Pictura Fragrans Champs Délaissée photo courtesy of Indigo Perfumery ©
“O the gleesome saunter over fields and hill-sides!
The leaves and flowers of the commonest weeds – the moist fresh stillness of the woods,
The exquisite smell of the earth at day-break, and all through the forenoon.” ~ excerpt from Poem of Joys by Walt Whitman
Pictura Fragrans Logo courtesy of the website
A note from the brand: “Pictura Fragrans, translating from Latin to ‘The Painting of Fragrances,’ stands as a testament to our belief in the transformative power of scent. Our mission at Pictura Fragrans is to embark on olfactory journeys, using the language of fragrance to tell stories and awaken emotions.” ~ perfumer DL Jenkins, Pictura Fragrans
Pictura Fragrans Champs Délaissée (photo Indigo Perfumery)©
I recently received five samples of Pictura Fragrans extraits (courtesy of Indigo Perfumery), and found them to be compelling and innovative. Amongst them, a rather moody evocation of abandoned fields in France named Champs Délaissée garnered my attention. In this particular fragrance, perfumer DL Jenkins pays homage to classical vintage perfumery while providing his individual twists and turns to this established art form. My olfactory curiosity was piqued.
How does one breathe new life into an age-old genre? In the case of Pictura Fragrans Champs Délaissée, the appellation retro-nouveau leathery animalic floral seems to be the most accurate and inclusive. For me, the initial spritz of Champs Délaissée is the most intriguing because so many aromatic elements present themselves as both complementary and contradictory, creating a vibrant dramatic tension. There is a large percentage of botanical materials employed here, assuring a sense of movement. This course is fairly rapid – which is why particular attention needs to be paid at the very beginning. Yuzu and blood orange are sprightly, tonic, and short-lived; what follows might be interpreted as purposely dissonant, enough to jar one out of a sense of citrus-induced complacency. A combined sweet bitterness is imparted by almond and fenugreek, one foody and the other quirky. They are joined by boxtree – an absolute which is complex and possesses both fruity nuances (not dissimilar to those of cassis) and a somewhat urinous animalic facet: boxtree has also been used as a substitute for oakmoss because of its woody, mossy, and iodinic scent profile
Image courtesy of the brand
The florals assume the form of jasmine, rose, and neroli – tried and true, their marriage to osmanthus, costus, civet, musk, and oud create a leathery liaison which is quite potent; whether or not there is a separate leather accord is unclear to my nose. In contrast, a number of herbal/haylike/lightly tobacco-tinged tones interact as they contribute a distinctly coumarinic presence: flouve, hay, and immortelle absolutes positively sing of those forgotten fields. As regards the perfumer’s inclusion of white tea, it is overshadowed by the multiple personalities of powerful substances; cedar seems relatively subtle, and olibanum the more prominent component of these three. Champs Délaissée is quite intricate – and I hope that I’ve been able to shed some light upon its mysterious workings. Its drydown is shadowy and pensive, removed from the sunlit opening we experienced earlier. Dusk has descended upon these sylvan/meadow environs, and there is an oncoming chill which can be felt in one’s waters.
Notes: almond, yuzu, beeswax, blood orange, boxtree, flouve, jasmine, rose, immortelle, white tea, fenugreek, neroli, osmanthus, costus, oud, hay, cedar, civet, olibanum, musk, leather (N.B. – flouve, hay, and immortelle are hyperlinked to coumarin because chemical analysis reveals that they are rich in this compound)
Sample kindly provided by Indigo Perfumery – many thanks. My nose is my own…
~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor
Thanks to the generosity of Indigo Perfumery, we are offering a 50 ml flacon of Pictura Fragrans Champs Délaissée for one registered ÇaFleureBon reader in the U.S. To be eligible please leave a comment on this site with what strikes you about Ida’s review and if you reside in the contiguous USA. Draw closes 2/8/2025
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