Panouge Matières Libres Datura Amaretti (digital collage by Despina Veneti©)
Panouge Paris, current owner of esteemed Houses like Jacques Fath and Isabey Paris, has recently released under its own eponymous brand a fragrance collection called Matières Libres. With its name literally meaning “materials in freedom”, this novel line aims to showcase unusual associations of notes. Creative director Rania Barakat Naim (a major force behind the glorious rebirth of Jacques Fath fragrances) tells me that she wanted a new, fresh approach reflected in every aspect of the Matières Libres collection – from the scents themselves to the pastel colors of the juices, and the joyous packaging. For that, she decided to give creative carte blanche to two young perfumers, with the only requirement that they propose to her quality scents that feature unexpected pairings of ingredients; the chosen ones were the co-founders of the Parisian lab Maelstrom, Patrice Revillard (Jacques Fath L’Iris de Fath, Sylvaine Delacourte Oranzo, Maison Violet CYCLE 001, Nolença Le Thé & Swing Feather) and Marie Schnirer (Jovoy Paris Pavillon Rouge & 21 Conduit St., V/SITEUR Thousand Lakes, BDK Nuit de Sable). Concerning her choice, Rania tells me: “My mind at once went to Patrice, who had composed for us the incredible L’Iris de Fath, our contemporary recreation of the 1947-released, and by now legendary, Iris Gris. After this amazing debut as a perfumer, Patrice created several other beautiful scents, and he’s moreover an all-around artist (he also paints, and writes poetry). He is actually the one who drew all the illustrations for the Matières Libres collection. I also wanted his colleague, Marie, to contribute her talent and unique personality as a perfumer, distinctly different than that of Patrice, by composing half of the fragrances.”
Creative director Rania Naim of Panouge, Matières Libres fragrance collection & Maelstrom perfumers Marie Schnirer & Patrice Revillard (photos courtesy of Panouge & Maelstrom)
My overall impression of Panouge’s Matières Libres collection is that it can serve as an excellent introduction to niche perfumery, while being able to satisfy those already initiated in this exciting world. Patrice Revillard signs the two most globally accessible fragrances of the four, easy to love (as I did) at first sniff: Datura Amaretti (a youthful, enjoyable floral/gourmand) and Absinthe Gaïac (a timelessly elegant, delightful woody/fresh scent); his colleague Marie Schnirer composed the two more experimental – thus more challenging – ones: Patchouli Figue (an intensely earthy woody/gourmand) and Rose Agathe (a bold, metallic-cold prickly rose). For my introductory review of Panouge Matières Libres, I chose the fashionable-with-a-twist Datura Amaretti, one of my two favorites of this intriguing new line.
Come Closer (photo composition/digital editing by Despina Veneti©)
Panouge Matières Libres Datura Amaretti is based on three main accords: cherry, cookies, and datura. Now, cherry can often appear too artificial or overwhelming, cookie notes can easily manifest as too literal or childish, while reconstructing the smell of datura (a narcotically alluring, but highly poisonous flower) is itself a demanding task… I’m happy to say that the perfumer handled this triple challenge beautifully, delivering a scent that’s tastefully balanced between sweet and bitter, floral and gourmand, while exuding an aura of sophisticated fun. To my nose, the fragrance’s catalyst is none other than the almond (mainly constructed upon benzaldehyde, a synthetic material naturally found in bitter almond oil, with touches of coumarin and heliotropin): it makes the cherries feel steeped into Amaretto liqueur, transforms the sugary/buttery cookies into crunchy amaretti, and infuses into the fragrance’s floral heart that crucial, bitter undercurrent that echoes the datura’s dangerous nature (after all, even the edible sweet almonds contain tiny quantities of cyanide, while the bitter ones up to 50 times more, making their ingestion extremely perilous).
Poisonous Thoughts (Virna Lisi as Catherine de Médicis in “La Reine Margot”, 1994, with digital effects by Despina Veneti©)
Perfumer Patrice Revillard agrees about the almond’s key-role in the composition, and adds: “I wanted to propose a widely appealing floral gourmand, offering an edgy touch to a genre that’s often riddled with clichés. I used several synthetics to achieve the almond, fruit, and biscuit accords, balancing them with an unmistakable natural vibe that was obtained by the use of beautiful raw materials like citruses, jasmine, and tuberose absolute. To construct a satisfactory datura note, I planted the flower in my garden, and studied it. Technically important to the composition was the addition of salicylates in the floral heart, which gave the bouquet a blooming, solar quality, while linking it to the almond. As for the cherry, it sort of came along the way, when aspects of the fruit emerged from the aromatic alchemy of amaretti and datura; instead of trying to mask these cherry undertones, I decided to build upon them!”
Nature Morte with Datura, Amaretti, and Cherry (digital collage by Despina Veneti©)
The fragrance opens with succulent mandarin and bergamot, announcing a delectable bowl of amarena cherries; they will soon become one with the emerging biscuit accord thanks to the almond’s unifying presence, merging together like ingredients in a great baking recipe. The scent’s decadent gourmand character made me yearn for the homemade delicacies offered to me once by an Italian friend’s mother, almond cookies stuffed with boozy cherries, and cherry/almond cake with amaretti crumble. What’s even better than being offered delicious sweet treats, is to receive them along with an impressive bouquet; in Panouge Matières Libres Datura Amaretti, the titular plant is being interpreted as an intoxicating white flower encompassing carnal tones of tuberose, sunny warmth of jasmine, exotic vibes of ylang-ylang, and a bitterish, powdery aura introduced by the almond. The composition is supported by a suavely woody, ethereally musky, and slightly ambery base, where lies the perfumer’s little secret: Patrice says that he has hidden in there a neo-chypre structure based on patchouli, vetiver, Evernyl, and Ethylmaltol that helped him tame the scent’s sweetness.
Clockwise: Alida Valli in “The Paradine Case” (1947); Joan Fontaine in “Ivy” (1947); Ann Todd in “Madeleine” (1950); Olivia de Havilland in “My Cousin Rachel” (1952)
While working on the fragrance, the perfumer was inspired by Virna Lisi’s blatantly scheming Catherine de Médicis in “La Reine Margot” (1994), whose attempts to murder her targets by a poison-infused book and lipstick produce results beyond her intentions. Datura Amaretti’s predominant deliciousness – with just a soupçon of bitterness underneath – made me think of more benevolent-looking (therefore even more deceptive) female film characters, perfectly capable of serving poison-laced tea and cakes with the sweetest of smiles: the hilarious aunts Abby and Martha (Josephine Hull and Jean Adair) of “Arsenic and Old Lace” (1944) that see the killings of elderly gentlemen as acts of mercy; Joan Fontaine’s Edwardian femme fatale Ivy Lexton (“Ivy”, 1947) who poisons her sappy husband to move on to a richer one; or Alida Valli’s cool, imperious Maddalena Anna Paradine (“The Paradine Case”, 1947) who gets rid of her wealthy spouse to be with her lover… My ultimate association of the fragrance, however, was with two fascinatingly enigmatic heroines: Ann Todd’s poised, prim-looking, albeit sensually-driven Madeleine Smith (“Madeleine”, 1950), and Olivia de Havilland’s sophisticated, warmly mannered, but no less seductive Rachel Ashley (“My Cousin Rachel”, 1952); both of these fetching ladies are suspected of having served some pretty lethal beverages, but their guilt will remain unproven. On the other hand, Matières Libres Datura Amaretti undoubtedly proved a devilishly ideal fragrance to wear while watching this killer double feature!
Notes: Mandarin, Cherry, Datura, Ylang-Ylang, Almond, Biscuit, Cedar, Musk.
Disclaimer: My thanks to Panouge for the Matières Libres sample set and bottle of Datura Amaretti. The opinions are my own.
– Despina Veneti, Senior Editor
Panouge Matières Libres Datura Amaretti 100ml bottle (photo courtesy of Panouge)
Thanks to the generosity of Panouge, we have a draw for a 100ml bottle of Matières Libres Datura Amaretti (value: 129€) for one registered reader in EU, USA or Canada. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Despina’s review, what’s the most unusual/unexpected gourmand fragrance you have ever tried, and where you live. Draw closes 5/29/21
Read more about Creative Director Rania Naim of Panouage, Isabey and Jacques Fath here
Panouge Matières Libres collection is available here and also available at Jovoy Parfums Rares
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