The brief: a garden in Sicily. The inspiration: the classic Eau d’Orange Verte, with its blend of sparkling citruses and green notes – mint, cassis and buchu leaf.
But Bertrand Duchaufour’s Jardin du Poète for Eau d’Italie quickly veers from its initial “green orange” cologne vibe with an added cold-spice vibrancy (cardamom and pink pepper), into something milkier and moister. The fruity, sulphurous facets of the cassis, buchu leaf and grapefruit tug the muguet/cyclamen/rose heart notes towards something a little tropical, between mango and melon. The effect, stronger on paper than on skin, is slightly reminiscent of his Fleur de Liane for L’Artisan Parfumeur. Along with fig leaf and fig milk notes, it conjures the green shady patches of the Mediterranean island “poet’s garden”.
Alongside the wet green shade, the sun-baked vegetation of the garden is evoked with whiffs of hay, moss and immortelle. The citrusy facet of cypress drives the top-note hesperidic accord right into the base notes, its aromatic, camphoraceous facets conjuring the combustible smells of rocky Mediterranean hillsides.
With its contrasting cool/warm and moist/dry effects, Le Jardin du Poète veers off significantly from the dark, majestic, austere weirdness of the initial Eau d’Italie/Duchaufour collaborations – Baume du Doge, Sienne l’hiver, Bois d’Ombrie. As a consequence, it is easier to like and wear, but won’t command the same type of puzzled fascination as the earlier oddballs. Clearly this is the direction the owners of the Le Sirenuse hotel want to take, since their last three scents have been on the tamer, more delicate side. This is not Duchaufour at his most virtuosic, but shows he can work in a quietly lyrical mood – when he’s asked nicely.
Illustration: Pompeian-style fresco from the Villa Livia in Rome
How does it compare to Ninfeo Mio, which also has delightful play of green and milky facets. It's my favorite garden scent that really evokes a place to me.
RépondreSupprimer-Marla
Marla, I'm only on the top notes of both now but right off Ninfeo Mio is a lot raspier and aromatic (the bergamot and lavender, plus what I suspect is a shot of "spiky woods"), and with stronger "cat pee" cassis bud facets, while by contrast, with its sweet orange, Jardin du Poète is rounder, a little like orange ice cream. There's also a fruity/aqueous effect that's not present in NM.
RépondreSupprimerIt's funny, that cassis/cat pee tang shows up about once every 3 times I wear Ninfeo Mio. Doesn't stop me from trying it again, though! I'll have to try Jardin, an orange ice cream in a garden sounds very lovely....
RépondreSupprimer-Marla
Marla, better test first, I seem to remember you're pretty sensitive to aquatic notes and there's a tad of that in JdP...
RépondreSupprimerAck, Calone, EEEEeeeeee!!!! (faints dead away)- and other "aquatic notes", too....
RépondreSupprimer-M
Off the top of my nose, I wouldn't say calone. More like Algix, which gives floral notes a moist effect. And cyclamen is also an aqueous note.
RépondreSupprimerAt least the name is more evocative than many recent releases. Isn't the new Balenciaga something boring like "L'Essence"? But perhaps niche perfumery names are always more interesting.
RépondreSupprimerNot to mention harder to find, because the really simple things are copyrighted to the gills so that only big companies can afford to buy them, or to maintain the copyright until they have the product for the name... Which partly explains why niche perfume names are often longer. Hermès sued Frapin over the use of "Terre" in "Terre de Sarment" because of "Terre d'Hermès"... Hope they won't look askance at this Jardin because of their own series.
RépondreSupprimerI will try this - I wouldn't mind having another wearable Duchaufour. I keep hoping for a wearable one that I will find as compelling as the oddball ones.
RépondreSupprimerDefinitely wearable. There are a few in the new/not so new Mon Numéro line that are definitely wearable too, while still retaining their quirkiness. I'll be reviewing a couple shortly.
RépondreSupprimerOops - that was nozknoz on the wearable versus oddball Duchaufours. ~~nozknoz
RépondreSupprimerGotcha! To me, the not-too-wearable ones are the ones that feature notes that read as too masculine, like Al Oudh into the drydown, Sartorial (way too much of a fougère) or the next Penhaligon's, also a fougère because it's a rewrite of an older fragrance, L'Esprit du Roi. But most of the stuff from the last couple of years works better for me than his earlier ones.
RépondreSupprimerHow many times have I heard, oh my fave perfume is... What is the name... Eau de something... Fleur what was it... Pedestrian perfume wearers don't pay enough attention. Only a bit of an excuse for Hermes' and other perfume co's actions. (one friend even told me, oh I'm a perfume bitch-whatever that means-then couldn't remember the name of the perfume she usually wears)
RépondreSupprimerCarla, I wonder if that's when the name of the perfume is French? Sometimes a foreign language refuses to imprint itself in memory... But I've often noticed what you say as well.
RépondreSupprimerI am really enjoying Le Jardin du Poète. Yes, there are fruity and aqueous facets to this (which could become tricky on me), along with the citrusy/floral/spicy, but the whole thing seems wonderfully balanced, and never seems to veer out of control.
RépondreSupprimerJarvis, glad to see you back! Yes, I agree, the scent is well balanced and that aqueous touch never veers into aquatic. I like the contrast with the dry aromatic effects too.
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