New Perfume Review: Jolie Laide Bande À Part + Jean Luc Godard and Anna Karina Draw

heather kaufman jolie laide perfumes

Heather Kaufman of Jolie Laide

Heather Kaufmann of  San Fransico’s Jolie Laide (a French expression which refers to an unconventional beauty literally means “pretty ugly” or “ugly pretty”) uses this clever turn of phrase to describe the raw materials used in the line: “our perfume combines natural scents that are both luscious and odd, coming together in a way that allows each individual to explore their complexities within.”  Jolie Laide manages a collection which is inherently unisex, not by it’s use of generic aromas, but instead by the interplay of  flora and fauna, masculine and feminine in the same construct. A student of Mandy Aftel, Heather has both the technical education and fine nose for creating expressive natural perfumes with names and stories which would honor her mentor.

bande a part movie poster

Bande À Part  Movie Poster 1964

The latest offering from Jolie Laide is Bande À Part, from the French faire bande a part or to do something away from the rest – in short, a rebel. Perhaps the best example of the perfume Bande À Part is the eponymous French New Wave film from Jean-Luc Godard (called Band of Outsiders in North America and adapted from Dolores Hitchens novel, Fools Gold.) Perhaps the most famous scene in the movie is the Madison dance scene, inspiring many further films including Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.)

Anna Karina, Sami Frey, and Claude Brasseur in Jean-Luc Godard’s Band of Outsiders

Famous Madison dance scene  Sami Frey, Anna Karina,and Claude Brasseur in Jean-Luc Godard’s Band of Outsiders

Keeping to the theme of “romance, rebellion and seeking adventure”, Bande À Part is both animalic and floral- a musky adventure into the moment when a good girl goes bad. Opening with musk soaked osmanthus, Bande À Part is 1960’s refinement and a feral blend of both animal and vegetal musks from African stone (hyrax), ambrette and agarwood.

anna karina 1964 band a part

Anna Karina Bande À Part

Heather works with each in a manner which does not allow even the agarwood to overwhelm the formula, nor allow our good girl to be so bold as to trade in her pinafore for a leather jacket. The usual apricot note of osmanthus is a powered version of itself, and serves to diffuse and flower the animal of base notes.

anna karina band a part godard's wife

Scene from Bande À Part..Anna Karina was Jean-Luc Godard’s muse and later his wife

The result is a vintage-esque floral which seems to be fossilized within the African stone, a heady and incredibly long lasting aroma, giving off heat and a sense of danger which could as easily define the good boy gone bad. Both bold and somehow classic, Bande À Part sets apart even the most refined as still waters are running perilously deep.

Notes: agarwood, African stone, osmanthus, ambrette seed, botanical musk

–Einsof, Natural Perfume Editor

(my sample was provided by Jolie Laide for review, opionions my own)

bandeapart

Thanks to Jolie Laide we have a 15 ml bottle of Band a Part for a US registered reader. To be eligible please leave  a comment with what you enjoyed about Einsof’s review and if you have a favorite French New Wave Cinema film that would be a good name for a perfume. Draw closes August 9, 2015

We announce the winners on our site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be spilled perfume

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18 comments

  • madeleine gallay says:

    Love the French New Wave references, redolent with rebellion, black turtlenecks, dark coffee and a black and white world where everything was slightly sketchy and smoky.

    A vintage-esque floral, perfect. Breathless (Jean-Paul Belmondo) comes to mind for French New Wave.

  • leathermountain says:

    Vintage-esque florals are very much my thing, and I especially love the line about a good boy gone bad. I don’t know a thing about French New Wave Cinema. I’m registered and in the US.

  • fazalcheema says:

    Bande À Part seems like interesting creation which takes inspiration from vintage style but no single note overwhelms the entire composition. Bande À Part is def. on my to-watch list.. thanks so much for the draw. I am in the US…

    I must admit I have not watched many classic French filsm but if modern creations could be included, I would go for “Blue is the warmest colour”.

  • Steve A says:

    I like the meaning of the house name, and the promise of something luscisous and odd. For the movie and fragrance name, “Masculin, féminin”
    usa

  • julesinrose says:

    Enjoyed the review, mostly because I loved that dance scene and love to be reminded of how when I came of age, my father took me to see French cinema often. I don’t know if “Les Quatre Cents Coups” would be a good name for a perfume or not. . .Merci for the drawing, lol

  • sunmisun says:

    I love the idea of rebelliousness. The combination of apricotty osmanthus and agarwood sounds luscious! Thanks for the draw, I’m int the US! (Unfortunately I don’t know much about French film…)

  • ringthing says:

    I enjoyed the description of African stone and the thought of demure powdery osmanthus over a rather growly animalic base sounds very appealing. Still waters run deep, indeed! Jolie Laide is a line I haven’t discovered yet. No knowledge of French films here, I’m afraid. Thanks for the review and draw, CaFleurebon.

  • bunchofpants says:

    Loved this: “a musky adventure into the moment when a good girl goes bad.” I don’t know much about French New Wave films, but now I’d like to watch Bande À Part. I’m in USA.

  • Patty P. says:

    “Bande À Part is both animalic and floral- a musky adventure into the moment when a good girl goes bad. ” Heck yeah! 🙂 I can’t think of a fitting French new wave film title. Can I skip that part? I am in the US.

  • Zee says:

    The only problem I have with this line is that all of the perfumes Heather makes I want. Now there’s a dirty an animalic one?!? Ok lay it on me!

    Thanks for the draw! Sounds delicious!

  • Laurels says:

    I especially liked the phrase “still waters are running perilously deep.” My favorite French New Wave film is probably Claude Chabrol’s Les Cousins, although Le Tigre se parfume à la dynamite and Blue Panther would be better names for perfumes. I’m in the U.S.

  • Cynthia says:

    I like Good Girl gone Bad, so let’s see if I like Good Boy Gone BAd, as Einsof stated. I don’t know what French Wave Cinema is, sorry! USA

  • deborah says:

    Hello,

    I am most entertained by the photographs and film posters in this review! I have very little knowledge of French New Wave film; we are currently re-watching all of the US early talkie Oscar nominees…But I now know to keep my eyes open for these films! Thanks! I am in the US.

    Deb

  • Anna H says:

    This perfume sounds very interesting. I like the way Einsof let the fragrance speak for itself as a bold, vintage, animalic floral. By nature, this perfume seems to transcend time and genre, which would well suit an odd, “ugly pretty” woman like me! 🙂 I am in the US

  • Valentine Girl says:

    I enjoyed the expression of the aroma “giving off heat and a sense of danger” and I have never experienced any perfume with African stone, so that arose my curiosity. I took a class at university on French cinema & ended up watching many Nouvelle Vague films. Some of my favorites include – Une affaire de femmes (Chabrol), Le dernier métro (Truffaut), and Deux ou trois choses que je sais d’elle (Godard). I think they would all be wonderful perfume names. USA resident.

  • hofken says:

    I enjoyed Einsof’s review and his analogies of the fragrance’s notes to the movie, especially the presence of agarwood which does not “allow our good girl to be so bold as to trade in her pinafore for a leather jacket”. I’m not familiar with French New Wave Cinema film, but a good name for a perfume would be My Life to Live.

  • Holly F. says:

    I liked einsof’s comparison of good girl vs. bad girl as it relates to Bande a part. I have not recently seen any french new wave cinema that is coming to mind. A good name though, that would be The Banquet. I’m thinking of a line from the movie auntie mame, it goes something like, life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death! I think that’s it. I’m in the US, thanks!