Histoires de Parfums Flacons, Histoires de Parfums
My introduction to Histoires de Parfums occurred eight years ago when I was but tip-toeing into the world of niche perfumery, of which I knew little. At the time, my fascination with England had me sailing towards proper British colognes – their aromatic zests, powdery brightness and flashes of Guerlinade paired well with my accent, borrowed from thespian Sirs and Dames; yet for all the Victorian might I tried to muster about me, there always seemed to lack what my inner self yearned for: the extravaganza and trails I smelt everywhere when I was still living in Dubai, this divine ability to be announced without uttering a word and to remain present in a room or in memories through the simplicity of your scent.
Perfume is a personal story.
Our relationship with it goes deeper than we may possibly imagine and often, our quest for “our” perfume is but an image of an inner quest, if not to find our true self, to embrace it. Such was my situation at the time, that of a teenager alone in Paris, dropped into a drama school, lost at university, ever shapeshifting to belong – as if I never would by myself. My taste in perfumes reflected not only this quest to project a different image of myself -that of an older, serious and sophisticated adult- but the discrepancy between that image and the person I was to be. I realised that my perfumes always lacked that little something because they were quite far from the person I was at heart. For all their grandeur and sophistication, they were austere and proper, reeking of an all-too-clean devotion and dedication to a world that had fallen into oblivion. What I truly wanted was to smell like a smile, a hug, a kiss; like the infinite sands of the Arabian desert, like a prince and a princess, a hawk and a scorpion, like the roar of a lion and the echoes of a temple. An Amber, basically.
Ambre 114, Histoires de Parfums
That’s when I discovered Ambre 114.
That’s when I discovered Histoires de Parfums.
That’s when I started to embrace myself.
Some eight years later and after an unforeseeable cascade of events, I am now become their Ambassador and with thirty-eight fragrances in their catalogue, there are at least three perfumes from Histoires de Parfums that one should either smell or wear.
Histoires de Parfums Ambre 114 (2001)was my first encounter with the eponymous olfactive family and despite owning many others from different brands, Ambre 114 still counts as one of my favourites because of the tricky balance it manages to achieve, binding together all aspects and subcategories of the Amber family into one single fragrance. It neither dawdles on the dark labdanum facet nor falls into the vanillin featheriness of last centuries’ ambers – rather it walks a thin line in-between built on 114 ingredients, hence the name. The opening duet of nutmeg and thyme -one for the spice and the other for the heat- is delicately lit up by a sparkle of rhodinol without which the harmony would fall flat. It all quickly leads up to a classic amber accord built around labdanum, tonka bean and vanilla, dried up with a streak of frankincense, softened with a touch of sandalwood, darkened with a sprig of patchouli, drunk with a cloud of chocolate, ladied with a drop of heliotrope and manned with a puff of tobacco. It has ever been in my perfume collection and to this day remains one of the most balanced and representative perfume of the genre.
Notes – Thyme, Nutmeg, Geranium, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Labdanum, Vanilla, Tonka Bean, Benzoin, Incense
1740, Histoires de Parfums (2001)
1740 flares on the other side of the spectrum or rather flies away from it. Although inspired by the Marquis de Sade, 1740 is not a straight hardcore-BDSM olfactory experience but an aesthete’s take on a voyeurism escapade, à la Dangerous Liaisons. One must picture Versailles in the 18th century and the Hall of Mirrors after dark. Imagine the remaining candles puffing out their last billows of smoke from the gilded chandeliers, their wax dripping on the polished waxen floor; the mirrors and the music fading; the banquet table overturned; the glasses of wine, spilled; the overripe plums, bitten; and in every dark corner of the room, the song of quiet moans rising. Imagine the air heavy with the smell of liquor and cordials, of sweat and incense and candles and fruits. An air ripe with lust and carelessness, wrapped in the elegance and chastity of silken cloths. 1740 titters on an edge, not in a fearful, but in a playful way, marrying together tar and davana, cistus and immortal, cumin and bergamot. The unbelievable amount of resins tames the smokiness of the bases whilst the citruses hide away the sweaty stench of the immortal flower resulting in a bold yet elegant fragrance.
Notes – Bergamot, Davana, Coriander, Patchouli, Cardamom, Immortelle, Tar, Labdanum, Benzoin, Vanilla
Tubéreuse Trilogy, Histoires de Parfums (2010)
Histoires de ParfumsTubéreuse 3 is another one of my coups de coeur because it feels like a crown of white flowers and tells the most interesting story about this scandalous blossom. The Tubéreuse series was meant to be a single perfume only but as the project went on, it appeared impossible to encompass the many facets and moods of the flower into one perfume and they thus created three. This one is all about the luscious and narcotic aura of the tuberose. Like so many jewels to a crown, this perfume brings together a basketful of flowers to adorn their queen. Immortal flower for the dirt, Tahitian gardenia for the poise, neroli for the light, orange blossom for the powder, all along a waxy-white tuberose heart. Throw in the resins and the tobacco, the fruits and the musks; turn up the concentration and the result is an over-the-top white flower bouquet worthy of the campiest attires of the Met Gala. Tubéreuse 3 is downright vintage with an 80’s buoyancy one could well imagine floating over the Fifth Avenue at NYC yet there remains about it a bit too much, a bit Jersey. A definite oldie but goldie…
Notes – Tuberose, Neroli, Kumquat, Tiare, Immortelle, Plum, Tobacco, Orange Blossom
Alexandre Helwani – Contributor
Photo of Gerald Ghislain courtesy of Histoires de Parfums
Thanks to the generosity of Histoires de Parfums and Gerald Ghislain we have a worldwide draw for a 60ml bottle of your choice of either Ambre 114, 1740 or for one registered reader anywhere in the world (you must register on our site or your comment will not count). To be eligible, please tell which appealed to you the most from Alexandre’s descriptions, your favorite Histoires de Parfums fragrance (you can see all of them on the website here https://usa.histoiresdeparfums.com/ )and where you live. Draw closes $/24/20204
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