When the source of the patchouli is top-notch I really don’t want much else to interfere with my enjoyment of it. The latest example of a fragrance to get that mix right for me is Christian Dior La Collection Couturier Patchouli Imperial.
Alaska has been a source of quirky inspiration for many artists so it is not a surprise that the majordomo of Smell Bent, Brent Leonesio returned from his trip full of inspiration. After a summer visit to Alaska Mr. Leonesio created five new fragrances and they are all tied together with equal parts Mr. Leonesio’s trademark guerilla style of perfumery and ingredients indigenous to America’s Last Frontier.
These five entries come from his long-standing tenure as L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Perfumer in Residence. He created stand-alone bottles called Mon Numeros back in 2009. At that time there was only one bottle of each
They used to refer to James Brown as “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business”. Based on his output in 2011 I think we are going to have to dub Bertrand Duchaufour, The Hardest Working Man in Perfume. Over the past few weeks I have been wearing the five Mon Numeros I’ve been able to obtain non-stop and they are some of the best work of M Duchaufour’s time at L’Artisan.
My brain is besieged with incendiary images of young, newly-wed Fay’s erotic frustration in the story Saffron [Little Birds, by Anais Nin].
In Fiore’s Parfums Solides are lovingly cosseted, presented in burnished golden- brass colored weighty metal mirrored compacts, engraved with the classic In Fiore logo.
Elegant and unfussy, each contains a labor of love:
