French liquor advertisement from 1921 by the iconic poster artist, Leonetto Cappiello
“Dirty, like sipping a Negroni from your lover’s mouth…” ~ Lucy Akhurst on La Maison Hédonique APERO
“Evoking the Golden Age of the Côte d’Azur, Apero places you in a beachfront bar in the Juan-les-Pins of your dreams. Glamour meets between the salt of the sea breeze and the garrigue herbs of the mountains.” ~ Jovoy Paris
Which of the two above captures your fancy? Both? Need we choose?
Lucy Akhurst
British perfumer, actress, writer and director Lucy Akhurst must rarely have a spare moment these days. A self-taught perfumer obsessed with fragrance, Lucy has composed seven varied scents for her house, La Maison Hédonique. She was kind enough to catch up with me at Esxence and hand me a sampler. I found her warm, earnest, beautiful and unaffected; it wasn’t until much later that I found the time to delve into that little black box. When I did, I was surprised at how good they were; I needn’t have been, though. François Henin of Jovoy has excellent taste, and he carries her line – in Paris, London, Dubai and Doha. So does Roullier White in London…
Having smelt them all, it was difficult to choose just one. That one was APERO by virtue of its savory suavity; it makes my mouth water with its doux-amer umami character, like any aperitivo worth its salt.
Alain Delon and Romy Schneider at the Carlton Hotel 1959 (Edward Quinn) in Cannes
Lucy’s actress background spills over into her composition: each of the characters she portrays wears a particular perfume. In La Maison Hédonique APERO, Romy Schneide and Alain Delon sprang to mind, soaking up sun, unfiltered cigarettes and Negronis on the Côte d’Azur beaches as the evening sun bakes asphalt; the breeze carries upon it herbes de garrigue down from the mountains (this is what Lucy shared with me). For those of you unfamiliar, ‘herbes de garrigue’ translates to herbs from Mediterranean scrubland rich in resins and terpenes. Hailing from southwestern France, this potent herbal/spice blend is similar to the well-known herbes de Provence, perhaps a bit more Italian in feeling – and is composed of the following: basil, bay powder, fennel, lavender, marjoram, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme. Imagine these commingled with the bitter orange of Campari, and juniper standing in to echo marine salinity as well as the piney terpenes associated with Mediterranean flora. Tobacco is a given and contributes a haylike counterbalance to the sharpness of all those marvelous herbs.
La Maison Hédonique APERO is equal parts sweet, salty and bitter – utterly sophisticated and dry. I think it’s a brilliant way to cool off in this heat. You won’t smell like 95% of the populace, and you will intrigue everyone who enters your orbit with savoir faire. That’s a fine place to start.
Notes: bitter orange, juniper, lime, garrigue herbs, anise, grass, salt, black pepper, bay leaf, soft tobacco
Samples provided by Lucy Akhurst of La Maison Hédonique – thank you so much! My nose is my own…
~ Ida Meister, Senior Editor and Natural Perfumery Editor
~ Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief along with Ida, brand images kindly provided by Lucy Akhurst (photographer Chaz Oldham Photography)
Thanks to the generosity of La Maison Hédonique, we have a draw for a 30 ml bottle of La Maison Hédonique APERO for one registered reader in the EU, or USA. You must register here or your comment will not count.
Or
You may try La Maison Hédonique discovery set featuring Apero, Cerf Blanc, Comme en Loup, Lorato, Rien de Rien, Samedi a Paris
To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Ida’s review of La Maison Hédonique APERO, and where you live. Please leave in your comment which you would like to win the 30 ml or the discovery kit. Draw closes 7/18/2019
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via Flicker
All this talk of Negronis made Ida thirsty. She thought that you might like one, too. Below is one recipe for them.
How to make the perfect Negroni (according to Esquire Magazine)
1 oz. London dry gin, 1 oz. Campari, 1 oz. Vermouth rosso
Directions: 1.) Add the ingredients together in a cocktail shaker. 2.) Shake well with cracked ice. 3.) Strain into a glass over cubed ice. 4.) Garnish with a twist of orange peel.