Voyages Imaginaires La Couleur De La Nuit by Karl©
I was immediately intrigued by Voyages Imaginaires straight after the brand appeared on Indigo Perfumery’s live Instagram session on April 24th. The perfumers’ creative vision to produce an olfactory trip using only natural raw materials was a lofty ambition with risks attached so when I received the call from founder Camille Goutal that their range was on its way to me to sample, I was struck by the butterflies of excitement associated with a special new experience. Voyages Imaginaires is the brainchild of both Camille Goutal and Isabelle Doyen, and their philosophy is to take us on a voyage to the heart of creation. They invite us to explore perfumes that take us to new horizons and bring to us through their own lives expressed in each perfume a change of scenery and mindset as to what all natural fragrances can be.
Camille Goutal & Isabelle Doyen of Voyages Imaginaires – Image courtesy of the brand
The challenge to bring to market haute couture perfumery using a restricted palette of all-naturals is both costly and time consuming. Associated with this is their eco-friendly presentation made from biodegradable cellophane and virgin box of FSC-labelled textured paper.
Voyages Imaginaires Bottles edited by Emmanuelle© Voyages Imaginaires La Couleur de La Nuit on left
The bottles are 75ml vaporisers of translucent glass, which are refillable and the cap a raw expression of structure. The painstaking work involved to develop these products are a signature of a brand with a vision of purest quality and elegance. All this would be to no end should the scents fail in bringing one pleasure and are original in both concept and olfactive experience.
Voyages Imaginaires La Couleur de La Nuit double sided label bottle – photos by Voyages Imaginaires, edited by Emmanuelle©
Enchantment and emotion are close to Camille Goutal’s and Isabelle Doyen’s hearts. As someone who draws her inspirations from the love of music, art and literature, her signature is evident when spritzing Voyages La Couleur de La Nuit La Couleur De La Nuit. So tonight, let us saunter across the city of light and enter the nightlife of 1880’s Paris.
Moulin Rouge via wikipedia
‘These evocations of another world, these wild conflagrations, these twilight tones, these overexcited emanations disappeared in their turn and a hallali of colours burst, prestigious, unheard of.’ J.K. Huysmans, Les Similitudes, Croquis Parisiens (1880)
The excerpt from ‘Les Similitudes’ above by J.K. Huysmans is a poetic painting of mind-blowing proportions and a sensory escapade, describing late night caprices, it played a distinct part in the inspiration of Isabelle Doyen Perfumer of Voyage Imaginaires in beginning her fragrant journey. Reading ‘Les Similitudes’ draws colourful visions across one’s mind and is a dizzying recollection of the smells and shadows of twilight in Paris witnessing the cabaret scene in wonderful technicolour.
Our imagination allows us license for creativity and our own escapades. When I wear a perfume such as this, it opens a specific mood and is like linking together the final pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and experiencing Voyages Imaginaires La Couleur De La Nuit was like passing through the looking glass into another realm and understanding precisely the vibe that it was intended to create. Whether in Europe, the USA or Asia; the twilight haze of reflections on damp sidewalks is something we can all relate to. And so, we travel to an evening in the city of lights circa the 1880s: picture yourself here, it is marvelously outlandish, and neighborhoods swell with rich cabarets offering up all types of nightlife sojourns. From the sublime to the seditious, patrons visit gothic nightspots themed around heaven and hell, all kinds of venues are on offer here in Bohemian Paris. Voyages Imaginaries La Couleur De La Nuit opens with an aromatic accord built around lavender, rose and geranium. This is our opportunity to casually meander through wet streets with our heels crisply striking the cobbles taking in the ruby lit windows of late-night bars and cafes. The lavender and geranium provide the sparkle and cool aloofness and the rose keeps the fresh aspects going whilst also warming up proceedings. This exhilarating prelude gives way to a slinky and seductive bewitching sweetness as we are met with a voluptuous vanilla in combination with fir balsam that projects us straight into the vivid scene of daring private members clubs of a bygone era. You get the sense of dark speakeasies and clandestine escapades. We travel deeper down the steps into the vaults where ouverte personalities recline on garnet chaise lounge sofas in anticipation of the festivities to come. The fervor is brought across when these notes mingle with a fierce patchouli which beckons us closer to discover what lies beyond the velvet red curtains.
courtesy of Creative Commons
It is a sweet seduction; the amber and woody nuances turn light to black… the notes mix and give an impression of slightly sticky lips like a lingering tender midnight kiss. The depth of La Couleur De La Nuit becomes a languorous essence that mingles so smoothly as to transform with the heat of bodies in flux. One seems to lose one’s wits in the caress of these passionate tones which sway between sweet and deep. As the scent descends further honeyed aspects pulse through and we reach the climactic resolution of a chypre with chameleon like qualities. This is slow perfumery that unfurls its secrets over time and the olfactory experience is unique and unexpected with lacquered layers and a seductive heart. Although I can imagine that it may be polarising; be aware, it does break the mold, Voyages Imaginaries La Couleur De La Nuit is a scent for connoisseurs, as what you experience in the beginning is completely juxtaposed by the ending.
Karl Topham, Editor
Voyages Imaginaires, La Couleur De La Nuit launched in 2020.
Notes: Lavender, Rose, Geranium, Fir Balsam, Vanilla, Patchouli
Voyages Imaginaires La Couleur De La Nuit kindly sent to Karl for review purposes. Opinion are my own and I wore it to a wedding recently… big compliments getter
Please Read: Michelyn & Ermano’s Best of 2021 where Voyages Imaginaires was voted best Natural Fragrance House.
Ida Meister’s review of Tea & Rock N Roll and Emmanuelle Varron’s House overview.
Voyages Imaginaires La Couleur De La Nuit Image by Karl
Thanks to the generosity of Voyages Imaginaires we have a 75 ml bottle of La Couleur De La Nuit for one registered reader in the EU, USA, UK, You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you find most interesting based on Karl’s review of Voyages Imaginaries La Couleur de La Nuit and where you live. Draw closes 6/19/22
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