L'Artisan Parfumeur Fragrance Profile Service

Nuit de Tubereuse by Bertrand Duchafour

When planning a wedding, there are a million decisions to be made, some big, some small, and all seemingly important, at least to someone! Fragance is an important addition to a wedding, I think. I've known, almost since the moment we got engaged, what perfume I was going to wear to get married in. I'd picked out Seville A L'Aube, created by Bertrand Duchafour for L'Artisan Parfumeur, as, from the second I smelled it initially, it spoke to me, and I'd been dreaming about it ever since.  It's released this week, and I had been planning to buy a bottle.


But ... MrLippie doesn't like it.  In his words, it is, "too strong and too heady", apparently.  Which is a shame, because it is a stunningly beautiful orange blossom and incense fragrance, which would have been perfect for a winter wedding. Warm and floral, and seemingly innocent in the top notes, and fleshy-sexy as hell underneath.  But, alas, it is not to be. I can't wear a fragrance MrL hates. Well actually, I can, but maybe not on our wedding day ... I can grant him that.  Just this once.  I suppose.

Fou d'Absinthe by Olivia Giacobetti

However, L'Artisan heard about our clash of the wedding fragrances, and, invited us along to their beautiful jewel-box of a perfume shop in Covent Garden for a joint fragrance profiling.  We were delighted to take part, and went along one evening last week to meet with Diana who was there to guide us through this particular scented journey ...

Safran Troublant by Olivia Giacobetti

Your fragrance profile starts with a few questions about your favourite scents, favourite perfumes, and the perfumes you grew up with your mother wearing.  Diana took great pains to point out that my choices were "eclectic" - but this I already knew! Then, you're given selected L'Artisan fragrances two by two, in their signature cups with a fragranced muslin in the bottom, and asked to say which one you prefer.  The ones you like go to one side, and the ones you don't choose go back into the display.


Then, once this is done, you go back through the ones you like, until you have narrowed your selection down to just two or three of the original line-up of fragrances.  I'll just say that some of these choices are surprisingly difficult! You're then sprayed with your fragrances of choice so you can see how they work on your skin.

Timbuktu by Bertrand Duchafour

We took this in turns, and I ended up narrowing down the fragrances to three: Nuit de Tubereuse (a glamorous white floral), Timbuktu (a deconstructed vetiver, heady with incense) and Safran Troublant (a spicy, spicy rose with saffron and ginger).  I was sprayed with these and settled down to quietly sniff myself whilst MrLippie went through his profile, which was - probably unsurprisingly - considerably quicker than mine!  Eventually, MrLippie narrowed his choices down to Timbuktu (great minds think alike, apparently!), and Fou d'Absinthe (anise with pine and patchouli).


When the scents were on my skin, it was clear that there was only one winner for me, and that was Safran Troublant, this initially spiky, gingery, saffron gourmand (it dries down to a vanilla rice pudding on my skin, which is a lot nicer than it sounds), isn't something I'd have picked out in a million years, to be honest, but on my skin it was definitely the one that smelled most "me".  Foody fragrances normally turn my stomach a bit, but this pulls of the wonderful trick of being both extremely comforting, and a little edgy, all at the same time.  I like it a lot. All three of us smelled all three of the scents I was wearing, and we all picked out the same one - a fragrance consensus, that never happens!


For MrLippie the choice was a lot harder, both Fou d'Absinthe and Timbuktu suited his skin magnificently well, and there was lots of to-ing and fro-ing, and eventually, he settled on Timbuktu as his fragrance of choice.  A very good choice as it happens, it's rather wonderful, and, as it smells pretty good on me, too - I'd be bound to say it was a good choice! I regret, slightly, that he didn't pick the licorice of Fou D'Absinthe, but his choice, I guess...


So, will Timbuktu and Safran Troublant end up being what we wear to the wedding?  At this moment in time, I'm not sure.  Safran is going to get a lot of wear, I can already tell that, but my dreams have been haunted, just a little by the sour mango, tuberose and earth of Nuit de Tubereuse ever since I smelled it too, so there may just be another little purchase in the offing ...


Fragrance profiling is available to all L'Artisan customers, you just need to make an appointment with your local store.  Purchases aren't necessary.  I'd highly recommend the service, it will make you think very differently about the scents you like.


Get Lippie and MrLippie were guests of L'Artisan Parfumeur.
 
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