gradually, wrapping around the sage like a slow exhale.
Cultural impact
Taboo presents an interesting case study in naming versus content. The name itself suggests something forbidden, provocative, yet the scent itself is restrained and professional. This gap between the name and the actual experience creates a specific kind of intrigue. Within niche fragrance communities, the release sparked conversation precisely because it offered something different from what the title promised. The fragrance walks a line between suggestion and discretion, between what its name implies and what it actually delivers.
