The Le Jardin Retrouvé Perfume Experience + Virtual Tour DRAW

March 14, 2020March 14, 2020

Le Jardin Retrouvé Courtyard entrance

“an immersive artistic journey to make you experience an exceptional moment, centered around your emotions and your inner self, as well as the secrets of the world of perfume” Clara Feder, Creative Director.

Yuri Gutsatz in Marseille 1941

Perfumistas know Paris for Chanel, Guerlain, Givenchy and more, but there is also a perfume experience devoted to the life and work of the late perfumer Yuri Gutsatz, regarded by many as the pioneer of niche perfume and a co-founder of The Osmothèque .This little HQ is tucked away in a cobbled courtyard off the Rue Montmartre near the Louvre and Les Halles. We were warmly greeted by Michel, Clara and their team before Clara herself gave us the full tour. Clara is an artist and writer and also Creative Director of the house, and her influence is everywhere: the poetic, the mystical and the make believe.

Le Jardin Retrouvé wall of emotion

The first thing that greets you is the wall of emotion. Much like the padlocks on the bridges of Paris the wall is feathered with the hand written labels from the visitors who came before us.

The tour begins with the family history, which rivals any epic novel. Yuri Gutsatz fled from Bolshevik Russia to Berlin as a boy, along with his mother and grandparents, never to see his father again. A growing cloud of menace in Germany caused these Russian Jews to flee to Paris where they settled. Yuri, the son of a chemist, found lab work at Roure Bertrand Fils and began his training. When War broke out, he was reworking fragrances for Paul Poiret, and the handwritten formula for Le Bleu Narcisse is preserved to this day.

Yuri’s handwritten formula for Bleu Narcisse

A broken heart led Yuri to join the Foreign Legion as war broke out, which ultimately kept him out of Paris and saved his life. Sadly, his mother and grandparents were taken to Auschwitz in his absence and he never saw them again. Yuri, on his return from India found that the perfume industry was still in a headlock, with creativity stifled and perfumers often anonymous, even some of the great perfumers of that era, such as Germaine Cellier and Jean Carles. The creative freedom of a perfumer did not exist and, the perfumer’s name was often kept away from the public. In 1975 Yuri broke ranks and went rogue, creating his own fragrance house and sourcing his own suppliers, many of whom are still used today. Niche perfumery was taking its first steps. After history, came science and we were taken into the immaculately kept lab. This is where perfumer Maxence Moutte from Givaudan assembles Yuri’s original formulas as closely as possible. There is a story of pure serendipity here: Maxence, a fan of Yuri’s work, happened to meet Michel Gutsatz at a wedding at a time when Michel happened to be looking for a perfumer. The stars were truly aligned that day.

Clara Feder and Michel Gutsatz of Le Jardin Retrouvé in the lab. Photo by O Bon magazine

In the lab we were all given blotters dipped with raw ingredients, smelling so very different to the finished article. Each one can be sourced to an independent and sustainable supplier, many of whom Yuri met during his years in Mumbai.

My son Leo disappears into the wardrobe

At this point in the tour, we were taken into the experience room, via an antique wardrobe straight out of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia (another unique Clara touch). On the other side was a magical, windowless room with cloud like walls, a tree of lights made from fabric flowers (Arlette Gutsatz kept everything!) and even birdsong. In the corner is a replica of Yuri and Arlette Gutsatz’s living room, complete with family photos and early examples of Le Jardin Retrouvé merchandise.

Each visitor is given a handset. You press the corresponding number on each little screen, and hold it to your ear. The fragrances are under a little dome which you replace face down after smelling it. This ensures that the room doesn’t have an overwhelming aroma. The combination of scent, sound and sight all at once has a wonderfully soothing effect. When we’d finished exploring, we all felt as if we’d emerged from the cinema only to find it was evening. I was fascinated to see what the men in my family chose: Leo, aged ten chose Jasmin Majorelle, Fred, aged thirteen chose Sandalwood Sacré and my husband Darren chose Verveine D’Eté. Although I know all of the fragrances well, it was Bois Tabac Virginia that tapped me on the shoulder that day.

Sam Scriven in the Le Jardin Retrouvé Experience Room

We all wrote our label for the wall of emotion before going, so look us up when you get there. You’re encouraged to make a memory and leave a memory, and we certainly did both. The Tour can be booked via AirBNB and is ideal for groups of five, and is suitable for children over seven. The experience costs 27E per person and includes a 10E voucher to spend on the day as well as tea and appetisers.

Disclosure I do some freelance work for Le Jardin Retrouvé. Opinions are my own. My family and I were guests of Michel and Clara.

Samantha Scriven, Contribuor,a perfume writer author of the blog iscentyouaday.com

Thanks to the generosity of Michael and Clara at Le Jardin Retrouvé, we have a 7 Day Perfume Programme Box for one registered reader in EU, USA or Canada. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Samantha’s virtual tour of the Perfume Experience here. If you have a favourite Le Jardin Retrouvé fragrance, and where you live. Draw closes 3/18/2020

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