J’s image edit of Camille Leguay Parfums Principe Féminin and Principe Masculin montage

With more than a decade of experience in the world of fragrance, Camille Leguay has crafted perfumes for a variety of brands (you can see my review of her Wood Jasmin perfume for BDK here). Her sensitivity and intuition have made perfume a sanctuary for her, providing comfort and support throughout her journey. To Camille, each scent carries a transformative essence that can elevate her mood. Now, through her own creations, she aims to enhance the well being of others. Five perfumes were launched in 2023, Au-delà des Rêves, a delicate waxy watery soft floral ephemeral glow, L’Arbre du Monde, fruity woods with cool aromatics ending with a musky woody warmth and La Nuit des Temps which is a vanilla incense smoke that dries into a delicious rather different take on vanilla.

Portrait Camille Leguay courtesy of the brand.

I’m focusing on two  for this review, Camille Leguay Principe Féminin and Principe Masculin both of which are rather clever perfume giving a twist to the clichéd gender roles. Smelling and wearing both these perfume I’m reminded of Jean Luc Godard’s 1966 film “Masculin Féminin”, a bold and hilariously insightful look at sexual politics in Paris amid the Vietnam War’s peak, while also blurring the edge of documentary and film. The brilliance of Godard lies in how he intricately weaves his profound worldview into what appears to be a straightforward love story between Paul, an ex-soldier deeply immersed in theory and played by Jean-Pierre Léaud, and the stunning aspiring pop singer, Madeleine who exudes the carefree confidence, portrayed by Chantal Goya. Camille Leguay does something similar in how her perfumes unfurl and evolve on your skin, exploring gender concepts and their shared elements.

Film still and poster of Jean Luc Godard’s 1966 film “Masculin Féminin” via Wikipedia.

Masculin Féminin stands as a timeless exploration of the uncertainties that come with youth. With actor Jean-Pierre Léaud, a favourite of Francois Truffaut, and Yé-yé singer Chantal Goya, Godard crafted a narrative filled with tragic romance, ambivalent youth, and radical ideas, making a return to classic black and white after the vibrant Pierrot Le Fou, which was released the previous year, 1965. Masculin Féminin encapsulates the essence of France’s nouvelle vague from the sixties, embodying a youthful, anarchic spirit of freedom and spontaneity.

J’s image of Camille Leguay Principe Féminin.

Principe Féminin
Notes: Bergamot, Rose, Jasmine, Patchouli, Moss.

Early in the film, a voice-over poses the intriguing question, “Today. Paris. What do young girls dream about? But which young girls?” This notion of diversity highlighted by the phrase “there is no typical girl.” Camille Leguay embodies this concept, presenting us with Principe Féminin’s bold character, adorned in rose paired with a sleek rubbery leather jacket, radiating confidence. Its not light and soft, Principe Féminin beams with a sweet, jammy, confident rose, with a citrus freshness and subtle woody undertones as rose and jasmine flirting at the edges gives it a “look at me” allure. There’s something very youthful in the opening of Principe Féminin, its shares this feeling with Principe Masculin, yet where Principe Masculin feels innocent, there’s a much more confident feel from Principe Féminin’s rose as patchouli brings out an earthy subtly balsamic richness. The brighter pink tones of the rose grow deeper with a soft rubbery leather jacket giving of more of this cool confident feel.

Image by Camille Leguay edited to show Principe Féminin by J.

Principe Féminin’s rose is rather beautifully constructed, it’s given space to unfurl; soft silky petals, gentle green spices and a round deep citrus give off a delicate yet voluptuous feel. The leather and balsamic earthiness sits back, leaving space for this rose to develop before the darker elements enrobe it. Patchouli darkens the sweetness and matures it, giving of a deep rich depth. A soft musky woody dustiness seems to linger around the edges, giving off a soft allure, which haunts the spaces you’ve been to, yet as someone draws close the deep rich sweet rose makes its feel irresistible. There’s a beautiful power from Principe Féminin, its smooth and alluring, both Principe Féminin and Masculin share this smooth elegance. The rose rich musky dry down feels delicious to smell around you.

J’s image edit of Camille Leguay Principe Masculin

Principe Masculin

Notes: Lemon, Lavender, Geranium, Vetiver, Moss.

Paul, the central male character, is deeply infatuated with Madeleine, he’s split between two distinct social realms, the romantic and the political, it prevents any real connection as he’s lost in his head, yet he’s yearning for more while trying to find his way in life. Paul evokes the opening of Principe Masculin for me, which starts gently, nestled between the ideas of traditional fougères as he navigates and attempts to understand his surroundings looking for a future. We can only hope that he will mature into the sophisticated, refined dry down of Principe Masculin. Principe Masculin opens with a vibrant round citruses that gets rich and bright as soft spices and aromatics make it feel fresher, rounder and quietly complex. There’s a light green geranium bite to this aromatic citrus softness as that fades into a more embracing aromatic warmth. Principe Masculin has flashes of the past, almost as if it’s offering a quote to build on while still finding their way like Paul, before gowning and taking us off in a new direction as Camille Leguay does as Principe Masculin evolves and dries down.

Camille Leguay edited to show Principe Masculin by J.

You can feel Principe Masculin bloom like someone growing, that fresh brightness darkens into a cosy wool sweater like haze with a rooty vetiver warmth and spiced glow of rose. It’s exudes a quiet confidence, like that kind of person that delivers their message without being loud, as it throws on a soft leather jacket over its  wool sweater. Shimmers of green spices give it a quiet coolness, suave yet if you hugged it, Principe Masculin would wrap itself around you in a soft embrace. I love how the geranium, lavender and vetiver with a splash of citrus is conjuring this softer than soft coumarin fougère like feel, yet it’s not that, maybe some tonka bean giving its this subtle almond vanillic sweetness as mosses linger in the air around, letting it softly glow with a warm presence, while winks of its shared elements of Principe Féminin.

Portrait Camille Leguay in the lab courtesy of the brand.

Camille Leguay is putting the “fine” in fine fragrance, you don’t feel the edges here and each perfume takes you on a beautiful journey from the opening to close. I love how both compositions don’t pander to clichés of gender, giving us a powerful rose patchouli with a soft leather in Principe Féminin, while Principe Masculin, a stand out for me of Camille Leguay’s line, is as a tender fougère.  Both have a beautiful presence and both are a pleasure and joy to wear.

Disclosure: Camille Leguay’s Set Decouverte was sent to J to review by Camille Leguay. Thoughts and nose are his own.

J @wearescentient, Senior Editor, artist and olfactive writer.

Camille Leguay’ Set Decouverte courtesy of the brand.

Thanks to the generosity of Camille Leguay we have a Discovery Set for a registered EU or USA reader. You must register here. To be eligible please leave a comment on what you enjoyed about J’s filmic dive into Camille Leguay’s Principe Féminin & Principe Masculin. Do you have a favourite French New Wave film? Draw closes 9 /21/2024

You can read my review of BDK’s Wood Jasmin by Camille Leguay here.

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