Tuberose… A Love Story by Pierre Bénard + Histoires de ParfumsTubereuseTrilogy Draw

 

 

 

 

 Her story is set to the music of Chopin's Nocturne Opus 9 No.2

While other flowers slumber, she is perfumed, dressed in black haute couture. (Tubéreuse Couture by Parfumerie Générale)

Dior Perfume advertisement (inspired by a famous painting by Charles Allen Gilbert named “Allis vanity”, 1892 -left)

She haunts the cities (genus of Polianthes, from Greek "polis" = city & "anthes" = flower).

A Goddess of the moon, she is Artemis the huntress; she prowls the London Underground and the streets of New York, where some restaurants are protected from her by a warning: "No smoking, no Poison."

Otherworldly, she floats on the air and trails her scent for generations (Fracas by Robert Piguet). Wherever she walks scandal follows(Scandal by Roja Dove).

 

 

She is the queen of the night.

From the liliaceae family, she is a dangerous sister to lily of the valley, narcissus and lily.

 An Agent Provacateur of intoxication, she is a seductress

This girl is on fire, she will wrap you in her embrace until your skin smokes, then she  will consume you.

She is not Angel but a succubus

If you say her name … there is no return.

 

 Le Galion “Tubéreuse” 1939

 

The galleon you choose will no longer matter.

A tempest engulfs you but you have no compass.

If there is a crime of passion, she is the criminal. (Tubéreuse Criminelle by Serges Lutens)

She stalks her prey, she is a Vampyre.(Vamp in NY by Honoré des Près)

Beware meeting her green eyes or you will be paralyzed by her gaze.

 Theda Bara in “A fool there was”, 1915

 

Her head is like a cold metal stethoscope on your chest; your heart stops beating.

Cineole and methyl salicylate, medical molecules, freeze your blood while you  yearn for her kiss.

You have no choice.

Her heart is exotic, fiery and erotic.

Methyl benzoate fills your nostrils.

When you meet her no other flowers exist, she is like the Madagascan ylang, she is the "flower of flowers".

Her body suggests the gentle aromas of childhood, methylanthranilate of orange blossom absolute.

 "… Thinking of a bunch of tuberoses that had faded in his room once and he had almost died. Tuberoses when decomposed, smell human" (Emile Zola, Nana)

But her nature is  indolic, she is carnal and animalic. (Carnal Flower by Editions Frédéric Malle & Tubéreuse Animale by Histoire de Parfums)

 

 

She drives you beyond love, prohibited, to discover her Milky Way-  nonalactone. (Beyond Love by Killian)

Photo: Pierre Benard

 

A sphinx of the night, she is enigmatic as you flutter around her, a moth waiting to uncoil its proboscis to reach the juice at the bottom of the floral tubes.

She is virginal unsullied with the scent of lily, the flower of the Madonna. You want to play truth or dare but she is capricious (Tubéreuse virginale & Tubéreuse Capricieuse by Histoires de Parfums)

 

 Sainte Marie-Madeleine

 

Fertilizing her beauty, this Mona Lisa, is the twilight. (Tubéreuse by Mona Di Orio)

 

 Harvesting tuberose in Grasse

In Grasse, city of the alchemists, to extract her soul takes a period of three months.

For Indian tuberose or "hyacinth of India," the harvest is nine months long… (Tubéreuse Indiana by Creed)

 

…

 Eugène Thivier “Le cauchemar”, Musée des Augustins, Toulouse.

 "But nothing prevents a fatal shadow  that gradually advances on her pallor…her complexion tuberose" Sidonie Gabrielle Colette"-L’étoile Vesper (1946)

 This was the story of a nightmare, a dark desire to her luminous star .

 

 

Sensitive and fragile, she is naked and frees herself from all fears.

 Like a rose that blooms from the darkness into light, she awakens

 

 

The smell of her skin is made ​​of milky tree bark that is mixed with white musk of her sails.

 Near her head attached to her ear, the pearl.

 In the room,  there are emanations of Indian tea with cardamom, a masala chai .

 I am the bewitched dreamer who sleeps close to her.

 

  Jacobs Collins, titled "Seated Nude".

 

And when she decides to turn her head to look at me, I rejoice and smile through the pain

 This is the woman I love.

 She is my tuberose.

 

 Ombre et lumière , 1976, André Brasilier

« To translate an intense emotion, you must love like crazy, art is a love song » (André Brasilier)

 

 "The only difference between a madman and me, is that I am not crazy "- Salvador Dali

 She speaks the language of flowers;Tuberose brings love and insatiable passion

 

My poem/article is a  "lyrical" summary of a year of research, around the theme of tuberose. And this, in various disciplines: photography, botany, extraction, analysis and sensory quality, marketing, evaluation and composition.This research was presented at a conference, September 4, 2012, in the gardens of International Museum of Perfumery, in Mouans Sartoux, near Grasse.

Many niche perfume brands have supported me in this quest: Le Labo, Keiko Meicheri perfumes, Frédéric Malle Editions, By Killian, Eau d'Italie, Parfumerie Generale, Roja Dove parfums, Robert Piguet, Histoires de Parfums, Mona di Orio, Mad et Len, Aftelier parfums, Diptyque,M. Micaleff parfums, James Heeley Parfums.

 T

Thank you to the  fragrant "actresses" who starred in my love story and to the.companies who helped me to conceptualize and compose my tuberose.

 –  Pierre Bénard , Guest Contributor

Osmoart perfumes, colors and sounds.

 www.osmoart.com
osmoart@gmail.com
25, avenue Sainte Lorette

06130 GRASSE

Photo credits : Pierre Bénard.(use and reproduction prohibited)

For our draw we are offering a reader's choice of "three muses of tuberose "as interpreted by Gerald Ghislain of Histoires de Parfums:  2 oz of  TUBEREUSE 1-CAPRICIEUSE , TUBEREUSE 2-VIRGINALE or TUBEREUSE 3-ANIMALE . To be eligible leave a comment about Pierre's "lover'… something that really struck you about this piece (a quote from the article or something you learned) and your choice fromThe Tubereuse Trilogy.  Pierre spent a year researching and composing this piece..so please leave a comment from the heart. Draw closes Monday November 19, 2012

 Editor's Note:  I worked with Pierre on the translation from French and took some liberties as some concepts are lost in translation. I went Behind the Bottle with M.Ghislain about the Tuberose Trilogy as part of our CaFleureBon series..it was our very first.-MC

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume

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48 comments

  • Collins says:

    I so enjoyed reading Pierre’s beautiful poetry while listening to the timeless Chopin nocturne. I did not realize that tuberose was in the lily family and found this to be a fascinating connection. My choice would be Tubereuse 2-Virginale. Thank you for the great draw as well as the delightful read!

  • Lisa BTB says:

    Beautifully written Pierre. I do love tuberose myself and can really understand “Her heart is exotic, fiery and erotic.”

    (I am not entering the draw)

  • teleny parrish says:

    Capricious Tuberose….Cold, like a stethascope, sweet…yet animal. Yes, that is the Tuberose I love. Gloria Swanson wore Tuberose in Sunset Boulevard, and it’s that movie that I thought about while reading this, that, and Kenneth Anger, of course! What I liked about this: it’s atemporal. We’re talking about the Symbolists and Decadents as filtered through the ‘popular’ arts, but we’re also right now, and yet…I just can’t get midcentury off my mind.

  • Francesca says:

    I appreciate she, the Lover, has the freedom to “drive you beyond love, prohibited, to discover her Milky Way”
    I especially resonate with this quote, so true… Thinking of a bunch of tuberoses that had faded in his room once and he had almost died. Tuberoses when decomposed, smell human” (Emile Zola, Nana)

    Tuberose is so skillful in her magic, weaving the layers of her fabrics into the realms of imagination, daring and defiant. An actor who wears one mask after another never failing to convince the beholder of her character, but who is she really?
    Tuberuese 3-Animale for me please.

  • Kathryn says:

    It’s such a joy to see literary compositions joining with perfume compositions to create a whole new dimension in art. For real perfume enthusiasts, they will be sure to pick up on Pierre’s subtle hints and references to some popular tuberose dominant fragrances throughout his poem.

    I like this line, “In Grasse, city of the alchemists, to extract her soul takes a period of three months”. I guess you could say I learnt something by reading this poem. I never knew it was such a long process.

    I also love tuberose and I think it’s great that Pierre has gone to great lengths to describe the complex nature of this flower.

    If I am lucky enough to win, I would love a bottle of Tubereuse 2 Virginale. I adore its sweetness and it’s one of my favourite tuberose fragrances.

    Thanks for the draw!

  • Musette says:

    I think Tubereuse Animale would be the one for me. This was a beautiful post and interview, Michelyn. I love that nocturne. And there are so many hedonistic, visceral images (both graphic and written) – “the smell of milky tree bark’ nearly made me swoon!

    Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to try these!

    xoxoxoA

  • may says:

    I don’t know why but reading this and listening to the music gives a Victorian feel 😀

    To fully understand the poem, I would need some tuberose, especially interested in TUBEREUSE 3-ANIMALE 😛

  • Gloriana says:

    Beautifully written and magical
    It was if Pierre was able to incarnate tuberose into a real woman
    Loved all the perfumes worked into his poem and references to the botanical aspects
    The quotes by Dali,Colette and Zola were just perfect
    In some cultures I think maybe Mayan and Victorian tuberose is the flower of death
    Did any one else pick up on the tromp l’oiel skull when you look at the Dior ad and the painting
    That blew me away
    What a journey you have taken me on Pierre
    Tubereuse Animale for me
    I will remember this piece for a while but now I am going to rerrad it while listening to Chopin.

  • Liz K says:

    “This girl is on fire, she will wrap you in her embrace until your skin smokes, then she will consume you.” Yes! That is how I love my tuberose. Thank you for this beautiful (and informative) poetry. I would love to try Tuberose 3 Animale.

  • missp says:

    The fantastic Dior ads blew me away — the skull is incredible. I did a triple take, lol, and am going to buy a print of the 1892 one. I also had to google the Collins painting, “Seated Nude”. And I came here to read about perfume, lol! The quotes are fantastic, and fit the heady indolic tuberose like a lacy black victorian glove. 🙂 Thanks for the article!

  • Mujo says:

    “And when she decides to turn her head to look at me, I rejoice and smile through the pain. This is the woman I love.
    She is my tuberose.”

    My choice is Tuberose Animale.

  • RVB says:

    I love the quote” Cineole and methyl salicylate, medical molecules, freeze your blood while you yearn for her kiss…” The smell of methyl salicylate is one of the most interesting aspects of the narcotic white flowers like tuberose.I think Pierre captures that unique aspect with the quote.It’s why I enjoy the mentholated opening of Tubereuse Criminelle so much.Enraptured by by the smell as you lean in closer the cool “medical molecules” freeze your blood…I love it!

  • Tativa says:

    I have always wanted to smell Tubereuse 3 Animale! Well since a friend recommended it in the summer.

    I thought it was cool how the poem connected lots of different works of perfume into different facets of a lover/woman.

  • Alica says:

    “This is the woman I love. She is my tuberose. ” This is exactly what a tuberose means to me – my most valued fragrance note. If I said it with may words, it would be – This is the man I love….etc. OK, be it challenging – I would like Tubereuse Animale. Thank you!

  • Jan says:

    I like the line “Like a rose that blooms from the darkness into light, she awakens”, as the lush fragrance of tuberose seems surprisingly diurnal, while it also has a wicked character which rose lacks.
    I am a huge fan of tuberose and already own a big bottle of the phenomenal Animale, so my choice would be Capricieuse.

  • just breathe says:

    As someone new to beautiful perfume, everything written on Cafleurebon I absorb. However, this was by far the most beautiful and moving post I have read…the writing, the music, the art, the quotes….just awesome! On my meager perfume budget I have not had the luxury of knowing tuberose and all the fragrances mentioned but after this article I want to try all three of these tuberoses by histoires de parfumes!!
    For the draw I would oick Tubereuse 2- Virginale- I think this would be a good one for someone new to experiencing tuberose and I love the notes (frangipani 🙂 !) and the description on the website.
    thanks for this great draw!

  • Rebecca says:

    What struck me most with this beautiful music-accompanied tuberose medley, was the sentence “Her head is like a cold metal stethoscope on your chest; your heart stops beating.” as it is totally opposed to my relation with tuberose.
    To me, it is a warm, dizzying, addictive, creamy scent with none of the screeching feeling of a cold stethoscope. But everyone’s reactions are different and I will definitely keep the stethoscope analogy in mind the next time I wear something tuberose-y, for a new experience.
    Hopefully it will be Tubereuse1: Capricieuse!

  • Dalex says:

    “Sensitive and fragile, she is naked and frees herself from all fears.”

    Great! Indeed, tuberose smells of a naked woman’s skin. How one can not love tuberose then?

    My choice is Virginale!

    Thanks!

  • brie says:

    “she floats on the air and trails her scent for generations”
    Bravo, Pierre and Michelyn! Out of all the reviews I have read thus far this experience was the most extraordinary- gorgeous prose, artwork, classical music combined to make me REALLY want to try all three of these divine tuberose scents.
    However, since I must choose just one it would be Tubereuse 2-virginale as I see this as a fragrance I could appreciate and share with my daughter 🙂
    thank you for this generous draw!

  • GregS says:

    The mention of Vampyres, Succubus and the fact that tuberoses smell like humans when they decompose…everything melancholy in this article. I found the whole thing on the obscure almost ‘twilight zonish’ Anyhow, Perhaps I will try the Virginale. Thank you

  • Lisa R says:

    What a beautiful poem. I didn’t know that it takes 3 months to extract in Grasse! I would like to try Animale ^^

  • Tama says:

    This was a great article, a true paean to one of my favorite flowers. I enjoyed the phrases conjuring all the great tuberose fragrances.

    The imagery was wonderful and I enjoyed having something to listen to as I read.

    The quote about the decomposing flowers smelling human intrigued me, because I can see that happening – the flower itself is so fleshy.

    I would like to try Animale.

  • sujaan says:

    Pierre Bénard was able to capture through this beautiful piece the vulnerability that one feels when truly in love. The desperation for mercy. And it was amazing to me how much more the piece came alive once I was able to hear it accompanied by the music. So powerful!
    I love this kind of art, Andy Tauer and Brian Pera come to mind as they are combining media. The perfume world is branching out into new and clever directions and I am so happy to appreciate them.
    Very hard to choose for the draw, I’ll go with Tubéreuse Capricieuse. Thank you!

  • ana says:

    This was an wonderful post set by equally wonderful music!The imagery is very inspired and so are the quotes. As Gloriana first mentioned, the trompe l’oeil skull in the Dior ad is a stroke of genius.Everybody said what I wanted to say so much better!The victorian feel of the images, the desperation of love, how a woman can be both an angel and demon to the man that loves her. I like that Pierre tried to capture all the different ideas of femininity that tuberose can embody:it is such a versatile note, can be soothing and threatening at the same time, cold and creamy, virginal and promiscuous.I would love to win Tubereuse Animale, of course. I love the danger signals of the tuberose. I lean towards her dark side.

  • d3m0lici0n says:

    In Grasse, city of the alchemists, to extract her soul takes a period of three months.

    For Indian tuberose or “hyacinth of India,” the harvest is nine months long… (Tubéreuse Indiana by Creed)

    Great piece and fun to read. My pick is Tuberose 3 Animale

  • Barry says:

    I loved the background music of Chopin. I hope you do this for more of your reviews. Throughout I thought these were quotes or references to other works, so I was wondering the source of all these words. I liked the memento mori images. I choose the Tuberose 3 Animale if I win.

  • Lorraine L says:

    A wonderful article – loved how all the notable tuberose scents were woven into the narrative. A line that stood out: “Her heart is exotic, fiery and erotic.” Indeed!

    My choice would be Tubereuse 1. Thanks so much!

  • Isa says:

    For me, Tuberose is a difficult lover in perfume, but in real life, when you are in a garden and suddenly the breeze brings its fragrance… it’s wonderful. In Spain we have a similar flower called “galán de noche” (night gentleman). It scents the air in the evening.

    A quote: “She is the queen of the night. From the liliaceae family, she is a dangerous sister to lily of the valley, narcissus and lily”.

    I have learnt that tuberose is related to these flowers. I had no idea. It’s funny because they smell so different…

    I tried the Tubereuse Trilogy some years ago and I remember that I loved the three of them, but my favorite was Animale.

    Thanks!

  • MariaA says:

    She haunts the cities, she is a seductress, a huntress, a vampyre… So poetic !!
    A Goddess of the moon, she is Artemis the huntress; she prowls the London Underground and the streets of New York, where some restaurants are protected from her by a warning: “No smoking, no Poison.”
    I really loved that part! Thank you for sharing!

  • LumpkinLuv says:

    Sound and sight and finally scent unite in this masterful piece of the captivating Tuberose I had to take out all my tuberose scents to appreciate this piece to its fullest. I love all the tidbits of knowledge especially that it takes to Grasse alchemists 3 months to fully coax its delicious scent into their hands. Thanks Pierre.
    I love all three but i lean towards TUBEREUSE 1-CAPRICIEUSE for its spiciness factor

  • breathesgelatin says:

    Didn’t realize that Indian tuberose has a 9 month harvest season.

    All of these sound interesting, as I am a tuberose fan, but I’ll enter for the Tubereuse 3 Animale.

  • Deanna G. says:

    What a beautiful poem! I love how “she” can be both seductive & virginal, dangerous & fragile. A beautiful conflict. Utterly irresistible!

    (I would choose TUBEREUSE 3-ANIMALE.)

  • Lean S says:

    I really liked the poem and was struck most by the very first line, “While other flowers slumber, she is perfumed, dressed in black haute couture.” It drew me in to keep reading. Certainly portrays the very sentiments I have towards the scent of tuberose. I love tuberose in perfumery and I read this and truly want to exude such a nature through scent when the mood strikes. Thank you for the draw! I would love to choose ANIMALE.

  • Fernando says:

    I was paricularly taken by how the skull disappears in Dior’s version os the image! Tuberose is amazing, Animale is the one!

  • T-Cat says:

    “… Thinking of a bunch of tuberoses that had faded in his room once and he had almost died. Tuberoses when decomposed, smell human” (Emile Zola, Nana)

    That creeped me out a bit. No wonder tuberose, when alive, smells so sexual.

    Animale, like most, would be my choice

  • sherapop says:

    Thank you so much for this fascinating reflection on the complexity of tuberose! I have been amazed lately at the number of tuberose treasures out there. For so long, I equated Fracas with tuberose, but now there are at least dozen beautiful and entirely distinct tuberose-centric perfumes! Did you mention Versace Blonde?

    If I won, I’d choose Tubéreuse Capricieuse.

  • Gabry says:

    “She speaks the language of flowers;Tuberose brings love and insatiable passion” I love tuberose! And I loved this poem! My choice: Tubereuse 1 Capricieuse

  • Borko Boris says:

    Tuberose encompasses so many qualities… It has the nature of a woman: fragile, sensual, sensitive, fascinating.

    No wonder that one can lust so much for tuberose.

    Really liked the quote of Andre Brasilier: “To translate an intense emotion, you must love like crazy, art is a love song”.

    Thanks for loving so crazy tuberose and I am sure that all of them are amazing, but my choice would be Animale.

  • mridula says:

    If any flower could do all of this it would be the tuberose. I’ve been around women who wear it in their hair and yes, it is cold and hot. But what struck me from this prose-poem is this line: ‘Her body suggests the gentle aromas of childhood’ It takes an exceptional insight to see the child in the fiery coolness of tuberose. Wonderfully evocative flowet and wonderfuly evocative writing to capture it. I would love to be entered in the draw for Tubereuse Virginal

  • cynthia says:

    She speaks the language of flowers;Tuberose brings love and insatiable passion. This is the quote that really defines tuberose to me. I have visited Bali many times and a hotel I love in Ubud has tuberose everywhere. When you enter their walls this smell overwhelms you, and truly brings on a kind of madness! It is a truly narcotic scent. I understand why it could inspire such passion in perfumers.
    My pick would be the Tuberose Animale. I love the Histories line.

  • kurac says:

    “the only difference between a madman and me is that i am not crazy.”

    now this is something i can relate to! love it!!

    also, as much as 9 months to harvest? that’s a curious piece of information right there…

    i would like a Tuberose Virginal.

  • Scent trail says:

    A beautiful and complex poem that has me mesmerized by the richness of the prose, imagery and music
    I don’t recall ever reading anything quite like this
    I will forever associate tuberose fragrances with the image of the seated nude painting and the Charles Gilbert painting where the skulls head lurks behind the beautiful woman at her Boudoir
    I wish M Benard the best of luck with his future endeavors with osmoart
    My choice is tuberose Animale

  • MNtwin says:

    I didn’t realize tuberose was related to Lily of the Valley and narcissus. I also didn’t realize it takes 3 to 9 months to harvest, wow.

    If I won, I’d pick Tuberose Animale – thanks!

  • Ana G says:

    Otherworldly, she floats on the air and trails her scent for generations (Fracas by Robert Piguet).

    My choice: Tubéreuse Virginal

  • Mel says:

    Great prose.

    A sphinx of the night, she is enigmatic as you flutter around her, a moth waiting to uncoil its proboscis to reach the juice at the bottom of the floral tubes. Tuberose is such a tease, constantly evolving.

    What really speaks to me is “She speaks the language of flowers;Tuberose brings love and insatiable passion”. My first sniff of a tuberose dominant perfume was incredibly sensual.

    If I won, I’d pick Tuberose Animale. Thanks for the draw

  • Amer says:

    First off I think there is a mistake in the etymology of “Polianthes”. The “poli-” actually derves from “πολύς”= many, not “πόλις”=city. The translation would be “with/of many flowers”. I do however see how the translation “flower of the city” can be infinitely for poetic.

    I believe this is a very interesting material centered article and I would like to see more of these, although I realise this would be hard because of the research and coordination this would require. I particularly enjoyed the choice of pictures which I found to be very unexpected. I think I can see several of them in a new light, colored by the fragrance of tuberose. Jacobs Collins’ nude is such a strange and melancholic portrait of tuberose.

    From the three versions of tuberose I’d pick Tuberose Animale

  • Holly F. says:

    I really enjoyed reading this beautiful tuberose-inspired poetry. and this quote was the perfect accompaniment: “But nothing prevents a fatal shadow that gradually advances on her pallor…her complexion tuberose” Sidonie Gabrielle Colette”-L’étoile Vesper (1946)

    I would be so lucky to win Tubereuse 3- Animale. Thanks for all your hard work and time spent on this piece of beauty. I love how it closes: “She speaks the language of flowers;Tuberose brings love and insatiable passion”