Dealing with the samples from Ajne yesterday was such a profound experience in tedium that I reached into my sample box today with the deliberate intent of finding something to shake things up a little. Lo and behold, I struck gold with Le Labo, the modern outfit based out of Paris (and New York) that can always be counted on to produce fragrances of interest, if not downright beauty.
The vial I clutched in my hand was a sample of their London boutique exclusive, Poivre 23 (poivre is French for "pepper"), and all I have to say in response is Hallelujah! Even though the name says pepper, the nose detects a vanilla fragrance crafted as a type of Red Cross Relief Effort for those who are aware of the difference between a vanilla bean pod and a vanilla cupcake -- and while I know that might sound awful and condescending, the truth is only awful and condescending when it singles you out from the crowd and starts kicking you in the shins (a grinning emoticon would go perfectly right here).
Poivre 23 begins life with a unique exhale like dried habanero pepper dust, then matures into a smokey, spicy take on vanilla, as if the perfumers in the lab blended a number of resinish, woodsy ingredients that exhibit vanillic tendencies (i.e. labdanum, benzoin, tonka, etc.) and said, "Voila! C'est vanille!" And since imitation vanilla is manufactured from clove oil (eugenol) or as a breakdown product of lignin from conifer trees, I have to wonder if that faint, spruce-goose and spice choir singing in the background is a vague nod to the origins of contemporary vanillin production.
The actual scent notes to Poivre 23 list bourbon pepper as an ingredient. In gourmand terms, Bourbon Pepper is "a mix of cracked black and green peppercorns laced with bourbon", but I get a floraled fire-pepper vibe out of it . . . of course, Bourbon Pepper most likely refers to the famous pink peppercorns (poivre rose -- a berry from the cashew family rather than a spice from the piperacea vine) from the Island of Reunion which was once ruled by the Bourbon Kings of France, and is still a French outlay; coincidentally, the Reunion Island is near the Island of Madagascar (another French outlay) which is known for its vanilla, which leads me to believe that Poivre 23 was crafted from spices and materials found solely in France and/or French territories.
Makes a lot of sense for a fragrance created by a small, contemporary French company proud of their country's perfumery heritage.
Poivre 23 was conceived by Nathalie Lorson, who also created Lalique Encre Noir, another fragrance I'm a total fanboy over.
I'd trade the Dallas exclusive Aldehyde 44 in a heartbeat for the opportunity to walk into my local Barney's and purchase Poivre 23. While Aldehyde 44 is undeniably lovely, it's so sparkling and irrepressible that it makes me feel like I'm being waterboarded by Strawberry Shortcake. I'll take the spicy vanilla, please!
Full scent note list: cistus, patchouli, bourbon pepper, sandalwood, gaiac wood, incense, vanilla, styrax. Now I just have to figure out how to get my hands on a bottle of this brew . . .
***Note: Did I mention that I hate it when over-priced, exclusive perfume boutiques won't just take an internet order and ship the dratted product to my doorstep . . . this is the 21st century, right?
***Note 2: Review has been revised twice -- first to reflect the correct exclusive city of offer, and second to reflect updated perfumer info posted on the Le Labo website. Despite how much info I originally got wrong, the fragrance itself is pretty darn great.
FYI:
I started out today with the intention of reviewing Comme des Garcons Bijou alongside the Poivre 23, but Bijou turned out to be one of those awful vegetable aisle fragrances that I can't stand, so there's no point in my going into any further detail about it.
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"...those who are aware of the difference between a vanilla bean pod and a vanilla cupcake..."
Wait I know this: One is a crazy delicious quantum of manna from heaven and the other is some kind of plant thingy.
said:
*ding ding ding ding ding*
And we have a winnah! Give the man his prize!
There is a small typo in your post - Poivre 23 is the London exclusive, not Paris. The Paris exclusive is Vanille 44 (which I hear is a lovely delicate incensey vanilla). In fact another poster on Perfume Posse said she layered the two to great effect.
I have a sample of both winging their way to me at this minute - can't wait to sniff! Will report back once I've done so.
said:
A SMALL TYPO?!!!
Mon dieu! Thank you for correcting me. For some odd reason, I totally had it in my head that this was their Paris exclusive, even though I was reading the information right in front of me that it was their London piece.
Post has been corrected.
*sigh*
Obviously, my mind was more focused on the Friday evening martini I was going to reward myself with for a week of posting.
Poivre 23 is a beautiful peppery vanilla, and now I'm looking forward to sampling their actual vanilla release. I'm sure it's wonderful, and layering the two sounds just shy of a brilliant idea.
Harumph. You've got another fantabulous sounding scent. Me, I'm sitting here with Montale Aoud Roses Petals and having trouble getting past the medicine. Chatting up Poivre is, well, rubbing salt into the wound.
(It had to be said.)
And you had another pairings opportunity? I'm telling ya, you've got to play my game. What goes with the martini? If the martini is dirty? If you use the other kind of vermouth? If you Gibson it up with an onion?? Hmmmm????
My Roses Petals goes well with...Robitussin? No that's not it; that German liquid vitamin? no, not quite; Aha! with Mrs. Meyer's geranium rose all-purpose cleaner, which as we know, we are to keep out of the reach of children, and were supposed to keep out of the bar, but apparently washed the crystal with.
(I think I sound pouty. Maybe I should scrub. But after my Cradle of Light experience, I'm committed to the long date.)
btw, I laughed out loud at your snarky bit... waterboarded by Strawberry Shortcake, indeed. :)
said:
I have a hard time with the Montale line. They don't usually work well for me. I like Greyland, but I think that's the only Montale I've tried so far that I've liked. I do have several other samples of theirs that I still need to get to, and maybe I'll do that next week and see if there's something else form Montale that trips my olfactory triggers.
And you're right -- I needed to go with something a little more complementary to Poivre 23 than the Bijou. It was just a terrible combination, like brandy and diet coke, or a gin martini with watermelon balls.
And I am a firm believer in going the full ride with a fragrance -- three hours is about when a lot of them are just getting down to the nitty gritty. Granted, if you don't particularly like what you're wearing after three hours, then there's no sense in continuing (unless you want to write a full review), but I've had fragrances twist and turn for hours and hours and hours. For example, Indult Tihota -- I originally thought it was a yummy, smoky, incense vanilla until I woke up in the middle of the night and it was powerfully radiating a way simplistic, too sweet vanilla all through the bedroom. It put me right off the stuff.
I always shake my head when I read comments on perfume blogs from people who talk about scrubbing something off after a couple of minutes. A couple of minutes! What can they possibly tell about a perfume before the opening has even burned off?
So, yeah. The long date is always a good idea . . .
BTW: email me your mailing address (if you're comfortable with that) and I'll kick some of my excess samples in your direction, including the Poivre 23. You can find my email address in the "About Me" section on this site. I tried contacting you through your own website, but you don't list an email address anywhere that I could see.
There are only a few Montales I really like as well - Greyland, Blue Amber, Wood & Spices, Red Aoud and Chypre Vanillee are the ones I like enough to wear regularly. Mostly the oud and/or rose ones are too medicinal.
As for scrubbing after a few minutes, there was only one fragrance that I felt compelled to sandblast off my wrists, and that was Norma Kamali Incense. After 15 minutes I couldn't take it any more and scrubbed. Then I carefully wrapped the vial in a ziploc bag and walked it out to the trash can.
said:
I'm picturing you in some Reynolds Wrap home version of a HazMat suit, walking the toxic bag to the outside garbage bin, held in front of you between the ends of a very long pair of tongs . . .
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