DZONGKHA BY L'ARTISAN PARFUMEUR (2006)

Nose: Bertrand Duchaufour

I’ve never been a fan of L’Artisan fragrances, let alone the uncontrollably prolific Bertrandingo. But one thing I’ve to admit – in the extremely seldom circumstances where they both work at their best, with decent budgets and some solid inspiration, the results are great. And this is definitely the case. This is easily one of the best woody-iris scents on the market, brilliantly succeeding in blending the utmost versatility and wearability with a tremendous level of creativity and quality. Basically I agree with the reviews (including Luca Turin’s one in his Guide) which connect Dzonghka to Timbuktu, as this is indeed basically Timbuktu with iris, which is amazingly blended within that peculiar sort of transparent cypress-woody and subtly leathery structure adding a powdery, rooty, dry and earthy-waxy texture which fits it just perfectly. It’s like to smell the smoky, greenish, autumnal “papery” woodiness of Timbuktu shyly blossoming in early March. Not a “floral triumph”, just some faint, pastel, still quite dark accent of rooty-floral notes rising from the soil, soon joined by a subtle, warm tea note. This is pretty much of Dzonghka smells, and it’s just achieved perfectly. It’s graceful, elegant, natural, breezy yet very cozy: no cheap musks, no plastic iris. The concept is simple, the execution is clever and well mastered. Just some genuine, palpably realistic sprinkle of orris powder on smoky woods with a “mineral” salty aftertaste and a slighty touch of sweetness which will grow in strenght on the (impeccable) drydown. It’s poetic, complex yet quite straightforward, masterfully executed keeping Timbuktu’s great ability of smelling “airy” but totally substantial. And it smells fantastic anyway. Heart-warmingly austere and very classy. Plus, finally a decently-projecting, decently persistent L’Artisan, for God’s sake. Recommended!

8-8,5/10

Mûre Et Musc Extrême Gets A 24 Carat Finish Inspired By Château De Versailles

L'Artisan Parfumeur have partnered with Eric de Meyer, head of the Château de Versailles cabinetmaking workshop, to create a limited-edition artisanal collection of Mûre et Musc Extrême to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Parisian department store Le Printemps for the Holidays season...

There are 30 numbered flacons of Mûre et Musc Extrême eau de parfum carefully decorated by hand with 24 carat gold leaf.

It's the same technique and spirit that you can admire at Château de Versailles. Hopefully it should age well although it does not appear to be a refillable flacon. What a shame.

Called the 150 ans du Printemps edition, it will be available from the end of October 2015 exclusively at 64 Blvd Haussmann, 75009 Paris.

Each 100 ml bottle is priced at 195€.

L'Artisan Parfumeur X Arnaud Larher Create Ephemeral Pastry L'Exquis

Fine perfumery is more and more openly passionate about food and more and more creative projects appear such as this latest one from l'Artisan Parfumeur, who have allied themselves with Meilleur Ouvrier de France pastry chef Arnaud Larher to create L'Exquis inspired by their new perfume Noir Exquis...

We are a far historical cry from the time when perfumer Edmond Roudnitska felt slightly uneasy about Femme de Rochas for it standing too dangerously close to food associations, for his own aesthetic comfort.

Perfumes are supposed to be ethereal, ideal things. Imagine what times we are living in with these fragrances that resemble banquet feasts, or an amorous goûter, like Noir Exquis.

Of course, the next logical step is to take direct inspiration from a perfume to offer its edible equivalent. It's been done time and again in the past decade by houses such as Guerlain, Thierry Mugler or Viktor & Rolf.

L'Exquis is an individual cake, which is said to rest on a vanilla-flavored shortbread base over which a layer of orange marmelade help anchor a maple syrup biscuit and a grand cru ganache made with pure arabica coffee harvested in India. The coffee was selected in collaboration with coffee specialist L'Arbre à Café, who made sure the coffee was sourced from one varietal and one terroir only. The pastry is finally covered with an airy mousse made with chestnuts from the Ardèche region in France.

This is a limited-edition available in the Arnaud Larher boutiques from Oct 7 to Dec 31, 2015.

Taste it if you can and see how it compares with the perfume! This is not called eating. It's called educating your tastebuds!

SRP: 6,50€

Amour Nocturne - Explosions D'Émotions - L'Artisan Parfumeur

Crepúsculo e araucárias

Lentamente cai o sol atrás da mata, tingindo a terra de laranja e púrpura.
Ouve-se o crepitar da lenha queimando, substituindo o calor do dia que escapa buscando a noite, enquanto o manto de sereno se desdobra rapidamente.

Estilo colonial da serra gaúcha

Conserva-se  o aroma das folhas secas e dos troncos que se aqueceram em horas mais luminosas.
Dentro da casa móveis rústicos provocam sombras bailarinas, élficas, prendendo o olhar em preguiçosos devaneios.

Bolos e biscoitos exalam doçura sobre a mesa aguardando o chá âmbar e fumegante que se derrama em leitosas canecas de porcelana.
Esquecidas no chão dormem flores do xale macio substituído por abraço forte e aconchegante.
A vida sorri feliz aos pequenos prazeres. 

Amour Nocturne encerra tais encantos doces e amadeirados no cedro caramelizado, nas flores e resinas que se disfarçam de saborosa figueira.
Provoca deliciosa nostalgia de inocência e malícia, dos confeitos de outrora, dos bolos caseiros, geléias e balas de mel...

Não dispensa o agridoce das resinas e especiarias levemente ambaradas,  almiscaradas,  apresentando inesperado bouquet, de flores misturadas a ramos secos, perfumados pelos respingos de licores densos e açucarados.
Amorosa doçura é traduzida por L'Artisan Parfumeur em Amor Nocturne, uma das três fragrâncias da coleção Explosions d'Émotions.

Família Olfativa: Floral amadeirado, 2013
Gênero: Unissex
Perfumista: Bertrand Duchaufour
Rastro: Intenso
Fixação: Muito Boa
Notas Olfativas: Cedro, caramelo, leite, orquídea.

Vídeo: L'Artisan Parfumeur - Explosions d'Émotions

L'Artisan Parfumeur Noir Exquis (2015)

Noir Exquis is autumnal in its makeup, and this is explained by the fact that it leaves room for perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour's personal expressions rather than just a dutifully fulfilled brief about a pheromone-laden - we can imagine - gourmand coffee fragrance meant to symbolise an amorous exchange in the context of Parisian café society. 15 years after Tea for Two, L'Artisan Parfumeur have decided it is time for a "Coffee for Two" named "Exquisite Coffee."...

The main coffee note is reportedly one of Brazilian coffee absolute. It is associated with the smokiness of maple syrup, the sweetness of glazed chestnuts, and orange blossom.

The new perfume shows Duchaufour's predilection for two very separate worlds a priori, that of the forest and that of the feasting banquet. But are they, really, truly, madly separate? Not in Duchaufour's world, and neither is it in many folk tales: think of the gingerbread house of Hansel & Gretel or the buttery galette in Little Red Riding Hood, all on a background of forestial scents.

In Duchaufour's Méchant Loup, the forest is ever present, with its lurking, centuries-old human diffuse fears. In Poivre Piquant, he manages to soften the blow of pepper by adding a river of milk and honey. In Noir Exquis, these currents of inspiration both foresty and biblically honeyed come together around a café gourmand - a black coffee presented on a platter with a selection of mini pastries - in which a forest hides. Noir Exquis smells of mellifluous honey - like a small pool of honey in which something complex happens: the olfactory imprint of the forests and meadows that the bees foraged.

You first wonder: what does this undercurrent of green, sylvan smells have to do in a fragrance meant to convey the atmosphere of a tête-à-tête between two lovers in a pâtisserie? It a priori does not belong in there. The discreet splash of greenery does not even smell of angelica - a good green note for gourmand fragrances, one apt at expressing softness of mores and ancestral sweet recipes. No, here, we are faced with the scent of fresh humus, of rich black soil mixing with that of the edge of a forest.

One study has shown that the smell of mushrooms can provoke orgasms in women. It is also an autobiographical note - I seem to recall after smelling these nuances that Bertrand Duchaufour's life at some point was entwined with that of a neighboring forest. He's also created a set of fragrances for Eau d'Italie which is very much grounded in the loaminess of the earth.

At any rate, be forewarned that in Noir Exquis, there is a larger mythological landscape - personal and cultural - at play behind the Parisian scene of an amorous exchange, perhaps at Angelina's. I am led to thinking of this gourmand landmark in the City of Light because of how the scent of glazed chestnuts translate in the perfume, where they smell of a Mont Blanc. Angelina's Mont Blancs are some of the best and a legendary dessert among the sweet-toothed. They come with Chantilly, meringue and a mop of crème de marron vermicelli-like strands of hair. They both melt and lightly crunch in the mouth.

There is also a saltiness to the perfume leading you to think of caramel salé au sel de Guérande presented in a leather, maroquinerie box. It's a well blended impression of chewy sweetness - with a hint of animalistic presence - hide, then salty-sweet ambergris. The coffee note is not very pronounced to this strong black coffee drinker - it is more like a vapor of coffee. Now comes a touch of almondy macaron - there is a nuance of sweet almond milk. The drydown is honeyed, discreetly warm and with a noticeable ambergris character.

While Noir Exquis offers the merit of sending you back to other works by Bertrand Duchaufour rather than to, say, Thierry Mugler A Men, at the same time, the composition has a tendency to come across as answering a minimum quota of satisfaction for the niche aficionado. It is a pleasant, rather subdued and soft sweet oriental which will appeal to people who are looking for that family of fragrances albeit in a lower key mode and urban mode. It has that quality of being on the conceptually economical side. The fragrance is a bit intriguing, yet ultimately it makes you feel like Duchaufour operated a bit in automatic pilot mode.

L'Artisan Parfumeur Noir Exquis (2015)

L'Artisan Parfumeur have introduced a new unisex fragrance called Noir Exquis (Exquisite Black Coffee), which is an olfactory interpretation of a first date in a pastry shop over the dark brew and sweet edibles...

The composition is signed by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. Most of the notes in it are actually flavors, in the real world.

The eau de parfum features notes of glazed chestnut, candied orange and walnut leading to a heart of orange blossom, Brazilian coffee and maple syrup. The base rests on Macassar wood, heliotrope, vanilla, tonka bean and white sandalwood.

The coffee note is based on a coffee absolute so as to create intensity, depth and character. Aura is said to be ambery, warm and "charismatic."

Prices: 112€ and 88€ for 100ml and 50 ml respectively.

Via press release

Nova Fragrância para a Casa de L'Artisan Parfumeur: La Boule de Provence

por: Jodi Battershell

L'Artisan Parfumeur oferece um ar da Provence para perfumar sua casa nesta estação. La Boule de Provence é a nova e muito aguardada sucessora do sucesso desta marca Boule d’Ambre ("Bola de Âmbar"), que foi originalmente lançada em 1977.

Criada em terracotta pelos mesmos artesãos franceses que fizeram a "bola" original e com um aroma criado pelo perfumista de Grasse Jean-Claude Gigodot, que criou a fragrência original Boule d'Ambre, a nova Boule é inspirada nos cheiros da natureza da soalheira Provence, no sul de França.

A fresca e elegante fragrância aromática celebra os aromas da região campestre Provençal com notas de lavanda, feno, alecrim, folha de tomate e mangericão. A fragrância sólida cristalizada é alojada desta vez numa simples mas elegante bola branca que serve como objet d'art e difusor. La Boule de Provence vem embalada numa bela caixa decorada com imagens dos campos da Provence, em tons de lavanda que prolongam o tema da fragrância.  

O belo aroma La Provence está também disponível num tradicional difusor.

Procure La Boule de Provence e La Provence Home Fragrance Diffuser a partir de Março de 2015 nas boutiques L'Artisan Parfumeur, em revendedores autorizados ou no website oficial L'Artisan Parfumeur.

New Home Fragrance from L'Artisan Parfumeur: La Boule de Provence

by: Jodi Battershell

L'Artisan Parfumeur offers a breath of Provence to scent your home this spring. La Boule de Provence is the new and long-awaited successor of the house's beloved Boule d’Ambre ("Amber Ball"), which was originally launched in 1977.

Crafted in terracotta by the same French artisans who made the original "ball," and with a scent created by Grasse-based perfumer Jean-Claude Gigodot, who created the original Boule d'Ambre fragrance, the new Boule was inspired by the scents of nature in sunny Provence, in the south of France.

The fresh and elegant aromatic scent celebrates the aromas of the Provençal countryside with notes of lavender, hay, rosemary, tomato leaf and basil. The solid crystallized fragrance is housed this time in a simple but elegant white ball that serves as both objet d'art and diffuser. La Boule de Provence is packaged in a beautiful box decorated with images of Provence fields, in shades of lavender which extend the fragrance theme.  

The beautiful La Provence scent is also available in a traditional Home Fragrance Diffuser.

Look for La Boule de Provence and La Provence Home Fragrance Diffuser this March at L'Artisan Parfumeur boutiques, from authorized retailers and on the official L'Artisan Parfumeur website.