nathalie lorson: 3 posts

“Art does not reproduce the visible, it makes visible,” wrote the expressionist painter Paul Klee. The same could be said about perfumery, which is an art of intangible substances. The greatest fragrances conjure up the most complex of images, holding the artistic intent of their creators and offering a glimpse into their thoughts and memories. Of course, the goal of a perfumer may not always be that grand (or, given the nature of the market today, they may have neither the time nor opportunity to leave their fingerprint on a finished fragrance). However, when it does happen and a perfume feels more than the sum of its parts, it can touch us as deeply as any great work of art.

One of my favorite examples is Lalique’s Encre Noire Pour Homme released in 2006, and which perfumer Nathalie Lorson composed with the intention of showing off the suave, languid character of vetiver – a note usually seen as bracing and cold. A type of grass originating in India, Vetiver is grown to prevent soil erosion and produces a complex oil with accents of licorice, bitter grapefruit peel, smoke, and damp earth. Everything that makes it interesting is present in Encre Noire, but Lorson went further. She balanced the different facets of vetiver and highlighted them with musk and woods, fashioning the roughness of roots into reams of black silk.

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That I’m obsessed with vetiver is obvious. If you select the note ‘vetiver‘ in Bois de Jasmin’s Find a Perfume feature, you’ll find around 20 reviews of perfumes sharing this earthy, woody leitmotif. Vetiver essence is distilled from the roots of a nondescript looking grass, but its scent is spectacular. It smells of milky hazelnuts, bitter grapefruit, licorice and driftwood. Every time I think that I have tried enough vetivers, something else comes along to tempt me. If I want dark and salty, I go for Annick Goutal’s Vétiver. If I’m in the mood for fresh and sparkling, Prada’s Infusion de Vétiver never fails to hit the spot. But if I had to wear a single vetiver perfume for the rest of my life, I would pick Lalique Encre Noire Pour Homme.

Encre Noire may not seem like an obvious choice, especially when we have vetiver gold standards like Guerlain Vétiver and Frédéric Malle Vétiver Extraordinaire. Without a doubt, those are perfumes that must be sampled at least once, but what makes Encre Noire so compelling is its elegance and versatility. It’s also impeccably crafted and memorable.

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Gucci has launched a new fragrance called Gucci Première. It was inspired by the couture gowns from the Gucci collection shown at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Created by perfumer Nathalie Lorson, Gucci Première is a soft floral perfume, and it includes notes of bergamot, orange blossom, blackberries, leather, myrrh, fur accord, patchouli, sandalwood, and musk.

According to Gucci creative director Frida Giannini, “For such a successful woman, something equally remarkable was required. Gucci Première is womanly, intriguing and as seductive as the perfect couture gown.” The ad campaign is fronted by Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively.

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