L'Artisan Parfumeur Safran Troublant

Safran Troublant by Olivia Giacobetti for L'Artisan Parfumeur was launched in 2002, the same year as another saffron-rose perfume, Donna Karan's Black Cashmere. They don't have much in common, though. Black Cashmere comes from the heart of darkness. It lures you in and hypnotizes with its incense, and is so dark you can almost start humming the Imperial March and feel Darth Vader's black cloak swooshing by. Safran Troublant is the exact opposite. It's all pudding.

I love both, but for some reason only have a full bottle of Black Cashmere. Maybe because it took me a while to get behind my pudding-loving ways. There's no doubt that L'Artisan's Safran Troublant is easier to wear and friendlier for one's elevator and cubicle neighbors with its delicate milky aroma (sandalwood galore) and vanilla embrace. The rose in Safran Troublant is sweet and almost candied- I don't get any of the sourness that often accompanies roses on my skin. It's the same kind of rosewater that scents Turkish Delight. Safran Troublant has none of the spices that pierce Black Cashmere- no nutmeg, cinnamon or clove. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't have objected to some cardamom, or maybe a steamed rice accord. Then again, that might have taken it fully into the kitchen, and this is a L'Artisan perfume, after all, and people should be able to wear it without obsessively googling the nearest Turkish restaurant that can satisfy the all-consuming craving for a Zerde pudding.

L'Artisan Parfumeur Safran Troublant ($135, 100 ml EDT) is available from L'Artisan boutiques around the world, Aedes, MiN New York, Barneys, Henri Bendel, Beauty Habit and Luckyscent.

Photo: turkishcookbook.com

L'Artisan Parfumeur- Tubéreuse

Another week, another tuberose.

Or maybe not, since Tubereuse by L'Artisan Parfumeur seems to have been phased out (that's a nice way to say "discontinued")- it's no longer on L'Artisan's website or on those of the usual suspects among the authorized US retailers- Aedes, Luckyscent, Beauty Habit and Barneys.

Which is really a shame, because this little odd tropical bird is very pretty and satisfying, and to me holds more interest than the newer and extremely over-hyped Nuit de Tubéreuse. The original Tubéreuse opens up green and buttery like quite a few perfumes centered around a tuberose note. The thing I enjoy about it is the way the butter becomes more creamy or milky as the scent develops on skin thanks to a sweet coconut milk note. It's not quite a Thai pudding but at times it gets close. I was very surprised to discover Tubéreuse was a Jean-Claude Ellena creation- it's so lush and heady. I guess this was before Mr. Ellena dedicated himself to recreating the scent of mineral water.

Once Tubéreuse gets to its creamy stage it just hangs there unchanged for a few (not enough) hours. It pulsates more on a hot day, but even on a cool spring night it has the effect of a tropical fantasy. The perfume becomes more simple overtime and on a non-tuberose friendly skin would probably be too flat. A couple of years ago my scent twin said that he and I tend to radiate tuberose. It's true- there's something about the alchemy of this flower that tends to work for me more often than not, and this L'Artisan is no exception. It's lush, sweet and inviting, a happy island vacation wearing sheer scarves and flowers and not thinking too much.

As mentioned above, Tubéreuse is not available currently from any of the official L'Artisan distribution channels, but some online sources still carry it.

Photo of model Yasmeen Ghauri (early 90s) from Vogue UK.

L'Artisan Parfumeur- L'Eau d'Ambre Extreme

I suspect L'Eau d'Ambre Extreme is at least partially responsible for L'artisan's reputation as making sheer and ephemeral perfumes. Most amber lovers expect a lot more body and bite from their fragrances- sweetness, sillage and a certain density. L'Artisan's  L'Eau d'Ambre Extreme does not deliver on that front.

Nevertheless,  L'Eau d'Ambre Extreme is not a shallow and dilluted juice. It's a low key spice-fest, full of the good stuff like cinnamon and cardamom. The opening notes are almost fiery and very dry. If things have progressed along these lines we would have had a serious contender for top amber perfumes. However, by the time the ambery accord fully kicks in it feels like I'm smelling it from across the room and not from my own neck or wrist. It's a lovely oriental, dreamy and soft, more woody than powdery that actually lasts for long hours but remains between me and my clothes, never leaving my personal space.

 L'Eau d'Ambre Extreme is so discreet and intimate it's hard to decide if it's an office-appropriate amber or actually a third date perfume. Both, I guess. This Jean-Claude Ellena is, indeed, sheer and a bit elusive, but also a great example of a non-foody, very crystallized amber. L'Eau d'Ambre Extreme makes you listen and pay attention to the way it treads on its soft paws. Nowadays I find it more beautiful and much sexier than I ever considered this L'Artisan perfume. It's not that I'm forsaking any of my favorite heavyweight ambers, but sometimes I want to enjoy this accord in a somewhat more private way.

Notes (from Luckyscent): cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, amber, vanilla, rose, patchouli, sandalwood, benzoin, tonka bean.

Bottom Line: how come I still don't have a full bottle?

L'Eau d'Ambre Extreme ($115, 50 ml) is available from all authorized L'Artisan Parfumeur retailers (Luckyscent, Aedes, MiN NY, Barneys, Henry Bendel, BeautyHabit, Blue Mercury and others) as well as from L'Artisan boutiques in Paris.

Photo by Norman Parkinson for Vogue, February 1969

L'Artisan Parfumeur- Traversée du Bosphore

Crossing the Bosphorus, taking a journey between Asia and Europe, visiting Turkish markets, smoky bars, spice and sweets sellers sound more like a Serge Lutens mission statement than a L'Artisan Parfumeur brief for a perfume. Yet it was Bertrand Duchaufour who took the trip and composed this travel memoir for L'Artisan, complete with a Turkish delight note.

I wasn't expecting to like Traversée du Bosphore so much, let alone love it. I thought that between Uncle Serge and Keiko Mecheri, I was all loukoumed out, not to mention how apple and pomegranate notes are not necessarily my idea of fun. It turns out that Traversée du Bosphore is not about fruit at all. There is a perky lightness in the opening, but none of what we've come to know as a sticky red fruit accord. It was quite amusing, actually, since the first time I tested this L'Artisan on my skin (the husband has tried it a couple of months before but it was mostly a neutral musk on him) I also tried Frederic Malle Portrait Of a Lady. I was full of anticipation for the latter and thought I was going to love it. Instead, the Lady turned out to be a fruitchouli and the one that captured my attention was Traversée du Bosphore. I wanted to spend more time with it.

On my skin, Traversée du Bosphore is equal parts dry iris, soft aged leather, vanilla and musk.  Very few L'Artisan perfumes were made to hit you with a sweet stick, and this is no exception, despite the Turkish delight accord. The perfume is very warm and dry, and despite the obvious leather note, the tactile feel of it as more suede-like. There's some spice emerging from behind the iris, but it's subtle- those who dislike the souk aromas of many Lutens fragrances have nothing to worry here. It's saffron, not cumin, and the general impression is of something wafting from some distance while you actually stroll in the open air, not stuck in the  back room of a spice merchant. The dry-down is very musky but in a clean, non-animalic way. It's powdery and the vanilla is pale, demure and has fresh rosy cheeks- it's not a femme fatale scent and not overly foody. A man who wears vanilla well should have no problem pulling this off.

Traversée du Bosphore has an impressive lasting power. It may be a quiet scent but it stays alive for 14-16 hours easily, and if I apply it at night it's still very much there in the morning. I find that wearing it outside in the cold mutes the scent down considerably, but getting back inside makes it bloom and gain more sillage. I'm curious to see how it performs in the summer. I have a feeling it might become a favorite hot weather oriental.

L'Artisan ParfumeurTraversée du Bosphore ($115, 50ml EDP) is available from all L'Artisan retailers- MiN NY, Luckyscent and the other usual suspects.

Photo of Ortakoy, Istanbul, on the Bosphorus by Fikret Onal

L'Artisan Parfumeur- Coeur de Vétiver Sacré

Heard last month at Barneys:
The husband: don't I already have all the vetivers I'll ever need?
Me: You tell me.
Him (spraying, sniffing and inhaling Coeur de Vétiver Sacré): Apparently not. I'll take it.

So much for the three tests before buying rule. But this is a vetiver and an unusual one at that. We both fell in love with this new L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrance. The husband likes the depth and the fact it's unlike any of the other vetiver in his/our collection. I've found out that I love wearing Coeur de Vétiver Sacré as a meditative perfume or while driving.  There's a state where your body and the conscious alert part of your mind are focused on one task while your imagination and thoughts are elsewhere.

Coeur de Vétiver Sacré starts as a spicy black tea scent. Not chai, really, as it's not creamy, just a strong black tea with saffron and ginger . Then there's the stewed fruit accord, not quite Lutens-like as there's no cumin and far less sweetness, but it's all dried dates and figs in an aromatic liquid reminding me of faraway markets where colorful and exotic sights, sounds and smells are entwined.

It takes quite a while before the vetiver even appears. I wondered at first why they named the perfume after it. But there it was all of a sudden, in all its grassy warmth with a smooth incense as its sidekick, making for a sweet(ish) dry-down.

Coeur de Vétiver Sacré is a significant departure from most L'Artisan perfumes we've seen recently. The perfumer, Karine Vinchon, brought a new point of view to the line by creating a darker, thicker, more demanding perfume. I love it for its warmth and ability to transform and change on skin. There's a serene and atmospheric feeling to CdVS, making it perfect on a fall day. Of course, not everyone feels this way. Dane from Pere de Pierre was decidedly unimpressed, but he's bordering on being my evil scent twin. For me, CdVS hits all the right spots, something very few L'Artisans have done lately.

Coeur de Vétiver Sacré by L'Artisan Parfumeur ($135, 100ml) is exclusive to Barneys, at least for now.

Photo by Walde Huth, 1953,  from dhm.de