Fath’s Essentials L’Orée Du Bois Review (Luca Maffei) + Rita Hayworth Draw

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019

Fath’s Essentials L’Orée du Bois (Photo: Despina Veneti)©

Under the creative direction of Rania Naim, Jacques Fath Parfums has already released three fragrance quartets labelled “Fath’s Essentials” since 2015. The second quartet, created in 2017 by perfumer Luca Maffei (double winner of an Art & Olfaction Award), comprised of four fragrances that were inspired by Jacques Fath’s spirit of “joie de vivre”, while translating a specific color into olfactory form: Rosso Epicureo, inspired by a Kir Royal cocktail, interprets the color red; Les Frivolités, inspired by an eponymous lingerie collection, the color pink; Lilas Exquis, inspired by Fath’s beloved color and flower, the color lilac; and Fath’s Essentials L’Orée du Bois, inspired by a dress designed by Jacques Fath for legendary actress Rita Hayworth, is an olfactory interpretation of gold.

Jacques Fath & Rita Hayworth in Paris, 1949/Rita Hayworth marries Aly Khan in a Fath-designed dress, May 1949 (Photos: Getty Images)©

By the late 1940s, self-taught haute couture designer Jacques Fath had acquired international fame for giving an air of youth to women of all ages with his “wearable glamour”, and a clientele that included film stars like Ava Gardner, Greta Garbo and Rita Hayworth. The latter chose Fath to design both her wedding dress and the trousseau for her upcoming marriage to Prince (and playboy extraordinaire) Aly Khan. The marriage wouldn’t be either long or happy for Rita (except for the birth of her daughter, Yasmin); however at the time her wedding received enormous worldwide press coverage, especially in view of her decision to leave Hollywood. The couple was married on May 27, 1949. Rita’s wedding dress was a simple, lovely pale blue crepe dress with a full skirt; it was so widely admired that copies soon emerged, being sold by the hundreds in Macy’s department store.

Model Bettina Graziani among the dresses designed for Rita Hayworth’s wedding trousseau, 1949/Model wearing the L’Orée du Bois dress, 1949 (Photos: Getty Images)©

One of the other eleven dresses that Fath designed for Hayworth’s wedding trousseau was a long evening gown in white ottoman (a silk ribbed-weaved fabric with natural sheen), featuring dramatic sleeves, plunging neckline and a voluminous skirt, named “L’Orée du Bois” (meaning “the Edge of the Forest”). This sleek, structured dress with its elegantly erotic, perfect hourglass silhouette gave its name to Fath Essentials L’Orée du Bois.

Perfumer Luca Maffei with Rania Naim, Creative Director of Jacques Fath Parfums

Since the dress was linked with a marriage, but also due to Rita Hayworth’s glowing star aura, perfumer Luca Maffei imagined Fath’s Essentials L’Orée du Bois as an olfactory interpretation of gold. Quite brilliantly, he envisioned the woods of the fragrance’s name as a mimosa forest: when a vast area is covered with mimosa trees in full bloom, like in the French Côte d’Azur, the previously ordinary-looking woods transform into fantastically beautiful yellow-golden forests…

Inside a winter-blooming mimosa forest in Côte d’Azur (Photo: @hanna_skoromna, via Instagram)©

A luminous opening of uplifting bergamot, juicy mandarin and bright neroli announces the symphony of yellow flowers to come: the soft woodiness and the tender, but tenacious, floralcy of golden mimosa (a tree that blooms in the winter) is accented by orange blossom, ylang ylang and dry broom, and effectively seasoned by sunny spices (cumin, cinnamon, and mostly saffron). The honey is to me perceptible right from the start, and is steadily increasing in intensity, depth and sensuality, as the undeniable co-star of the mimosa. It’s one of the most realistic and fulfilling honey notes I’ve ever experienced, encompassing both the sweet/bitter, and the dense/fluid contrast of natural honey.

Rita Hayworth as “Gilda” & Fath’s Essentials L’Orée du Bois (Photo: Despina Veneti)©

To achieve this, Luca Maffei used the Firmenich specialty “Honey SigNature”, an ingredient made of natural honey extract and synthetic captives, capturing the gourmand and sensuous properties of this spectacular gift of nature. Mr. Maffei showed real mastery in using this exceptional material: honey’s animalic, erotic aspect is present but is handled with the utmost elegance, blended with the slightly powdery yellow bouquet, the vibrancy of golden spices, and an airy woody/creamy base of musk, cashmeran and sandalwood. Hosted in a hefty cylindrical flacon with a magnetic cap, the translucent golden juice has above average sillage, and 10-hour longevity.

Rita Hayworth overlayed with mimosas (Original publicity still: Columbia Pictures/Digital effects: Despina Veneti)©

Highly sophisticated and chic, Fath’s Essentials L’Orée du Bois is a sunny amber/floriental that stunningly translates gold into scent. This impressively synaesthetic creation triggers all senses with its captivating aroma, color, texture, and – almost – taste. As a honey, fragrance and cinema lover, I found my mind flooded with visions of lovely Rita in a yellow dress, emerging from a mimosa cloud with her amber-red hair glowing…

Notes: Bergamot, Yellow Mandarin, Moroccan Neroli; Mimosa Absolute, Orange Blossom Absolute, Ylang Ylang; Gold Accord, Cashmeran, Sandalwood, Honey, Amber, Musks.

Disclaimer: I’d like to thank Jacques Fath Parfums for my bottle of Fath’s Essentials L’Orée Du Bois. The opinions are my own.

– Despina Veneti, Senior Editor

Thanks to the generosity of Jacques Fath Parfums, we have a draw for a 50ml bottle of Fath’s Essentials L’Orée Du Bois for one registered reader in EU, USA or Canada. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Despina’s review, if you have a favorite fragrance from Jacques Fath’s Essentials, and where you live. Draw closes 5/28/2018

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