Patchouli, Confluence, and Weinstrasse, (Shawn Maher) + The 3 you Should be Wearing Draw

September 7, 2021September 7, 2021

Vintage poster of St. Louis Gateway Arch, image via Creative Commons

A true American original, Chatillon Lux takes its inspiration from founder and perfumer Shawn Maher who makes his home of St. Louis, Missouri. But more than that, Maher’s fragrances feel like a trip to a specific, beloved place. There’s a scene in the Movie Scrooge when Albert Finney, as the title character, abruptly finds himself in the middle of a winter scene from his childhood. Though he hasn’t thought of them for more than half a century, Scrooge Immediately recalls the name of each of his schoolmates as he watches them pulled by horse-drawn sleigh. Chatillon Lux fragrances often have a similarly sudden transporting effect – with a dab or two, they can magick you to other times and places with such specificity that Maher’s memories may begin to feel like your own.

As a starting point for those unfamiliar with Chatillon Lux, here are three exemplars of the line that should find a way into your collection.

Chatillon Lux Confluence, image courtesy of Chatillon Lux

Chatillon Lux Confluence (2020): Shawn Maher is brilliant at translating outdoor environs into fragrance with careful detail. Chatillon Lux Confluence is one of his best examples of this. A fragrant embodiment of the woodsy meeting point of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, Confluence’s citrus, ginger and juniper opening is cool and springy, summoning in an instant one of those chilly late winter days where the sky is endlessly blue, twigs crunch with each step, the woods call out in sharp aromas of spruce needle, eucalyptus, fir and juniper, and the smell of snow thaw over streams pulsing with icy water bounces like ions through the bristling air. Evocative, stirring, and breathlessly beautiful, close your eyes and breathe in and you could be standing on a bluff above the churn of water in early March. There are hints of the spring to come in Confluence’s later stages. The top citrus notes fan out and sharp, ginger cuts in again, this time joined by woods, and the composition begins to warm. Palo santo oil, slightly milky and comforting, weaves through the top notes, and the wood notes intensify with an intensely life-like, smoky, rich cedar accentuated with frankincense. Benzoin gives the dry-down a snuggly, blanketed feel, the scent equivalent of curling up in a warm, downy bed after a day in winter woods. One of my favourites of the Chatillon Lux line.

Notes: Frankincense, palo santo, benzoin, elemi, cedar, black spruce, atlas cedar, juniper and fir balsam.

Chatillon Lux Yuzu Rose Patchouli, image courtesy of Chatillon Lux

Chantillon Lux Yuzu/ Rose/ Patchouli (2018): From its first rosy-zingy blast right through to its loamy, woody dry-down, Yuzu/ Rose/ Patchouli is a treat and a study in how certain scents can contrast and complement each other simultaneously. An homage to the gardens of Henry Shaw (now part of the St. Louis botanical gardens), Yuzu/ Rose/ Patchouli leads with Yuzu, that most floral yet acidic of citruses. The tangy bitterness of the yuzu turns out to be a natural complement to the waxy sweetness of pink rose. To round out his dominant citric note, Maher combined bitter and sweet yuzu accords and then amplified them with neroli. The result is a perfectly balanced, lively fruit that is equal parts bitter-flowery-herbal. The silky rose accord at the perfume’s heart is bolstered by geranium, which provides a dark herbal contrast to its full bloom sweetness. And, as the fragrance develops, this dynamic duo proves itself a perfect foil for the earthy, woodsy gradations of several patchoulis. Tangy, rosy, earthy Yuzu/ Rose/ Patchouli is a tonic when you are craving something that can stand up to heat or sparkle like a reflected sunbeam in mid-winter.

Notes: Yuzu, neroli, rose, patchouli, geranium.

Chatillon Lux Weinstrasse, image courtesy of Chatillon Lux

Chatilllon Lux Weinstrasse (2019): The utterly original, heart quickening Weinstrasse is one of those rare perfumes that is both quirky oddball and startlingly beautiful. Despite its description as a fougere on Chatillon Lux’s website, Weinstrasse fits no perfume category I can come up with. A brilliant, perfectly pitched white burgundy grape opens the fragrance as honey, rich, dark florals and woodsy moss tumble over each other in strange, wonderful profusion. Then grape note is bittersweet, dripping with punchy juice and the unmistakable flowery edge of white grape right on the vine. Thick maple immortelle and herbal lavender swirl through Weinstrasse’s middle like a stream of syrup, adding a hedonistic vibe and balancing out acidity of the white wine note. Acerbic oakmoss then pierces all those bacchanalian aromas with sharp, woodsy greenness and the anarchy starts up again. These disparate notes accentuate each other like musical counterpoints, and create a canvas of bitter, luscious, and dry fruity facets so lifelike and unique that Weinstrasse becomes instantly addictive. I don’t know when to tell you to wear or for what occasions. Just wear it. If you try only one fragrance from Chatillon Lux, make it this one.

Notes: white grape, honeysuckle, iris, blackcurrant bud, lavender, helichrysum, sandalwood, coumarin, oak moss, musk.

Shawn Maher, image courtesy of Shawn Maher

For those who want to experience fragrances that can that make you feel as if you know somewhere that you’ve never been, Chatillon Lux perfumes are well worth a visit.

Note: Shawn Maher was awarded ÇaFleureBon 2020 BEST INDIE HOUSE and PERFUMER: MAHER/CHATILLON LUX/MAHER OLFACTIVE and Weinstrasse was one of Michelyn’s 2019 Top ten perfume

samples were given to me by Chatillon Lux throughout the past few years, opinions are my own

Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

Thanks to the generosity of Shawn Maher of Chatillon Lux, we have a 60 ml bottle of either Chatillon Lux Yuzu Rose Patchouli, Confluence, or Weinstrasse for one registered reader in the U.S. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about these three fragrances based on Lauryn’s review which one you would choose should you win, and whether you have tried any Chatillon Lux perfumes. Draw closes 9/10/2021.

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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.