Voyages Imaginaires L’Eau des Immortels, a burning elixir – Background image via Midjourney using #amber, #immortal, #chocolate, #amyris, #source, #river and #magic keywords, bottle ©Voyages Imaginaires and collage ©Emmanuelle Varron.
Being a Sr. Editor and writer for CaFleureBon means conveying in words the emotions felt in front of a perfume: it can start at first sight, when the bottle seems to promise a great discovery. But this is not a decisive criterion, far from it. The name of the perfumer(s) can also give a positive impulse, especially when one already appreciates their creativity. But, of course, nothing can replace the encounter with the fragrance itself. The one that questions me, starts my memories and emotions machine which I commonly call the brain. It is time to close my eyes and in just a few seconds, to be struck by a perfume that I have just discovered. You know what I’m talking about: everything is mixed up in the head, the heart starts to beat faster, and words fail (here in French): “Waouh, oh là là, Mon Dieu!” are generally the ones I use when I am pleasantly surprised by an olfactory gem.
Voyages Imaginaires display in Milano last June, with an exclusive focus on L’Eau des Immortels – ©Emmanuelle Varron.
This is exactly how I felt on June 16 in Milan on the sidelines of Esxence 2022. Ida Meister, Ermano Picco, Karl Topham and myself were invited by Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal to (re)discover Voyages Imaginaires . Camille Goutal was unable to attend to attend, it was Isabelle Doyen who passionately presented to us the first five creations of the brand launched in 2020. What an opportunity to once again admire the artistic prowess of composing 100% botanical fragrances with a strong identity, and all the raw materials modeled with finesse and passion. Yes, perfume is an art, but here it particularly deserves a capital A. This programmed rediscovery was not innocent: it was Esxence time! And the surprise was more than exciting: it was Voyages Imaginaires L’Eau des Immortels (Water of Immortals, that you can link with the immortelle flower). Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal had planned to surprise us with a new perfume, the release not being scheduled before the end of 2022… A nice gift, but a bit frustrating, since we had been asked to keep the secret. You can imagine my relief to FINALLY be able to share this launch with you! And I’ll skip you the last few weeks when, during my random encounters or my exchanges with the two perfumers, my only obsession was to ask them: “So, your immortal is coming out soon? Really, you promise?”
Voyages Imaginaires precious raw materials – ©Emmanuelle Varron.
Yes, from the first spray, I was struck by the beauty of Voyages Imaginaires L’Eau des Immortels. Like its five predecessors, the mastery of raw materials is remarkable. Neither comes to step on the other; they go together in a natural harmony, beyond fashions and a perfumery that tells, alas, everything after ten seconds. The perfume becomes material again, lives and changes without constraint, like an olfactory lace worked with delicacy, and yet resistant to time. From the outset, the immortelle is revealed, in all its salty, spicy and leathery complexity. Solar, it wraps delicately on the skin, letting unfold a floral note close to the rose, but almost evanescent. I also perceive in L’Eau des Immortels a gourmet praline facet, where vanilla and tonka bean bring a regressive sweetness, carried by the honeyed aspect of immortelle; a gourmet sweetness, but above all not sweet. Amyris also takes over to bring a suave woody touch, which sometimes on my skin is close to incense. Balms are probably no strangers to this: Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal have reinforced the character of Voyages Imaginaires L’Eau des Immortels with benzoin and labdanum, for a fragrance that could be compared to a magic potion. This is where the inspiration of the two perfumers comes from: “And finally discover, in the heart of a spring, a precious liquid of amber hues: the elixir of immortality”.
Camille Goutal and Isabelle Doyen- courtesy of the brand
My memories being particularly linked to music, I quickly associated L’Eau des Immortels with The Tragedy of Carmen, a Peter Brook adaptation of the famous Georges Bizet opera. I was only 9 years old when I attended the show at the Paris Bouffes du Nord theater, but for me it remains the most realistic version of this essential opera, both wild and without unnecessary pageantry. And the perfume composed by Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal is a potion wonderfully matched to the Sevillian heroine. Voyages Imaginaires L’Eau des Immortels is bottled poetry, powerful and passionate. A rare elixir, of those that we simply qualify as “Masterpiece”, and will be in my top ten of the year..
Notes: bergamot, immortelle, vanilla, tonka bean, amyris, benzoin, labdanum.
Disclaimer: A huge merci to Voyages Imaginaires for the 10 ml (offered in June at Esxence), then 75 ml L’Eau des Immortels bottle provided for this review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Emmanuelle Varron, Senior Editor and Paris Brand Ambassador
Please read Emmanuelle’s review and overview Voyages Imaginaires (overview and Le Grand Jeu), review by Ida Meister of Tea & Rock n’ Roll, ( A Best of Scent 2021 for Emmanuelle) and Karl Topham (La Couleur de la Nuit). Voyages Imaginaires is the recipient of Michelyn and Ermano’s Best of Scent 2021 for Best Natural Perfume House.
Voyages Imaginaires L’Eau des Immortels 75 ml bottle, with a special drawing on the box by French artist Baptiste Coulon – ©Emmanuelle Varron.
Thanks to Voyages Imaginaires’s generosity, we have a 75 ml bottle of L’Eau des Immortels for one registered reader in USA, UK and EU. To be eligible, please tell what sparks your interest about Emmanuelle’s review and where you live. Draw closes 12/18/2022.
Voyages Imaginaires L’Eau des Immortels was just launched on the brand’s website and will be available soon at Indigo Perfumery in store and on their website as well as in store an online at 7Scents in Budapest.
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