Valerie Pulverail, founder @ Les Indemodables

Fashion is a fickle friend: quick as it is to provide direction when lack of inspiration hits, it often judges us cruelly when we adopt a direction that is ours alone; but then it forgets and back we are in its graces, only to diverge again and again. Falling out of fashion is one thing; coming back into fashion another thing entirely; for it is this grace period where most changes are made; most indiscretions, forgiven; most far-forgotten gems, repolished.

Here are, in my humble favor, 3 indemodable* concepts that span history without ever falling out of thought.

 

Balenciaga architectural coat. Photo from the FIT archive. Creative direction, digital editing by a_nose_knows for Les Indemodables Musc de Sable.

Of all senses, TOUCH is the first we employ (I know, I know, we’re talking scents; but while our lizard brain is ready to gut-process odors in a way we, perfume writers, yearn to believe intrinsic, the hard truth is we do depend on external odor sources). Touch, on the other hand, is within–from the womb until the last breath, our bodies are subject to gravity, pressure, and the infinite touches it bestows upon itself both naturally (blink; heartbeat; spoken words) and by choice (groom; faber-ing; caresses). It may be why, whilst sight allows for trends, it is touch that truly makes la mode: density; shape; texture. Persian carpets; Balenciaga volumes; a silk kimono.

 Les Indemodables Musc des Sables by Antoine Lie plays on space-defining relationships with the omnipotent aptitude of a Maitre D: never intrusive but always present, classically respectful but intimately familiar, fluidly dispersed but firmly concentrated. It hugs you tightly but doesn’t cross your boundaries; never do you feel lost, overtaken, or over expressed. Instead, it works within one’s unmarked borders to help you fill up your own space, with your own weight.

Makes you love the skin you’re in. 

Touchdown.

Official notes: mandarin, patchouli, ambergris, iris

Other perceived notes: powder, labdanum, vanilla, white musk, benzoin, rice, cardamom, almond milk, blond woods

Rose ardente from the Morcom collection. Photo, creative direction, digital editing by a_nose_knows for Les Indemodables Rose de Jamal

When the rose perceived the distance between itself and the earth,

it brought forth its thorns.

When the rose realized that a single leg

couldn’t take it anywhere, that it was voiceless

and mostly had no echo, it thought of fragrance.

The blooming petals: a navel.

The stem: a rope that binds it to the earth’s deep womb.

That rose will be born someday in a lover’s hand

or between the shores of a book. – Anatomy of The Rose by Moroccan poetesse ©Soukaina Habiballah. Translation by Kareem Abu-Zeid.

 Try as I may, no matter how fertile the mind or how broad the scope of this review, there is nothing contextual to the rose that is more timeless than the rose itself. Substantial, inspirational, and forever undeniable, this one flower has sailed through 35 million years of evolution and at least 5000 years of continuous cultivation to arrive at our nose utterly unchanged and provide equal inspiration to love and war alike.  Les Indemodables Rose de Jamal by Antoine Lie slides the scale to uncertain (back? future?) dates when niche hadn’t made the rose conceptually gothic, all-over-the-bed sexual, or imperatorial-masculine. A simpler time when florals intended to showcase the abstract of the flowers they announced, when compositions leaned heavily predictable, and when effect—not intention or marketing—had the last say.

Unlike those times, though, Rose de Jamal manages a twist by turning rose manageably natural, and thus comfortably neutral; just like a flower on a bush cannot utter poetic phrases, this fragrance keeps any degree of sentimentality at bay—and, as such, lives in my brain as a modern classic.

By any name.

Official notes: Rose from Morocco, cedar, pink pepper, lavander, mint

Other perceived notes: immortelle, cucumber, marine notes, salt, carnation, leather, soap, bergamot

 

 

Tuberose umbrella. Creative direction & digital editing by a_nose_knows for Les Indemodables Fougere Emeraude. Photo © TVCMall

3000 years ago, some smart engineer took a break from building complicated structures and, in the shade of a half-finished pyramid, invented the first umbrella. Umbrellas were used for shade in the beginning, but the idea caught, and soon enough, the Chinese courts perfected it by adding impermeability; the rest, of course, is antipluvial history. Umbrellas became a woman’s accessory and stayed so in Western Europe until mid-18th century, when a fella called Jonas Hanway bucked the trend. Apart from this change in usage and a somewhat significant update from 1950, when nylon started being used, no major improvement was ever needed.

Fougeres seem to follow the same path: original intent and perfect functional mix already in place, little can be done to improve them; adding new angles and the occasional degenderization provide enough variation to satisfy us all—and this Indemodable is a glorious example.  Les Indemodables Fougere Emeraude by Florence Fouillet Dubois extends the barbershop staple with a green tuberose and a sunny mimosa; the result is a twisty but effortless floral, sappy but scorched, creamy but with fruity zest, easy, atemporal, and perfectly balanced. Weatherproof.

Official notes: tuberose, lavander, mimosa, tonka, sage

Other perceived notes: dark berries, vetiver, moss, cream, menthol

 Disclaimer: Les Indemodable samples provided by Indigo Perfumery. Thank you so much.

*Note: indemodable means (from French), something that is never subject to trends, so it never goes out a style; a staple; a classic.

– dana sandu, Editor

Sample kit from Indigo Perfumery. Photo and digital editing by a_nose_knows for Les Indemodables.

Thanks to the generosity of Indigo Perfumery, we have discovery kit of seven deluxe samples available in the US, for one registered reader (you must register on our site or your comment will not count). To be eligible, please tell us what you enjoyed or found interesting about dana’s reviews and which appeals to you of her choices or any of the seven. Draw closes 7/3/2020

photo digitalized by Nicoleta from Indigo Perfumery

Editor’s note: My second choice for a top three was a tie, with the other fragrance (and the friendliest to my humble hide) being the beautiful Cuir de Chine, covered gloriously by our own Lauryn Beer HERE.

This is our Privacy and Draw Rules Policy

Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebon   @a_nose_knows  @les_indemodables_parfums  @indigoperfumery @antoinelieolfactiveexperience

 

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.