Elisa talks about gardenia, tiare, and leather as she reviews Aftelier Cuir de Gardenia Extrait.

Searching for a natural gardenia perfume is a little like hunting for unicorns – gardenias, notoriously, don’t release a natural oil. As Victoria once put it, “gardenia, temperamental flower that she is, does not give up her essence to any distillation methods.” Accordingly, gardenia in perfumery is necessarily a re-creation, using other materials to approximate the flower’s scent: sweetly tropical, but with an earthy element often likened to dirt or mushrooms.

I was surprised, then, when I heard that Mandy Aftel of Aftelier Perfumes was releasing a gardenia scent, since Aftel is known for her all-natural creations. As it turns out, Cuir de Gardenia is based on the Tahitian gardenia, or tiare flower, which can be made into a (costly) enfleurage (termed monoi when using coconut oil). Aftel has bolstered this material with jasmine and benzyl acetate, an isolate that occurs naturally in jasmine and ylang-ylang and is also used as a solvent in plastic and resins.

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Ernest Beaux called Paul Parquet the “greatest perfumer of his time.” Coming from the legendary creator of Chanel No. 5, it’s very high praise, but Parquet (1856-1916) deserves it for his innovative work. Although most of his fragrances, like Le Parfum Idéal or Coeur de Jeannette, created for Houbigant, have not survived, his influence is profound. He is responsible for giving perfumery the fougère fragrance family, inspired by his marvelous Fougère Royale. His experiments with novel synthetics inspired many groundbreaking fragrances of the 19th and early 20th centuries such as Piver’s Le Trèfle Incarnat, Roger & Gallet Vera Violetta. Even Beaux himself was under the spell of Parquet’s creations.

The start of Parquet’s career was in hosiery, rather than perfume. It was not until 1878 when his father bought a perfumery called Houbigant-Chardin (founded in 1775 by Jean-François Houbigant) that Parquet became interested in the business. In 1881, Parquet bought Houbigant-Chardin from his father, and over the course of the next three decades composed a fascinating and original collection*. His style was bold, dramatic, and daring, but also romantic.

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Even for the accomplished perfumer, re-orchestrating a classic is a formidable task. Not only does the new version have to respect the original spirit, it needs to add a new, distinctive twist. In addition, it must also follow current regulatory stipulations on the use of ingredients, be on budget and make sense within the brand’s DNA. No wonder most remakes fall short of such high expectations.

Hermès is a more respectful brand than most others of its heritage, but I was nevertheless skeptical of the proposition to rework their classics, which include such legends as Caléche and modern gems such as Hiris. The consolation was that  the new versions redesigned by in-house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena would live alongside the originals. The first in the series was Bel Ami Vétiver, which reinterpreted the leather chypre from 1986.

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Here is a bit of perfume math: 4 tons of roses = 1 600 000 rose blossoms = 1 kg of rose oil. No wonder rose oil is one of the most expensive essences, and a kilo of golden liquid will fetch around $7000. The cosmetics company Lush uploaded a terrific video about the rose harvest in Senir, a town in the Turkish province of Antalya, and it shows all stages of rose oil production, from handpicking the blossoms to turning them into the essence. The video also helpfully explains the difference between rose oil and rose absolute.

Update 2021: The video is no longer available, but I suggest searching YouTube for other videos of rose harvests in Turkey, Bulgaria, and France.

L’Artisan Parfumeur is adding three new fragrances to its Explosions d’Emotions, which currently includes Déliria, Amour Nocturne and Skin on Skin. Haute Voltige, Rappelle-Toi, Onde Sensuelle will join the collection in the beginning of May. All three were designed by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour.

Haute Voltige embodies exuberance. “True excitement. Feel the goose bumps on your skin as an intense joy takes over. This is an Eau de Parfum with an expansive and extroverted personality: where a generous floral peony note meets with the unexpected fruitiness of pomegranate. An explosion of joy.”

Rappelle-Toi is understated and contemplative. “Silence as a door to our inner thoughts. A contemplative fragrance, anchored in the stillness of our surroundings. With its mesmerising opulence, gardenia evokes this quiet introspection, enlivened with fresh vibrating notes of Sichuan pepper. This magnificent flower is enhanced with musks and smooth sandalwood with honey accents. A beautiful transcendence.”

Onde Sensuelle is about desire and passion. “An insatiable, voracious desire is felt like a deep force, surging under the skin. A wave of sensuality washes over you. This Eau de Parfum is a work in contrasts, between a burning spicy bouquet of ginger, saffron and cumin, and the icy crispness of juniper berries and cardamom. It recreates the sensation, and tension of this urge. A captivating wave of passion.”

Available starting the beginning of May 2014 in the Eau de Parfum concentration, 125ml/140 euros.  Via press release.