Emmanuelle’s left arm tattoo is an homage to Paris (and France) crowned with tuberoses, what a perfect match for Matière Première French Flower – Matière Première French Flower bottle ©Matière Première, arm tattoo and collage ©Emmanuelle Varron.

 

Since the age of 15 and my blind-buy purchase of Dior Poison in an airport duty-free shoppe, tuberose has been my olfactory signature. Of course, I love other ingredients,  but tuberose best reflects my personality and works beautifully on my skin.  I have it tattooed on my back and on my left arm. As perfume is a true passion, my quest for “tuberose in a bottle” never stops and is  an obsession.

Matière Première French Flower which launched March 19, 2022 took two years to complete. When I first met perfumer Aurélien Guichard and his team in February 2020, the philosophy of his brand excited me: each creation focuses on a raw material of the highest quality, used it in generous proportions with other ingredients giving every scent a clear, intense and modern identity. Inevitably, one of my first questions was to ask if a tuberose  fragrance was planned. The response was non-committal but my sixth sense told me there would be.  There were some clues; on May 2020, the perfumer posted several photos on Instagram indicating that le Domaine de Chautard, the family estate was embarking on the production of organic tuberose. Soon after, Matière Première’s team confirmed to me privately that a tuberose perfume would be the next addition to the brand. I was all smiles, as you can imagine… but had to be patient, although I knew that Aurélien Guichard was hard at work on his ninth creation for Matière Première.

From 18th Mai 2020, Aurélien Guichard shared via Instagram his Organic tuberose first steps in Grasse – ©Aurélien Guichard Instagram account.

 

Et Voila! I was invited ten days ago to preview this long-awaited fragrance, my heart pounding to discover my favorite flower as interpreted by Aurélien Guichard for his own brand Matière Première. My expectations were high and I was very curious about the name that would be chosen. When I entered the room dedicated for the presentation, it was the first information revealed (thanks to the visuals and the bottle) “French Flower.” It was a surprise; usually, Matière Première’s fragrances clearly states the star raw material. I immediately loved it and imagined a mysterious and sophisticated perfume given the name was a statement, the crowning queen (or rather Madame president) of French flowers, nothing but the best!

Matière Première co-founder and creative perfumer Aurélien Guichard – ©Matière Première, collage ©Emmanuelle Varron

A perfume introduction by its creator is always a privileged moment and an opportunity that is treasured. You first discover the main raw materials on blotters, accompanied by technical and educational explanations to help a better understanding of the perfumer’s creative process.  For Matière Première French Flower, Aurélien Guichard wanted to feature French tuberose, highly floral and not as green as the Indian varietal. He also chose to reinterpret the iconic white flower at its brightest and most sensual.  French Flower evokes the intoxicating smell of the fields at nightfall and  is freed from the conventional ”baroque” that usually associates tuberose with jasmine, ylang-ylang, iris or broom. I could feel Aurélien Guichard’s pride in having composed Matière Première French Flower with tuberose produced on his own land in Grasse, just as he cultivates Matière Première Radical Rose’s Centifolia on his estate.

Matière Première French Flower tuberose enfleurage frame ” à l’ancienne ” is a true work of art – ©Matière Première

 

For Matière Première French Flower, there were two types of extractions via Robertet: first the absolute, with its explosive and bewitching facets, (its price is incredibly expensive (€250,000 per kilo for the Grasse absolue, compared to €10,000 per kilo for the Indian).

The second extraction uses the age old labor intensive enfleurage technique where the flowers are laid on vegetable wax, held in a frame. The tuberose then reveals itself sensual and radiant, almost velvety and hypnotizing. To give Matière Première French Flower a modern twist, Aurélien Guichard chose to amplify a spicy note, Nigerian ginger that brings fluidity and brightness to the perfume. He deftly added a Chinese tea leaf essence to soften the hay facet of the coumarin that you usually identify in the tuberose absolute and a green pear accord brings a vegetal touch to the fragrance. Matière Première French Flower  underwent more than 1000 tests, from which Aurélien Guichard chose 200, narrowing down to one.

Matière Première French Flower featuring both Tuberose Absolute and Tuberose Enfleurage from Grasse – ©Matière Première

From the very first moments, Matière Première French Flower smells as if I was burying my nose into an immense armful of tuberoses, camphoric and bold. This photorealistic opening is heady and carnal giving the impression of having rubbed the silky petals on my skin for hours. I also distinguish the ginger note, which accentuates the power of the radiance of the tuberose, adding a nuance of freshness. This pairing stays center stage gently letting the lactone (a molecule that brings a creaminess as in Robert Piguet Fracas) to round off the corners and glides subtly allowing the tuberose enfleurage to reveal its multi-faceted floral notes. This luminosity stays with on my skin for a long time, without ever losing its strength. At the dry down, tea leaf brings a darker vegetal touch, but never diminishes the trail.

Matière Première French Flower celebrates tuberose in its most sensual and breath-taking beauty, with the signature sophisticated touch specific to all of the brand’s perfumes. The interpretation of the polarizing white flower honors its diva nature and may take some getting used to for those who aren’t seduced by its charms and will surely excite  true lovers of full-blown tuberose perfumes.  Aurélien Guichard shows his mastery from start to finish, choosing classic elegance rather than abstraction.

Main notes: tuberose absolute and enfleurage (Grasse, France), ginger oil (Nigeria), tea leaf essence (China) and green pear accord.

Disclaimer: A big “merci” to Matière Première for the French Flower bottle provided for this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Editor’s Note: Dear Robert Herrmann, we wish you were here to revel in its indolic glamour.

Emmanuelle Varron, Editor

Matière Première French Flower 100 ml bottle – ©Matière Première

Thanks to Matière Première, we have a 100 ml bottle of French Flower for one registered reader USA, UK and EU. To be eligible, please leave a comment on what you feel about Emmanuelle’s review and if you love/dislike tuberose. Draw closes 03/25/2022.

 Matière Première French Flower is available 19th March – 19th May exclusively at Le Printemps department stores in France.

1st April – 1st May exclusivity at London Selfridges department store.

Already available for worldwide shipping from Matière Première online boutique.

Available worldwide from April-May within Matière Première current distribution.

For more on Enfleurage read our article here

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