Thomas de Monaco Luisant Haze (Karine Chevallier) 2026 + The-technicolor-reality-filter giveaway

Thomas de Monaco Luisant Haze review

Thomas de Monaco Luisant Haze, photo by Nicoleta

I must admit, I was far more familiar with Thomas De Monaco’s visual universe than with his olfactory one, having used his photographs as moodboard inspo for various projects throughout the years – so, please, allow me to start there. For more than two decades, moving between Paris and Zurich, De Monaco has been an influential presence in the world of luxury, working for houses like Hermès, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Armani, Rolex, and Cartier, to mention but a few. Yet no matter the subject, there is always a particular imponderability to the light inhabiting his photographic language, and once you have seen it, you begin to recognize it everywhere in his work.

Thomas de Monaco photography

Thomas de Monaco photography

Pinning Thomas De Monaco’s work down to a single visual register is almost impossible, as his practice moves fluidly between multiple aesthetic languages while, somehow, remaining unmistakably his. In some projects, there’s a clean, hyper-controlled studio precision where a single object floats against a seamless ground in sculptural 3D light, a highly disciplined minimalism that brings to mind Irving Penn’s almost surgical approach to image-making. Sometimes, the atmosphere shifts into something far more painterly: a chiaroscuro register that nods to Dutch and Flemish still life, all deep shadow, low-key light, and solitary hero objects emerging from darkness, quite often something organic or imperfectly perfect in its hyper-real vegetal presence, with a faintly Baudelaire-esque fascination with wilted flowers, bruised textures, and the melancholic symmetry of decay. And then there is the more experimental strand of his work: iridescent surfaces, hyper-saturated close-ups, abstracted textures and colour fields where light truly becomes a more abstract poetic medium in itself. The connective tissue running through all of it remains the same: artistically precise, deliberate lighting; a deeply tactile sensitivity to surface and material; restrained compositions and an elegant refusal of maximalism.

Thomas de Monaco photos

Thomas de Monaco photography

De Monaco’s work makes the subjects of his photographs intimate, softening the edges and focusing on the way light is reflected and refracted – and once you have seen that glow, that luisant, you understand exactly what kind of perfume house this artist would build. Because his fragrances, much like his images, are poetic halos: deeply intentional studies in ephemeral beauty, atmosphere, and the immaterial traces a presence leaves suspended in the air around it.

Creative Director Thomas de Monaco and perfumer Karine Chevallier

Creative Director Thomas de Monaco and perfumer Karine Chevallier – photo via Instagram

For Luisant Haze, Thomas collaborated with Karine Chevallier, a perfumer whose work has long gravitated toward elegant atmospheric constructions. I have always associated her style with a certain form of classical minimalism revamped for modern times: her creations are emotionally precise, textural, and layered with cinematic depth. Her work for Gallivant carries a very particular form of soft-focus intimacy, perfumes that capture the emotional temperature of a place rather than delivering a photorealistic (pun intended) rendering of it. And speaking of artistic continuity, she was also the nose behind Marcelle Dormoy Nacarat, one of the very first fragrances I reviewed for ÇaFleureBon and that I often think of fondly, as it was one of my gateways into gourmand space. Chevallier often approaches perfumery in a way that mirrors Thomas’s visual sculpting, taking into account diffusion, texture, translucency, and negative space.

Thomas de Monaco Luisant Haze

Thomas de Monaco Luisant Haze

Arriving this month, Luisant Haze expands the Gold Collection with a fragrance that approaches sweetness in a new and modern way. “Beauty and positive emotion are not trends. They are values I live. For me, perfume is freedom – the freedom to shape atmosphere, to evolve, to become” – says Thomas De Monaco . “I was not interested in creating something loud. I wanted a scent that feels like it is already there – like part of your skin,” – De Monaco explains. The name reflects this balance. Luisant suggests a glow from within, while Haze evokes an atmosphere where contours dissolve. Together, they describe a space between clarity and diffusion – something present, but never fixed.

Conceptually, the perfume is a smellscape of familiar childhood pleasures: ripe forest fruits, cotton candy air, sugar-spun brightness. But don’t expect teary-eyed nostalgia or escapist getaways into comforting sweetness and idealized memories. This feels more like a breath of fresh air, both literally and emotionally – a luminous filter cast onto reality itself, heightening colour, light, and emotional saturation, like a small Technicolor meditation on joyfully inhabiting the present. Stepping away from the classical gourmand structure built around direct sensory gratification, sweetness is treated here more as atmosphere than trigger, a lightness of being suspended in scent form, and there is something deeply contemporary in this kind of controlled restraint. Luisant Haze wears its neo-gourmand badge proudly, moving toward the diaphanous and the watercoloured, toward a sweetness deliberately stripped of literal weight. On the skin, it hovers translucent and subdued, with tuberose acting as light and airy musks as negative space painted in iridescent hues.

Thomas de Monaco Luisant Haze

Thomas de Monaco Luisant Haze, photo by Nicoleta

The opening of Luisant Haze is bright, with pink pepper and cardamom giving it the sparkling lift of uncorking something fizzy and delicious, all tiny bubbles, like the endorphin rush of quenching your thirst. The way the tuberose is woven into this setting carries Karine Chevallier’s unmistakable signature.

Now, as someone firmly in the “tuberose devotees” camp, I also fully understand the flower’s detractors: those intimidated by its indolic bridal grandeur, its diva tendencies, and its unapologetic carnivorous larger-than-life white floral theatrics. But tuberose agnostics, fear not! This is tuberose rendered in watercolour, with the flower stripped of much of its narcotic heaviness and painted instead in translucent washes of luminous pigment. All its solar joy remains intact, but the drama has been dialed down and replaced with something brighter, almost trickster-like in energy.

The fraise des bois and cotton candy accords make the whole composition pop with playful buoyancy, think a bubblegum balloon bursting into pink air and laughter (a beautiful wink toward the naturally bubblegumy facet that existes within tuberose). Safraleine, that warm, leathery-spicy molecule is used here like the shadow cast behind translucent paper: essential in holding the entire luminous structure in place, like a contour glowing beneath tracing paper. Amber Xtreme, a notoriously powerful molecule (equally loved and feared), is dosed with engineering–level precision to create the lift and diffusion, and together they melt into the musks to produce the haze of the name itself: radiant, airy, persistent and present, yet never too much.

Thomas de Monaco Luisant Haze

Thomas de Monaco Luisant Haze via the brand

Pop-art bright at first glance, yet artfully hazy and diffuse, once you step back to take it all in, the composition shifts constantly with distance and movement: iridescent, alive, luminous, the way a soap bubble briefly holds an entire rainbow on its surface for one suspended half-second before bursting into a splash of colour.

Editor’s note: Thomas de Monaco Luisant Haze was produced entirely within the house’s own manufacture in Switzerland – from maceration to filling.

Notes: fraise des bois accord, pink pepper essential oil, cardamom essential oil, sweet tuberose accord, cotton candy accord, safraleine molecule, white musk accord, amber xtreme molecule, tonka bean absolute.

Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Editor

Disclosure: Perfume kindly gifted by the brand, as always, opinions are my own.

Luisant Haze by Thomas de Monaco

Thomas de Monaco Luisant Haze photo by Nicoleta

Thanks to the generosity of Thomas de Monaco we have a 50 ml bottle of Luisant Haze for one registered reader from the EU or US. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest based on Nicoleta’s review and where you live. Draw closes  5/21/2026

Stockists here

Also read the reviews for Fleur Danger, Jade Amour Eau Couer (Michelyn’s  Top 10 Best of Scent 2022)Grand Beau, and Raw Gold

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50 comments

  • Sorohan Adriana says:

    I love tuberose! I need to discover this tuberose, stripped of much of its narcotic heaviness and painted instead in translucent washes of luminous pigment!

  • AromaAdventurer says:

    As someone who proudly stands in the “tuberose devotees” camp, Nicoleta’s review spoke directly to my heart. What sparks my interest most is her description of Luisant Haze as “tuberose rendered in watercolour, with the flower stripped of much of its narcotic heaviness and painted instead in translucent washes of luminous pigment.” I love the classic indolic grandeur of tuberose, but the idea of a version that keeps “all its solar joy intact” while replacing “the drama with something brighter, almost trickster-like in energy” sounds utterly refreshing. The combination of “fraise des bois and cotton candy accords making the whole composition pop with playful buoyancy, a bubblegum balloon bursting into pink air and laughter” is such a joyful image. And the way Nicoleta connects this to Thomas de Monaco’s photography, where “light truly becomes a more abstract poetic medium in itself” and the fragrance becomes “a Technicolor meditation on joyfully inhabiting the present” makes me desperate to experience this luminous haze.

    I am in the EU, Germany.

  • Lastochka says:

    Nicoleta’s concept of the “neo-gourmand” where “sweetness is treated more here as atmosphere than trigger, a lightness of being suspended in scent form” is exactly what I’ve been craving without being able to name it. What sparks my interest most is her description of Luisant Haze as moving “toward the diaphanous and the watercoloured, toward a sweetness deliberately stripped of literal weight.” This isn’t a heavy, cloying dessert perfume; it’s something that “hovers translucent and subdued” with “tuberose acting as light and airy musks as negative space painted in iridescent hues.” The way she connects this to the photographer’s vision “taking into account diffusion, texture, translucency, and negative space” shows how deeply considered this composition is. The opening with “pink pepper and cardamom giving it the sparkling lift of uncorking something fizzy and delicious, all tiny bubbles, like the endorphin rush of quenching your thirst” sounds utterly joyful. EU

  • FragranceFrenzyS says:

    Nicoleta’s exploration of Thomas de Monaco’s photographic universe before even getting to the perfume is what sparks my interest most. Her description of his work as having “a particular imponderability to the light,” moving between “hyper-controlled studio precision” and “painterly chiaroscuro” and “iridescent surfaces, hyper-saturated close-ups,” all while maintaining “an elegant refusal of maximalism” makes me understand exactly what kind of fragrance he would create. And Luisant Haze delivers: “a poetic halo, a deeply intentional study in ephemeral beauty, atmosphere, and the immaterial traces a presence leaves suspended in the air around it.” The idea of a fragrance that “feels like it is already there, like part of your skin,” that creates “a luminous filter cast onto reality itself, heightening colour, light, and emotional saturation” is the most beautiful description of what perfume can do. “The way a soap bubble briefly holds an entire rainbow on its surface for one suspended half-second before bursting into a splash of colour” is pure magic.
    EU based

  • What sparks my interest most is how Nicoleta positions Luisant Haze within the context of perfumer Karine Chevallier’s work, whom she describes as creating “emotionally precise, textural, and layered with cinematic depth” fragrances that capture “the emotional temperature of a place rather than delivering a photorealistic rendering of it.” This approach perfectly complements Thomas de Monaco’s visual language. The result is a fragrance that “wears its neo-gourmand badge proudly” but redefines what that means. The clever use of “safraleine, that warm, leathery-spicy molecule used here like the shadow cast behind translucent paper: essential in holding the entire luminous structure in place” and “Amber Xtreme dosed with engineering-level precision to create the lift and diffusion” shows incredible technical skill. The final image of Luisant Haze as “pop-art bright at first glance, yet artfully hazy and diffuse, shifting constantly with distance and movement: iridescent, alive, luminous” makes me want to experience this shape-shifting, atmospheric beauty on my own skin.
    I am from the EU.

  • LindenNoir says:

    Nicoleta’s description of Luisant Haze as “a smellscape of familiar childhood pleasures: ripe forest fruits, cotton candy air, sugar-spun brightness” immediately transported me to summer fairs and carefree days. But what sparks my interest most is her insistence that this is “not teary-eyed nostalgia or escapist getaways into comforting sweetness and idealized memories.” Instead, it’s “a breath of fresh air, both literally and emotionally – a luminous filter cast onto reality itself, heightening colour, light, and emotional saturation, like a small Technicolor meditation on joyfully inhabiting the present.” That distinction is crucial. I don’t want perfume that makes me long for a past I can’t return to; I want perfume that makes the present moment more vivid, more beautiful, more alive. The idea of sweetness as “atmosphere rather than trigger” and “a lightness of being suspended in scent form” is exactly the kind of modern, sophisticated approach to gourmand that I’ve been searching for. A fragrance that makes reality feel a little more Technicolor sounds like exactly what I need right now.

    EU

  • Nuvare Aenra says:

    Nicoleta’s deep dive into Thomas de Monaco’s visual language before even discussing the perfume is what makes this review so compelling. Her observation that “no matter the subject, there is always a particular imponderability to the light inhabiting his photographic language” and that “once you have seen it, you begin to recognize it everywhere in his work” made me immediately look up his photography. And now I understand exactly what she means about Luisant Haze being “a poetic halo.” What sparks my interest most is the parallel she draws between Chevallier’s perfumery approach and De Monaco’s visual sculpting: “taking into account diffusion, texture, translucency, and negative space.” The idea of a fragrance that treats tuberose as “light and airy musks as negative space painted in iridescent hues” is so conceptually rich. The engineering precision of using “Amber Xtreme, a notoriously powerful molecule equally loved and feared, dosed with engineering-level precision to create the lift and diffusion” while safraleine acts as “the shadow cast behind translucent paper” shows that creating something that feels effortless and luminous requires immense skill. This is art perfume in the truest sense. I am from the EU.

  • Sybelle16 says:

    Luisant Haze is a floral fruity gourmand that opens with sparking cardamom, pink pepper while showcasing a subtle strawberry and focuses on a diffused tuberose. Playful notes of cotton candy, fraise des bois, and tonka that are airy and radiant instead of cloyingly sweet. It has a coziness and softness and is grounded in a base of amber, slight saffron and white musks that deepened the experience. The composition as a whole is a minimalistic, yet layered creation that is creamy, sweet and complex.
    CA USA

  • The cotton candy accord, like a bubblegum ballon, sparks my interest. I’d love to try this. I live in Colorado USA

  • The luminous, watercolour tuberose – translucent and playful with cotton candy buoyancy and a Technicolor glow, turning sweetness into airy atmosphere rather than heavy gourmand. It perfectly echoes Thomas de Monaco’s light-filled photography. I live in Poland, EU

  • Ramses Perez says:

    Nicoleta truly had a way with words and I completely understood what she was trying to convey here. This fragrance feels kind of like an aura that surrounds you (the wearer) wherever you go. Sweet but not overpowering, airy but present and with a duration that stays with you for a while. It also changes throughout the wear and that’s what the pop up feeling you get with it. Think of it like almost a transparent field that envelops you, reminding you of every step that you’re wearing Luisant Haze. Artistic, innovative, iridescent. I’m located in the US (NJ).

  • The way that Nicoleta describes the gourmand as atmospheric and how the composition shifts with distance and movement really sparked my interest. The cotton candy note also sounds amazing. I imagine wearing this in summer would bring back dear childhood memories. I’m in the USA.

  • Perfume is freedom….so simple and yet profound. I’m so intrigued about this fragrance after reading this. “Sweetness deliberately stripped of literal weight” piques my interest, in an era where sweetness can often overwhelm a scent, this sounds like a breath of fresh air. I live in Illinois. Cheers!!

  • Such an interesting exhaustive article. I didn’t know Thomas de Monaco was a photographer. I especially loved the description of his style and esthetic, the fascination with wilted flowers, bruised textures, and decay. You need to be a true artist to be able to see the beauty in all that and be able to translate that into emotion with your art. I live in the EU

  • kaitracid says:

    Not a big fan of gourmands so I am curious on how this smells as from the notes it looks like it’s going to be sweet, but when I read in the review things like atmosphere, translucent, airy it makes me curious to smell it. I like tuberose when it’s not bubblegum-y and also knowing what some Thomas de Monaco perfumes smell like, I am sure it’s going to be a very good one.
    Thanks, I’m in the EU.

  • Taleofarose says:

    Nicoleta is such a wordsmith, all her descriptions are visually stunning, like watching a 3D movie we are in the middle of the story, part of the story.

    I’m definitely a tuberose devotee. An iridescent version? I would love to try on my own skin how is that even possible.

    I live in Portugal, EU

  • Zoran Loncarevic says:

    I really enjoy the scent of tuberose. The combination of the individual fragrance notes should also harmonize well with one another. Thomas de Monaco has established itself well within the niche market over the past few years. Best regards from Germany.

  • Luisant Haze sounds like the kind of fragrance that doesn’t shout, it smolders under the skin like late night city lights after rain. That airy tuberose with the pepper and woods combo feels sharp, clean, and dangerously addictive. Karine Chevallier and Thomas de Monaco built this one with the precision of a tailored black suit and the soul of an old film photograph.
    EU

  • I am the only one who thinks that BALANCE in perfumery is very hard to get nowadays? So, if “Luisant suggests a glow from within, while Haze evokes an atmosphere where contours dissolve. Together, they describe a space between clarity and diffusion – something present, but never fixed.” and the notes are hazy & diffuse, then it must be a win for me. My favorite tuberose is light, slightly green or slightly sweet, but not painted in neon colors. The last is the reason why many people are running from this note in perfumes, just because TUBEROSE almost never = BALANCE. I am eager to try this creation and I really appreciate Nicoleta’s review and the brand generosity.

    Thank you. I am EU based.

  • Wow, Nicoleta has a stunning way with words. The descriptions of Thomas de Monaco’s photography is incredibly descriptive and beautiful. I love the description’s of the perfume as iridescent and luminous- holding a rainbow of colors in a bubble. I also love the idea of a neo-gourmand- I like gourmand notes but I don’t want them done in a childish over overly-sweet way.

    US

  • Wow, this sounds like the description of an absolute dream fragrance. I’ve been on a kick searching for fragrances that embody the principles of naive art — optimistic and youthful “colors”, simplicity without subtlety; not weepy nostalgia but a remembrance of things as they were. Especially interested in the more artful use of tuberose you describe, which can be both sensual/deep and sunny/bright depending on how it hangs together with other notes. I enjoy Chevallier’s work for Gallivant, the way she plays with discordance and incongruity to produce something you just can’t stop inhaling is true brilliance.

    I am in the US.

  • This was a fascinating review. I was not familar with de Monaco’s photography so learning about the parallels between the mediums was really interesting. I’m not sure I would have wanted to try this perfume from notes alone as I don’t love sweet gourmands, but Nicoleta’s excellent write up intrigued me and now I’m intensely curious! I live in Indiana

  • bustednose says:

    Love tuberose and loved Nicoleta’s description of childhood memories evoked by this scent. Will be getting a sample soon! I am in Texas USA

  • TheScentedPage says:

    The way Nicoleta describes the “poetic halos” makes Luisant Haze feel like it’s glowing from the inside out. That soft, luminous aura that comes from genuine warmth rather than projection alone. The kind of radiance that rises from positive emotion and naturally draws people closer.

    A great perfume is like an invisible invitation. This seems to be a scent that doesn’t just sit on the skin, but moves with the wearer and amplifies their inner light.

    Alabama, USA

  • wonderscent.mari says:

    This new creation of Thomas de Monaco sounds absolutely dreamy! I loved the idea behind this scent as well as the name: “Luisant suggests a glow from within, while Haze evokes an atmosphere where contours dissolve. Together, they describe a space between clarity and diffusion – something present, but never fixed”. While i was reading the vivid description of Nicoleta about Luisant Haze i could imagine the scent as soap bubbles infused with iridescence facets of tuberose. What an interesting idea! What sparks my interest most about the review is this particular description :”Luisant Haze wears its neo-gourmand badge proudly, moving toward the diaphanous and the watercoloured, toward a sweetness deliberately stripped of literal weight. On the skin, it hovers translucent and subdued, with tuberose acting as light and airy musks as negative space painted in iridescent hues.” I am very intrigued that this tuberose is more translucent, rendered in watercolour washes of luminous pigment with solar energetic kind of glow. What a wonderful description. I’m sure I’ve never smelled anything like it, and I’d love to experience it.
    Thanks for another wonderful review and draw!
    I‘m from the EU

  • Laurentiu says:

    Count me in among those who love tuberose! I am a man, but I do love tuberose and I am always excited to try something new that features this hypnotic and seducing flower! Thank you! I am in EU

  • mleenstra says:

    I love that this is a light fragrance. There is a trend nowadays that fragrances need to be heavy and present but I think creating something delicate and ethereal requires such skill, especially when using tuberose and amberxtreme which can be overpowering in themselves. Would love to try this. Marit EU

  • Luisant Haze (what a lovely name!) appeals to me because I like gourmands when they feel airy and modern rather than thick and dessert-like, and the mix of wild strawberry, cotton candy, sparkling spices and soft tuberose sounds playful in a sophisticated way. The idea of a hazy, glowing version of tuberose and sweetness really sparks my interest.
    Greetings from the EU.

  • Oh my goodness this sounds amazing. I remember when his first one came out and I actually won the decant of it here! Which of course led me to a full bottle. So gorgeous. And the next as well. But I haven’t tried this yet. I love tuberose fine in a grand style. I just love the lushness of his perfumes.
    I am located in the US.

  • A neo-gourmand that is atmospheric and weightless rather than dense or edible, with a sense of modern restraint, is exactly what I love. Watercolor tuberose sounds amazing.

    I’m in the U.S.

  • Trinity33 says:

    Thomas de Monaco is a true artist. His vision with his photography, showing his interest in precision and an emphasis on the way light is used to illuminate or obscure. The notes read as sweet but I definitely get that bubbly, diffused, lifted feel from the fruit, pink pepper and cotton candy accord. I too am a tuberose aficionado and a translucent wash treatment sounds perfect for the remit of this fragrance. MD, USA

  • Marques M Burgess says:

    What really sparks my interest here is how they describe fragrance almost like photography and light instead of just notes. The whole idea of Luisant Haze being airy, glowing, translucent, and emotionally atmospheric sounds crazy interesting to me. I also like that they took tuberose, which can usually feel loud and overpowering, and turned it into something softer, brighter, and more modern. The mix of pink pepper, cardamom, cotton candy, fraise des bois, musks, and amber sounds playful but still artistic and controlled. Honestly, the way they describe diffusion, texture, and “negative space” makes this feel more like wearable art than just another gourmand. I’m from New Jersey, USA

  • Nicoleta- your description of Luisant Haze is so descriptive and accurate. While Luisant Haze is somewhat of a departure from his previous releases, Thomas seems to sense what fits this particular point in time (and it really does!).

  • Ensorceler says:

    What sparks my interest here is that idea of sweetness as atmosphere rather than indulgence. The way Nicoleta describes Luisant Haze, like light suspended in air, like a memory that doesn’t fully land, feels less like wearing a perfume and more like stepping into a mood. That watercolor tuberose especially pulls me in. I love when a note known for its intensity gets reimagined into something airy and almost playful. It sounds like a fragrance that doesn’t try to impress loudly but instead lingers quietly, the way certain moments or emotions do, soft, glowing, and just out of reach.

    – USA –

  • What sparks my interest in Nicoleta’s review is how seamlessly Thomas De Monaco’s visual universe translates into scent, treating perfumery like a high-end photography session. The concept of Luisant Haze as a poetic halo built on negative space is compelling, beautifully subverting expectations by stripping a heavy note like tuberose into translucent watercolor washes. By transforming playful gourmand sweetness into an airy, diaphanous mist, the fragrance perfectly mirrors De Monaco’s signature balance of painterly chiaroscuro and clean minimalism. Ultimately, it reads like a masterclass in controlled restraint, designed with engineering-level precision for anyone who appreciates precise lighting and rich texture.

    I reside in the United States.

  • “Beauty and positive emotion are not trends. They are values I live. For me, perfume is freedom – the freedom to shape atmosphere, to evolve, to become” – I really like this quote from Mr. de Monaco. I feel that we share the same core values in regards to perfumery and the next quote only solidifies it “I was not interested in creating something loud. I wanted a scent that feels like it is already there – like part of your skin”. I feel the same way about a perfume – it has to be subtly perceived, discovered.

    I am looking forward in trying Luisant Haze! Thank you!
    EU reader here

  • kellyatwood says:

    This sounds like such a beautiful fragrance! The layering of the tuberose, cotton candy and amber sounds absolutely divine. I live in Austin TX.

  • christinag says:

    This new creation sounds very intriguing for me, childhood memories unlocked.
    And thank you for sharing beautiful artistic photography of Thomas de Monaco, beautiful.
    Germany.

  • Great review, Nicoleta! While I’m not a fan of tuberose, especially the more indolic and animalic notes, Thomas de Monaco Luisant Haze is an iridescent, vibrant, and luminous scent. Mme. Chevallier (interestingly, one of her perfumes was one of the first reviews Nicoleta did for Cafluereboy) hasn’t created a loud perfume, but one that feels like it’s part of your skin. The opening is sweet, not gourmand, but translucent and subdued, like a watercolor painting featuring the tuberose—bright and playful. I live in Spain, EU.

  • Patricia R. says:

    I like how sweetness is described via the expressions such as lightness of being, deeply contemporary and control restraint, and the images of light incorporated – haze, translucent, airy, iridescent soap bubble holding the entire rainbow. I think the magic of those things being possible could be attributed to musks. I live in the EU.

  • What really caught my attention was the idea of a gourmand that feels airy and glowing instead of thick and sugary. I usually avoid overly sweet fragrances, but the way Nicoleta described the tuberose here — softer, lighter and almost watercolor-like — made me genuinely curious. The mix of cotton candy, strawberry, musks and that fizzy cardamom opening sounds playful without sounding childish. I also liked the comparison to photography and light because it made the perfume feel more atmospheric than just “sweet.” Based in Romania, EU.

  • Interesting introduction to Thomas De Monaco’s work, including his range, knack for a painterly sense of light, and focused restraint (and Karine Chevallier’s “soft-focus intimacy”). Luisant Haze is a really interesting spin on whimsical nostalgia, sweet and “familiar childhood pleasures” captured at a remove, through a filter, blowing through for a moment on the breeze. Luisant Haze feels unusual in that way: “Luisant Haze wears its neo-gourmand badge proudly, moving toward the diaphanous and the watercoloured, toward a sweetness deliberately stripped of literal weight.” And the textures are fun, with its “tiny bubbles” spice, “playful buoyancy”, and diffuse musks. Precisely composed, modern, and fun. I’d love to try it.

    I’m in WI, USA.

  • I was thrilled by Nicoleta’s perception of tuberose in this perfume This is tuberose rendered in watercolour, with the flower stripped of much of its narcotic heaviness and painted instead in translucent washes of luminous pigment. All its solar joy remains intact, but the drama has been dialed down and replaced with something brighter, almost trickster-like in energy.
    From EU

  • what sparked my interest was getting to learn about thomas de monaco in different facets- the physical art forms he created, to fragrance & how his style for art in the physical world bleeds into his creativity in fragrance making. i love this ending where nicoleta describes this fragrance as: pop-art bright at first glance, yet artfully hazy and diffuse, once you step back to take it all in, the composition shifts constantly with distance and movement: iridescent, alive, luminous, the way a soap bubble briefly holds an entire rainbow on its surface for one suspended half-second before bursting into a splash of colour. sounds magical & incredibly alive & filled with color & soul. i love the composition of the fragrance: cotton candy, tuberose, white musk, amber, tonka… those right there are enough for me to add this one to my ever growing wishlist after reading cafleurebon! :). this just sounds like art in it’s most raw form…. a sensory journey that takes you on an olfactory of art… it sounds pretty fantastic! thank you for the review & contribution! i am in the united states, colorado.

  • TobeFrankincense says:

    I am sensitive to woody ambers, so when I read the sentence with Amber Xtreme and ends with “yet never too much”, I get curious. Would be very nice to try this and see if it’s really true. Interesting! I live in the EU.

  • Saverioud says:

    I was keeping an eye on this brand sice I smelled Fuego Futuro, a reference that really astonished me and that I perfectly remember even if I tried it a long time ago.
    This seems to be the perfect fragrance for the incoming summer, I like the idea of redefine the concept of gourmand and I’m really curious about the tuberous, since is not one of my preferred notes.
    Hi from Italy!

  • mossgreen says:

    i mean, wow… all of it interests me. the cotton candy accord, the gorgeous soap bubble imagery, the lightness, the classy visual of the bottle itself.. it sounds like how i want my gourmands to be – just a little bit less sweet <3 i'm in the US

  • wallygator88 says:

    What sparks my interest most is how Nicoleta frames the entire review through the lens of Thomas De Monaco’s photographic practice before the perfume ever enters the conversation, so that by the time she reaches Luisant Haze you already understand that “luisant” isn’t a marketing word but a lifelong artistic obsession with how light inhabits surfaces. The connection she draws between Karine Chevallier’s approach to perfumery and De Monaco’s visual sculpting, both working with diffusion, texture, translucency, and negative space, makes the collaboration feel inevitable rather than commercial. What really hooks me is the reframing of tuberose: calling it “tuberose rendered in watercolour, stripped of its narcotic heaviness and painted in translucent washes of luminous pigment” is the kind of description that could convert every tuberose skeptic in one sentence. And the technical detail about Amber Xtreme being dosed with engineering-level precision to create lift and diffusion while safraleine holds the luminous structure in place like a shadow cast behind translucent paper reveals just how much invisible architecture goes into making something feel effortless. The final image of a soap bubble holding an entire rainbow on its surface for one suspended half-second before bursting into colour is a perfect distillation of what this composition seems to be chasing: beauty that exists most vividly in the moment before it dissolves. Fleur Danger was already on my list after J’s review, and Luisant Haze sounds like its radiant, sunlit counterpart. Cheers from WI, USA

  • reyessence89 says:

    I’ve smelled Luisant Haze, and I completely agree with Nicoleta’s description of the perfumer’s style – “perfumes that capture the emotional temperature of a place rather than delivering a photorealistic (pun intended) rendering of it.” Luisant Haze to me creates more of an ambience, rather than just a smell. The tuberose is enveloping, but not weighty. And whilst it is unique, there are elements in the perfume that bring a sense of familiarity. It is definitely worth smelling this perfume. I live in the US.