Parfumeurs Du Monde Makeda (fragrance visualisation ©Despina Veneti)
Coinciding with their packaging upgrade, the all-natural brand of Parfumeurs Du Monde, headed by perfumer Thierry Bernard, has just released a new collection of six fragrances whose source of inspiration was freely chosen by the perfumers themselves. The six creators of the new compositions are Bertrand Duchaufour, Nathalie Feisthauer, Isabelle Gellé, Ellen Dahlgren, Thierry Bernard, and our own Çafleurebon contributor and author of The Perfume Chronicles, Alexandre Helwani. As a friend of his, I’m especially happy to see his first widely available eau de parfum being released; as a fragrance lover who is not particularly accustomed to wearing botanical perfume, his creation (like the rest of this captivating collection) has managed to seduce me.
Perfumer, writer and ÇaFleureBon contributor Alexandre Helwani during the presentation of the new Parfumeurs Du Monde collection at Jovoy Paris (photos/collage ©Despina Veneti)
For those of you who don’t know Alexandre, allow me to introduce him: he is a modern-day Renaissance man, fragrance writer and specialist, playwright, actor, singer, cook, traveler, snappy dresser, perfume alchemist. He is, to my eyes, full of fascinating contrasts fused into one harmonic whole: in him lives the burning intensity of the carnal and the holy strength of the spiritual, a childlike enthusiasm and a wisdom well beyond his years. His way of communication is unfailing gentleness, and generosity of spirit. His beautiful work in Parfumeurs Du Monde Makeda comes as no surprise to me, for I was honored to have a magnificent custom perfume made by him (one of the most breathtaking, galbanum-centered floral compositions I’ve ever smelled). Passionate about history and theology, he sourced creative inspiration from the Ethiopian Queen Makeda who – according to one version of her legend – gave birth to King Solomon’s son. More well known as the Queen of Sheba, her story amalgamates Jewish, Arabic and Ethiopian legends, with many existing variations throughout Africa and the Middle East. According to the Hebrew Bible, the Queen travelled to Israel bearing precious gifts, after she heard about King Solomon’s wisdom; the Ethiopian national saga has her visit Jerusalem after King Solomon’s invitation, with a love affair between them following. There’s no mention of that romance in the Jewish, Christian or Islamic scriptures, where she furthermore remains unnamed; however, some maintain that she must have married Solomon (a claim that is not based on the word of the scriptures, as I understand, but is rather a product of certain interpretations), or that she is the woman for whom King Solomon expresses his love in the biblical “Song of Songs”. Let it be noted that, although she must have been a black woman, the Queen of Sheba has been for centuries depicted as white in Western art (she became a popular subject especially during the Italian Renaissance). Any way you look at her, she’s the stuff of legend.
The Queen of Sheba in one of her earliest Western depictions as a black woman, from the Medieval manuscript Bellifortis by Conrad Kyeser, c. 1405
In Parfumeurs Du Monde Makeda, Alexandre wanted to express not so much the dynamic aspect of the powerful Queen, as the tender side of the woman (strongly inspired by the “Song of Songs”). His initial idea was to construct the fragrance upon a combination of orris butter, sandalwood and vanilla, thus reflecting the idea of “gold and ivory” that Queen Makeda brought as gifts to Jerusalem. On that backbone, Alexandre added florals: first an overdose of osmanthus (for that hazy, “tulle and mousseline” effect he was aiming), and then a triple (Damascena oil, absolute and Centifolia alcoholate) dose of rose (to him, an indispensable note to a regal fragrance). The dominant base note of vanilla (comprising vanillin, green vanilla oleoresin and vanilla tincture) was embellished by diaphanous ambrette seed, discreet labdanum and tobacco accents, and woody touches of cedarwood and cypress. Last to be added to the composition were the top notes; touched by an Ethiopian love song where the woman is addressed as “lime of the forest, honey among the rocks, lemon of the cloister, grape in the savannah”, Alexandre mainly opted for ripe, sweet citruses.
Parfumeurs Du Monde Makeda among the brand’s other fragrances at Jovoy Paris (photo ©Despina Veneti)
Parfumeurs Du Monde Makeda opens with a succulent mix of bergamot and mandarin, the most suitable adjective for which would be “nectarous”: instead of being straightforwardly cool and fresh, the citrusy notes here radiate a delicious “virgin” cocktail vibe. The osmanthus blooms on my skin almost instantly, suavely fruity (boosted by aldehyde C14) and devoid of the leathery tones it is often associated with; Alexandre explained to me that this is due to using osmanthus alcoholate, an ingredient lighter than the absolute, with the property to manifest earlier in the composition. A rose sprinkled with pink pepper follows in bloom, its damascones intensifying the already introduced fruitiness; the “queen of flowers” finds her match in the osmanthus, their joined alchemy creating a wholly new blossom – their floral “love child”. Evident from the start, the aphrodisiac (and slightly powdery) vanilla note finds ideal company in the skin-evoking sensuousness of buttery iris, creamy sandalwood and musky ambrette. I particularly enjoyed Alexandre’s strategic use of lentisque, an ingredient that is close to the Greek mastic, whose smell (and taste) is both familiar, and beloved, to me. Here it provides a touch of coniferous greenness and resinous spiciness to the fragrance’s gourmand aura, conjuring up an unexpected personal memory: the scent brings me right back to my mother’s kitchen, where quinces are being turned into mouth-watering jam, sprinkled with the recipe’s “secret” ingredient, sweet-scented geranium. The overall texture of the fragrance feels just as Alexandre hoped: mellow, soft and hazy, as if diffused through a silky veil. The drydown of Makeda turns into a primarily vanilla/rose affair with mildly smoky touches, comforting and sensual without feeling provocative; the persistent osmanthus continues peeking through every now and then, like a jealous lover that just can’t let go. The experience of wearing Parfumeurs Du Monde Makeda is life-affirming, and ever so delightful.
Notes: Bergamot, Lentisque, Pink Pepper, Mandarin; Osmanthus, Rose, Orris Butter, Ambrette Seed; Vanilla, Sandalwood, Labdanum, Tobacco.
Disclaimer: I’d like to thank Parfumeurs Du Monde for the sample of Makeda. The opinions are my own.
Editor’s note: The entire collection of Parfumeurs Du Monde, including the six new fragrances is available on Parfumeurs du Monde and Jovoy’s websites.
– Despina Veneti, Senior Editor
Parfumeurs Du Monde Makeda 50ml (photo ©Alexandre Helwani)
Thanks to the generosity of Parfumeurs Du Monde, we have a draw for a 50ml bottle of Makeda (value: 145€) for one registered reader in USA or EU. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Despina’s review, if you have a favorite Parfumeurs Du Monde fragrance, and where you live. Draw closes 12/16/2021
Please read Emmanuelle Varron’s recent reviews of Parfumeurs du Monde Petite Fumee by Bertrand Duchaufour and Les Armes d’Aden by Thierry Bernard here
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