Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysées le 14 Juillet military parade (French national day parade picture by TF1, Bastille Bataille bottle picture by Bastille, all edited by Emmanuelle Varron).
Cultural interpretations are interesting. In France, our national day is not called “Bastille Day” (most French people would be confused if you said that) but le 14 Juillet. Although the storming of the Bastille is a key event of the French Revolution, it is not the only one, far from it as France has known other revolutions afterwards. Did you know that the famous column located in the middle of the Place de la Bastille is not a tribute to July 14, 1789, but to the “Trois Glorieuses” insurrection which took place on July 27, 29 and 29, 1830 in Paris and caused the fall of King Charles X and the accession of his cousin Louis-Philippe?
Place de la Bastille Column by night by Emmanuelle Varron)©
Le 14 Juillet has been our national day since 1880 and remains synonymous in France with fireworks and popular dances in the fire stations (alas, not this year, you understand why). But also, the famous military parade on the Champs-Elysées which, it seems, is the dream of many heads of state around the world. I was fortunate enough to attend the 2019 edition in the front row, in its last section between Place Clémenceau (where the Grand and Petit Palais are located) and the Concorde. It is a very solemn ceremony, with regiments from all the army corps (air, land and sea) which follow one another, accompanied by a ballet of helicopters and planes (including the famous Patrouille de France with its blue, white and red fumes), which the French are immensely proud of.
My 2019 Bastille Day: invitation, French flag, parade from the National gendarmerie, the French Republican Guard Cavalry and Saint Cyr military Academy (all photos by Emmanuelle Varron).
But let’s talk about perfume! When Editor-in-Chief Michelyn Camen, asked me to write this year’s annual article paying tribute to Bastille Day, I immediately thought of Bastille Paris, a new French brand launched in 2020 focused on eco-friendly perfume. I went to a Parisian department store distributing the brand to discover all the fragrances. A little nod to history: when I arrived in the perfume department, I was desperately looking for Bastille testers… without success. And it is with a big smile that one of the salespeople said to me: “The founder is here today, she will introduce them herself!” “.
Bastille Paris collection: Hors-Piste, Demain Promis, Un Deux Trois Soleil, Pleine Lune and Bataille (pictures by Bastille, edited by Emmanuelle Varron).
This is how I met Marie-Hortense Varin, a former strategy consultant. Passionate about perfumes, she joined with Anne Bouvelle, who was a fragrance evaluator at Givaudan and Symrise… and thus Bastille was born in 2019. A name representative of the brand’s three bases. For Ms. Varin, “It is first and foremost the strong winds of revolution that we want to blow through perfumery by using mostly natural ingredients, by manufacturing responsibly and above all by revealing 100% of our ingredients. It is also “Made in France”, to preserve the historical know-how of our country in terms of perfume. Bastille is a great name for this gender fluid brand as men and women can identify with this French freedom, which we want to embody through our perfumes“. Working with IFF-LMR, they chose from among 50 creations that fulfilled their specifications (mixed media and natural fragrances). And thus, were born Hors-Piste (a cologne that evokes the gin-tonic by Domitille Michalon-Bertier), Demain Promis (a milky aromatic by Caroline Dumur), Un Deux Trois Soleil (a powdery and amber vanilla by Domitille Michalon- Bertier), Pleine Lune (a wild and luminous tuberose by Anne Flipo) and finally Bastille Bataille, created by Nicolas Beaulieu. The word Bataille (Battle) is intricately linked to the evocation of Bastille Day and all it has come to mean as the National Holiday of France. Out of the five Bastille fragrances Bastille Bateille was the one that seemed the most complex to my nose and evoked the spirit of le 14 Juillet.
Bastille co-founders Anne Bouvelle and Marie-Hortense Varin (photo by Bastille) and IFF perfumer Nicolas Beaulieu photo by Michael Avedon) – edited by Emmanuelle Varron.
Bastille Bataille follows the modern and minimalist olfactory style of the brand especially in the early phase; however I find its composition and construction more multi-faceted, as there is a significant contrast between its opening and its evolution for me (it took several wearing for me to discover the fragrance’s nuances). Beginning with a clean and fresh start, almost soapy in the first stage, it turns spicier with bergamot, ginger and clary sage. I tested Bataille on three consecutive days could only get that fresh and crystal-clear opening, seemingly an ideal summer fragrance. Then something happened on the fourth wearing; suddenly the pink pepper sets fire to the bergamot-ginger-clary sage trio, then teams up with cedar and patchouli which, for the first time, openly give their woody and dark notes, bringing more thickness and power in the wake. Fireworks! Now, at the final stages, Bastille Bataille rounds off and comforts with the sensual notes of tonka bean and amber. This is a multi dimensional fragrance with remarkable intensity for a natural fragrance that reveals its warm and fleshy notes on the skin. Marie-Hortense Varin told me that the original inspiration for Bastille Bataille was the annual Burning Man festival (held at Black Rock Desert in Nevada that embraces principles such as inclusion, gift giving, self-reliance, self-expression, and civil responsibility (Burning Mani inspires the work of American indie perfume Amber Jobin of Aether Art Perfume). Perfumer Nicolas Beaulieu’s composition embodied what they sought and its originality won them over immediately.
Bastille Bataille 2020 French FIFI Responsible Innovation prize (screen capture by Emmanuelle Varron).
Bastille Paris’ philosophy is transparency: all the raw materials used are revealed for each perfume (for Bastille Bataille, this represents 32 ingredients in full disclosure). Every aspect of the brand is produced in France, from the raw materials used (mainly in Grasse) to the packaging, including the bottles. Bastille is also a member of the “1% for the planet” association and donates 1% of the amount of your purchase to protect the oceans. Taking responsibility ethically and olfactively was the reason that Bastille Bataille to win the French Fifi Award for responsible innovation last year.
Notes: Natural ingredients (95%): bergamot, Virginia cedarwood, davana essence, elemi, cistus labdanum, tonka bean, ginger essence, ginger extract, magnolia, patchouli, pink pepper, clary sage, vetiver and organic wheat alcohol.
Synthetical ingredients (5%): Amber Xtreme™ (IFF), Amberketal®, Ambroxan®, Cedramber® (IFF), cedrol, coumarin, Hedione®, Helvetolide®, IDM Ketal, methylcyclopentadecenone, patchouli alcohol, Peonile®, Safraleine®, safranal, Sinfonide™, Trimofix®(IFF), vanillin, vetiver acetat.
Bonne Fete Nationale!!!!
Disclaimer: Thank you very much to Bastille co-founder Marie-Hortense Varin for the sample provided for this review during our encounter at Galeries Lafayette Champs-Elysées. The opinions expressed are my own.
Emmanuelle Varron, Senior contributor
with Contributions from Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief
Bastille Bataille 50 ml bottle©
Thanks to the generosity of Marie-Hortense Varin, Bastille Paris co-founder, we have a 50 ml bottle of Bastille Bataille 50 ml one registered reader worldwide. To be eligible, please leave a comment on what excited you about Emmanuelle’s review of Bastille Paris Bateille, what you learned about Bastille Day (!!!) and where you live. Draw closes 07/17/2021.
Available on Bastille’s website.
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