Anatole Lebreton Fleur Cachée photo Anatole Lebreton
“I dreamt of a caravel laden with spices and precious woods berthing at the port to unload its goods. I dreamt of a vanilla as elegant as an aged alcohol, smoothing and gaining complexity and bouquet, permeating the barrels carrying it back to the European courts with its scent. I dreamt of a vanilla conquistador sailing around the world to conquer gourmet palates and fine noses. Locked down in Provence, I wanted this olfactory travel diary to offer a way to escape and get away to an unfamiliar place” – Anatole Lebreton
Aztec woman – detail from Diego Rivera’s mural of Mexican History, National Palace, Mexico City
In legend, it started as a secret.
The lovely Princess Morning Star, she who born to King Tenitzli, ruler of the kingdom of Totonocopan, was forbidden to marry. But the nearby forest, as she gathered flowers, young Prince Zkatan-Oxga happened upon her. In an instant, the two fell hopelessly, mindlessly in love. Alas, as nearly always happens in such tales, there is no happy ending when children defy their parents. In due course, the lovers were caught and executed. Yet where their blood fell, a tree took root, and upon the tree climbed a flowering vine. And when the flowers bloomed, they emitted a fragrance so beautiful that the plant was offered it to the gods for safekeeping. The blood of the princess and her lover– now transformed into the vanilla orchid – was now hidden in a flower – a fleur cachée – for all eternity.
Anatole Lebreton, photo Anatole Lebreton
In Anatole Lebreton’s olfactory telling, Fleur Cachée is no conventional vanilla scent story. Full of dark corners and dusty alleyways, Fleur Cachée is an enigmatic woody fragrance that deconstructs vanilla and then mixes resinous seeds, its parchment skin and its tree wood with heated Eastern spices. I hesitate to label this fragrance a gourmand, since despite vanilla heart it is savoury rather than sweet, more like the bouquet of a very old bourbon drunk in a spice bazaar in the waning of the day.
Spice market, Delhi, photo Jeremy Richards©
Indeed, Anatole Lebreton Fleur Cachée’s aromatic development traces the stops along the ancient Spice Road. Lebreton’s aromatic journey begins in Nepal where he introduces a grapefruit-like snap of Timut pepper that bursts unexpectedly from the bottle like a yellow streamer. The hot spice of the pepper is there, too, and its sensation of warmth and brightness. Then, as Fleur Cachée ventures on to its next stop, India, it is joined by the celeriac-and-carrot tang of turmeric and then, by nutty, broom-y fenugreek absolute. Throughout the opening, the vanilla is present but just offstage, waiting quietly, letting the spices map the way.
photo Anatole Lebreton
The mid-section takes Fleur Cachée southwards into the woods of New Caledonia, as the perfume slows its tempo by going darker and deeper with smooth, creamy sandalwood and then the warm auburn smell of cedar. The dry, meditative aromas of the woods provide a soothing foil for the pops of spice, and, as they mingle, they create a perfect cradle for the vanilla to nestle. Finally, Lebreton sails to Madagascar, the home of some of the world’s finest vanilla. He uses two different extracts, a vanilla CO2, which is mellow and rich, and a vanilla absolute with more floral qualities. The two extracts together smell like the bean when newly cut: the resinous, bourbon cask odor of the tiny sappy seeds, the banana-ylang floralcy of the skin, hits of dried hay coming forward from time to time.
Totonac Civilization, El Tajin by Diego Rivera, 1950
The longer Anatole Lebreton Fleur Cachée warms on the skin, the more prominently boozy and woody the vanilla notes become until spices, particularly turmeric, resume in the last moments, and I become aware of the cedar again. And, fitting for the scent born of the blood of a princess and her prince, this spiced vanilla is genderless. As the fragrance dries down, it becomes the driest vanilla you’ve ever smelled, familiar and strange, a fragrance of faraway. For lovers of vanilla who tire of the endless torrent of ice cream and cake perfumes, or those, like me, who veer from the sweet, here’s a vanilla for the ages.
Notes: Timut pepper, turmeric, fenugreek, New Calédonia sandalwood, Texas cedarwood, Peru balsam, Madagascar vanilla.
Disclaimer: Bottle of Anatole Lebreton Fleur Cachée kindly provided to me by Anatole Lebreton. My opinions are my own.
Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
Thanks to the generosity of Anatole Lebreton, we have three 7.5 ml travel bottle of Anatole Lebreton Fleur Cachée for three registered readers worldwide. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what grabs you about Fleur Cachée based on Lauryn’s review and if you have ever tried any of Anatole Lebreton’s creations. You must register or your comment will not count. Do you enjoy vanilla perfumes? Draw ends 12/25/2020.
Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebon @elledebee and anatole_lebreton
Editor’s note: Fleur Cachée is the culmination of Lebreton’s Vanilla Project, which invited perfume lovers to assess the perfume in early development and make suggestions. Lauryn was a participant.
This is our Privacy and Draw Rules Policy
We announce the winners only on our site and on our Facebook page, so like Çafleurebon and use our blog feed… or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume