B683 (Quentin Bisch & Marc-Antoine Barrois) 2016 – Perfume Review + Mémoires de Cuir Draw

Double image of Tom Hiddleston, photo by Martin Perry and Jamie Baker for The Quarterly, 2011©

Remembrances can find their way into our adult lives in unexpected places: a catch of music, a hearing a forgotten word, the smells of the immediate world that shaped us.

Quentin Bisch and Marc-Antoine Barrois

The first perfume from French menswear designer Marc-Antoine Barrois, B683 was built on the boyhood memories of  both Barrois and superstar young perfumer Quentin Bisch: “leather from an elegant attaché case or an immaculate desk blotter; of the distinct smells of wood during the regular gathering of fuel to warm the family home.”

Le Petit Prince, illustration by Antoine de St. Exupery

B683’s name hints at a favorite book, Le Petit Prince, (the poignant boy traveler from Asteroid B-612) as well as Barrois’ birthday. Opening with sudsy, barbershop aromas, B683 starts with olfactory memory: a genial throwback to vintage leathery fougeres such as Guerlain’s Mouchoir de Monsieur or Cusson’s Imperial Leather. But suddenly tannic raw animal hide, like the classic barber’s strop, punches in, and spices begin to rise in a wave of heat. An anisic bite of pepper spins the barber’s chair around to reveal a tousled gent with a rakish grin wearing a lot of leather.

Matt Smith, photo Esquire, April 2010

The leather note is complex: raw at first, with that unfinished tang of new leather. But it quiets down quickly into the smooth violet smell of an Italian leather jacket. The pepper comes forward with hints of black licorice and coal, but none of the tickle of that spice. With that wallop of spice and leather, B863 takes on a raffish quality.

Photo by Tim Walker©

But before things get a little too frisky, B683 heads next into an old study, dust dancing in late day light beams, the closed smell of the grown-up world coloring the air: the cream soda smell of wood polish, violet leaf, with its purple-black velvet smell and dusty, dried flower saffron. Perfumed milk-and-soap nutmeg conjures the vanillin-woods smell of old paper. Patchouli and sandalwood seep in, the scent dried firewood sitting in a corner, waiting for conflagration.

Charlotte Rampling, photo by Vicki Archer©

As B683 continues to develop, I can make out almost every note: the leather, pepper and chili heat, nutmeg and deep violet, wood notes and lathery musk. Ambroxan can really wipe out a fragrance for me, but here it serves as a dry, austere anchor to the warmer, deeper richness of its cousin amber. Oakmoss adds heft and a late green tinge, deepening B683’s woodsiness. Even though the notes remain distinctive, they somehow also meld harmoniously, so that when you step away from B683 and then return, you are now smelling a particularly well-balanced, elegant spicy, leathery chypre. While it leans masculine, a debonair woman with  attitude could carry it off brilliantly (Charlotte Rampling, I’m looking at you).

Photo by Eric Hason

In the dry-down, B683 softens the way memory can mute and humanize the outsized. The leather, spice and woods return to refinement. Aromas that once were confusingly big, that belonged to the adult toys of tobacco, leather and cologne, pen and ink, even a white wine note that comes in towards the end – strange smells that lacked the comforting sweetness of the nursery and schoolroom –  become welcome friends from a sepia time. B683 is past and present; classic, elegant cologne aromas angled into dark spicy, leathery rawness and bold spice. No man could smell less than perfect in it.

Notes: Black pepper, chili, saffron, nutmeg, violet leaf, amber, cistus absolute, musk, patchouli, sandalwood, oakmoss, ambroxan.

— Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

Disclaimer: Perfume sample provided by ZGO Perfumery – many thanks. My opinions are my own.

Many thanks to Claude Gratianne of ZGO for the introduction to B683 and Marc-Antoine… (check out  Sebastian Jara’s ZGO We Love This Store video interview). As many fragrances that has crossed my desk this year, I wish I had  smelled this in 2016, as I would have named it a Top 25. Yes, it is that good. -Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

B683 is available online at ZGO Perfumery

Thanks to the generosity of Marc-Antoine Barrois Paris, we have a 100 ml bottle of B683 to give away to 1 registered reader in the EU, USA or Australia. To be eligible, please leave a comment what appeals to you about B683 based on Lauryn’s review, where you live, if you have a childhood memory of  particular aromas or whether you have ever read Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince). Draw closes 12/2/2017.

We announce the winners only on our site and on our Facebook page, so like Cafleurebon and use our RSS feed … or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume

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27 comments

  • Chocolate Marzipan says:

    “A debonair woman with attitude could carry this off brilliantly” is what appeals to me! Aromas of my childhood include marzipan paste which I adored and I attribute to my love of gourmand fragrances. I reside in the USA.

  • Robert says:

    This sounds so interesting: a barbershop vibe, leather and the woody-spicy notes… Could be a great mixture of something reminiscent of ‘classics’ and something new.
    I read “Le Petit Prince” (“Der kleine Prinz” in German) in the school and enjoyed it. One of the few good books during that time…
    As I grew up on a village with a house surrounded by a huge garden, it is mostly natural smells, which I have as a childhood memory.
    -Greets from Germany-

  • Megri says:

    “..the smooth violet smell of an Italian leather jacket. ” Yes, please! Sounds wonderful! . I read “My little prince” when I was younger and did not, at all, realize the messages and the power that were in this book. Now it ‘ s one of my favorite book. I like that we do not know about the flower. It is like the idea that knowing is not important.
    Thank you for the draw! I live in Europe

  • Roxana says:

    Now, that was a good review. This is the first perfume that I like in its entirety after reading the review. I enjoy leathery, spicy, woody fragrances. I hope B638 lives up to my expectations.
    I never read Le Petit Prince.
    I live in the E.U. Thank you.

  • malakay_21 says:

    Hi.
    What appeals me the most is the leather: I absolutely love a bold leather accord. I live in the UK. I do have loads of childhood olfactive memories : a good hay note will always remember me of my grandparents farm; herbal notes reminds me of my fishing trips.
    I haven’t read The Little Prince. Like always, thank you.
    Cheers

  • fazalcheema says:

    It is interesting to know this perfume has been inspired by the childhhood memories of both Barrois and Bisch. I can understand the legendary status The Little Prince enjoys in France because I didn’t even know about this story until sometime ago when I read how much children enjoy it in France. B683 is unexpected given the inspiration, given its leathery and spicy elements. It has notes like sandalwood, too that I really enjoy. Thanks for the generous draw. I have not read The Little Prince but the movie is on my watchlist. I am in US.

  • john lowery says:

    “The closed smell of the grown-up world coloring the air” I love how Lauryn weaves together B683’s serpentine path of aromas into something I can almost smell. The sent memory of roasted warm cashews my Grandfather brought from the nut shop whee he worked. I live in the U.S.

  • Hasib says:

    Thank You Lauryn for this review. This fragrance sounds interesting
    I would like to get a chance to smell and own. I am liking the notes on this one, haven’t read that book. Thanks USA

  • oldandsmelly says:

    Lauryn gave a wonderful description of the movement and notes of B683. It sounds like an intriguing leather chypre. My childhood aromas are of wet forest earth and Siskiyou forest in summer, which is the best incense smell and if I ever found a perfume that smelled like that, I would only wear that. Yes I have read Le Petit Prince and I live in the USA

  • TaffyJ says:

    The description of the notes is so vivid and then to suggest the scent would be perfect for Charlotte Rampling…well, then, I’m there. (By the way, I love the ZGO store!) I read Le Petit Prince a long time ago.

    During the winter, my mother baked bread and it was just out of the oven when we came home from school. Nothing like smelling that warm, fresh bread coming in from the cold.

    U.S.A.

  • Alen says:

    Leather is one of my favourite note especially if there is also wood and musk or spices in the composition. I like this review and it sounds like this B683 is a solid juice. “The little prince” is a book that i have received as a gift for my birthday when i was a little young boy so ofcourse i read it. I live in the EU, thanks for this amazing draw.

  • Ann-Cathrine says:

    You intrigued me with the leather and violet and had me at Charlotte Rampling! One of my favourite actresses and icons.
    I have just purchased The Little Prince as a christmas present for my niece and am looking forward to travelling among the stars with her.

    One of my favourite childhood memories is the smell of my father when he returned from his woodworking, smelling of sawdust and coffee.

    I live in EU.

  • Old Herbaceous says:

    Thanks for the draw and the great review! This phrase immediately attracted me: “leather from an elegant attaché case or an immaculate desk blotter;” My parents had an antique captain’s desk with a leather blotter, and the review evoked that for me. I live in the US and yes, I read Le Petit Prince in my childhood when we lived in Europe and I went to a French-speaking school. Lovely book!

  • Steve A. says:

    Intrigued by the white wine note for sure. I don’t recall childhood smells that had a lasting impact. Nice draw thanks. US

  • marcopietro says:

    Great review Lauryn! Thanks for your evocative and poetic report completed by a detailed objective analysis. The result is that I am totally attracted to this new fragrance. Your words are very effective to represent a world of sensations that surround us in childhood, which is a world of adult projections that revolve around us and those that we will become. B683 seems to have all the qualities to become a new classic for adult men. It collects in itself charm and the melancholy of memories, in me it awakens the smell of leather grid that accompanied me to school; the atmosphere of the barber shop where my father carried me, the exploration of the adult world with its mysteries and ancient odors.
    The packaging is very elegant.
    I live in EU.

  • Galen says:

    I am immediately intrigued by any scent reminiscent of an old study–the dust, the books, the wood. Lauryn’s review make me want to smell this!
    My first scent memory was a childhood book that had a very distinct rose and incense smell. Many wonderful memories!
    Oregon, USA

  • Dosva says:

    As “leathery” perfume lover I am very intrigued. It is only interesting for how much leather note in this perfume are wearable and brutal, because based on this review I think it will be somthing like tire. I like The Little Peince very very much. US

  • roxhas1cat says:

    Quentin Bisch!! One of my favorite perfumers, I have 3 of his and always watch for what he is up to. Sounds amazing! A possible top 25 for 2016, okay. Count me in. This may be a bit masculine, I may have to find this for my hubby. I am not familiar with this line. I have not read the Little Prince. Childhood scent memories….probably the decades old comal cooking up fresh flour and corn tortillas. At this time of year I am looking forward to the smell of the mulled wine! Thanks for the draw.

  • Vahagn says:

    Thank you, Lauryn for this rich review. Sounds very interesting, strong, with big inner masculine energy. I like leather and oakmoss, so I hope I’ll this perfume.
    One of my favourite childhood memories is the smell of baking of armenian “lavash”- so nice and appetizing, and of course, my mam perfume- Climat Lancome.
    I’ve read Little Prince and love it.
    USA, DE

  • Timea says:

    Very interesting article. Since my childhood I very like the smell of spices. I would be very glad If I would win, this perfume sounds wonderfully. I live in Europe. Thank you for the chance.

  • NiceVULady says:

    What a wonderful review Lauryn. I so enjoyed you description of this fragrances. I read The Little Prince many many years ago. I think I’m going to have to read it again. My childhood memories of scents was especially of the mulberry tree that was next to my window. Thanks so much for the draw. I live in the USA

  • Kate C says:

    I love the description of how this perfume takes you into the study, with that lovely smell of old paper and dried firewood. Sounds like the perfect scent for my husband. One of my most treasured childhood scent memories is that of my grandmother’s lilacs which we’d bring into the house by the armful during those short weeks they’d bloom (late spring/early summer, I think?) I recently tried reading Little Prince to my daughters but they were a bit young for it; we’ll try again in a couple of years. US – thanks for the draw!

  • Raee says:

    I have recently gotten into leather perfumes. This sounds great and very aromatic. I have not read the Little Prince but will check that out.

    I am in USA.

  • RinB says:

    I always enjoy reading Cafleurebon reviews of new or recent releases, but this one is particularly exciting for me because I love The Little Prince, and because it contains so many intriguing notes (‘hints of black licorice and coal’, ‘the cream soda smell of wood polish’ – sign me up!). I also appreciate that Lauryn gave a nod to those of us ladies who would just love to wear a scent like B683. I’m often much more at home in smoke and leathers than in fruits and florals, though I’ll wear scents from any genre (or gender) if they smell or sound good, as this one seems to. I’d really love to be able to try it!

    As for childhood scent memories, I strongly remember the scent of my father’s briefcase, which always smelled like leather and diesel oil because he worked as a diesel engine design engineer. Perhaps that’s why I often gravitate toward traditionally ‘masculine’ scents! I’m in the USA. Thank you for a very interesting review!

  • doveskylark says:

    Lauryn’s reviews always make me eager to try whatever fragrance she is reviewing. Here the notes of coal and black licorice sound so intriguing. I also like the use of the word raffish in this review. And also the idea of a “sepia time” appeals to me.
    I remember the leather smell of a Coach briefcase I bought more than 25 years ago. I saved my restaurant tip money. It was called the Diplomat briefcase. I am so sad that I left to behind somewhere.
    I live in the USA.

  • Lord Kelwynne says:

    There is a memory I chase from my childhood. There were many secrets in my Grandparent’s house. One was a cookie jar that contained something that gave off the most incredible scent of leather, spice and patchouli. I’ve never found a scent quite like it. This sounds like a real possibility. Pepper, oakmoss and leather sends me over the top. And yes, I did read the Little Prince as a child and again as an adult.