Last year, L‘Artisan Parfumeur launched a new series of perfumes, Explosions D’Emotions, with a collection of three fragrances by master perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. Meant to evoke the range of human emotion, the series is expanding with three new scents, Haute Voltige (Acrobatics or High-wire Act), Rappelle-Toi (Remember), and Onde Sensuelle (Sensual Wave), also composed by M. Duchaufour.

"The Tightrope Walker" by Roberto Weigand

Sometimes a fruity floral is made with such imaginative notes that it becomes a new category. In Haute Voltige, the decadent opulence of peony seems an odd companion for the tartness of pomegranate, but it works. The emotion of this fragrance is joy, and this happy combination will make you smile. As the scent wears, it becomes a little earthy, like a bit of the pomegranate skin was added as well as the garnet fruit. In the background, the floral peony adds her perfume. The components are doing a playful acrobatic balancing act of their own, veering from tart to sweet, making us oooh and ahhh.

Notes: pomegrante, black pepper; red peony, juniper berry, oakmoss, balsam fir and wood accord

"Remember" by Nicholas Roerich

Adding chili pepper to gardenia is a stroke of masterful dichotomy by M. Duchaufour. The spicy hot opening of Rappelle-Toi is nicely balanced by the sweet headiness of the gardenia notes. This perfume’s emotion is one of remembrance and contemplation, of sitting in the silence. After the snappy, attention-grabbing opening, the perfume does lead you to a place of stillness, the warmth of the Sichuan pepper embracing the petals of the honey-tipped gardenia. I can imagine sitting in a small outdoor shrine or temple, letting the perfume waft into my resting brain, and easing me into an easy meditative frame of mind.

Notes: gin, Sichuan pepper, gardenia, incense, sandalwood, musk, and honey

"The Wave" by Gary Shead

Created to capture the cool, then hot, unstoppable wave of desire, the effect of wearing Onde Sensuelle is one of experiencing a bloom of scent, like a puff of pheromones when there is high attraction, then the simmering undercurrent of desire that heats the skin and makes the heart beat a little faster. When first sprayed, Onde Sensuelle has an unusual tangy aroma that quickly becomes sweeter as it meets the plethora of spices. As it settles into skin, it becomes a soft, sensual skin scent meant to be nuzzled. The addition of juniper keeps the whole composition buzzing. Despite the plethora of spice notes, this never smells like a curry, but has its own unique, sensuous personality.

Notes: bergamote, grapefruit, jasmine sambac, ginger, cardamom, cumin, juniper, saffron, animalic musk, amber, and oud.

The packaging for this new collection is, like the previous one, boxes covered in an embossed velvety fabric, each perfume having its own pattern. The last boxes were creamy white; this time the color of the box is a rich fuschia pink, providing a modern twist to the opulent design, and playing into the tagline "Emotion is Color". I will be interested to see where L’Artisan Parfumeur continues to take this collection. When I interviewed L'Artisan and Penhaligon's CEO Sarah Rotheram, she mentioned that M. Duchaufour had delivered more than twenty interpretations of emotions to choose from; it will be interesting to see what the next selections are.

My samples were provided by L’Artisan Parfumeur. These fragrances will be available at select L'Artisan retailers beginning in April or May of 2014.

Tama Blough, Deputy Editor

Thanks to the generosity of L’Artisan Parfumeur, we have a draw for one 15 ml bottle of the choice of any reader in the US or Canada. Let us know which one you would choose, and what appeals to you about it. Draw ends March 14, 2014.

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