The Birth of Séville à l'aube...

When you read these lines, I’ll be attending (and perhaps participating in) the grande pesée of Séville à l’aube, in sufficient quantities to produce a few thousand bottles, with my dear friends of Art et Parfum in Cabris, near Grasse.

The very tricky operation consists in weighing (the meaning of pesée) and adding the different ingredients of the formula to make up the oil (i.e. the mix without alcohol and water). This must be carried out manually, in a specific order, since all materials don’t have the same consistency – some are resins, other powders, oils, etc. – and some must be heated at different temperatures. In other words, it’s complicated. But according to Olivier Maure, the owner of the company founded by Edmond Roudnitska, you can smell the accords taking shape all the way from the garden, and even identify a perfumer’s style by the way they build up. Of course, I can’t say how thrilled I am to be there for the birth of the fragrance I inspired Bertrand Duchaufour to compose!

I know that in Parisian L’Artisan Parfumeur counters and shops, there are already waiting lists for Séville à l’aube (the only people I’ve heard of not loving it are SAs from other brands… ‘nuff said!). I know testers are available in many points of sale, though not sure where in the world – Paris and London, definitely. They’re sometimes tucked under the counter: the ladies tell me they’d be empty by now if they were left out, and that many of the people who test it are quite disgruntled not to be able to buy it straight away! Just so you know, though, if I’m happy that people seem to love the fragrance, it’s in  a purely disinterested fashion, since I am not, repeat, not, making a penny out of it! My part of the deal was getting the story. Anyway, feel free to ask SAs at L’Artisan Parfumeur points of sale for the tester, and report back if it’s already arrived in your city, I’d love to know.

For a lovely report by Angela of Now Smell This on our visit to Art et Parfum, click here and here. For my (much shorter) version, click here. And of course, you can learn all about the genesis of Séville à l'aube, and read a detailed account of my first visit to Art et Parfum, in The Perfume Lover.

And please check out Suzanna's lovely review of Séville à l'aube on Bois de Jasmin,

as well as Armellide's review of The Perfume Lover on Ecosrose, with an astonishingly generous draw of 130 samples! Needless to say, I'm immensely touched and pleased by both.

 Illustration: Odilon Redon's The Birth of Venus.