Summer Fair by Camille Nicolas Lambert

In order to make way for new releases, L’Artisan Parfumer has had to discontinue fragrances from time to time including some favorites amongst the perfume community. They are committed to reintroducing some beloved scents each year as limited editions. This spring they have chosen to bring back Olivia Giacobetti’s ethereal summer day, Jour de Fête, originally released in 2003.

Warm-weather fragrances tend to fall into the light floral or citrus categories, but Jour de Fête stands on its own as a spring and summer scent like no other. Jour de Fête, with its notes of almond and vanilla, is a rarity in perfume: a spring gourmand. It is based on a confection known as “dragée”, which is a sweet with a hard shell. A classic form of dragée is a Jordan almond, which has the crunch of the sugar shell and the nutty, slightly bitter whole almond center. The name of the perfume references a festival day, when such treats would be eaten.

Flowering Almond by Margarits (Break-your-brain on Deviant Art)

The perfume, although based on a sugary treat, is not itself particularly sweet. Because one of the notes is wheat, it has a floury aspect to it, and with the natural-smelling almond notes, it is more like an almond croissant than marzipan. I am having a small flashback to my childhood days of playing with a simple clay made of flour and salt. Throughout, a subtle breeze of iris adds just a touch of flowers and earth. This perfume is intensely comforting, a characteristic usually reserved for heavier, warmer winter perfumes. The longevity is good for a lighter fragrance, and I got nice wafts throughout, until the final vanillic drydown. One evening, when I thought it was long gone, I got a little puff of this soft perfume, and it made me smile. It is more tenacious than it might seem.

Carnival Ferris Wheel by Charlene Precious

Living on the Northern California coast, it never gets very hot, which is good because I think that as translucent as Jour de Fête is, it could be a little doughy for me in extreme heat. I would definitely wear it when it is sunny, breezy, and warm. It is unlike anything else I have in my collection, and is a nice change from the usual pretty florals and bracing citruses in my summery fragrance collection.

Notes: almond, iris, wheat and vanilla

I received my review sample from L’Artisan Parfumeur.

Tama Blough, Deputy Editor

Jour de Fête will be available in March on the L’Artisan Parfumeur website and at select stockists for $105 for 100 ml. With gratitude for the generosity of L’Artisan Parfumeur, we have a 15 ml bottle to give to any reader residing in the US or Canada. Let us know if you are excited about the return of Jour de Fête, or which discontinued L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrance you would like to see re-issued, and where you live. Draw closes February 21, 2014

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

Note: Other types of dragée are M&Ms and those little silver balls used in cake decorating.

Olivia Giacobetti

Editor's Note:  My first exposure to Olivia Giacobetti's work was L'Artisan Parfumeur's Premier Figuier which I bought at The L'Artisan Parfumeur shop on Madison Avenue in New York City. I still have a few drops in the bottle. Ms. Giacobetti's signature is sheerness and luminosity that still feels very modem, although many of her fragrances were composed nearly two decades ago.  There is a precision and delicate artistry to all her perfumes that give Ms. Giacobetti a unique fragrance print.  Her fragrances for L'Artisan Parfumeur are: L'Eau d'Artisan (1993, discontinued), Premier Figueur (1994), Thé Pour Un Ete (1996), Drole de Rose (1996), Navagar (1997, discontinued), L'eau de Floriste (1997 limited and discontinued)  Dzing! (1999), Passage D'Enfer (1999), Fleur de Carrotte (2000, discontinued), Tea for Two (2000, discontinued), Thé des  Sables (2001, discontinued), Saffron Troublant (2002) Un Bouquet en Mai (2001, discontinued), Jour de Fête (2003, limited edition 2014), Premier Figuer Extreme, (2004), Extrait de Songe (2005), and Fou D'Absinthe (2006).. – Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief