New line: Histoires d'Eaux
I'm glad to write about them for
various reasons: first, because I enjoyed the scents, and then
because the brand -despite its French name- is 100% Italian, and in
recent years Italy's been producing new lines of good quality, and I
love to speak about them when it's the case.
Behind this new line there are Palmiro
Péaquin and Aurora Carrara, who used to sell artistic and selective
perfumes in their store in Courmayeur. Chatting with them it was clear they see
scents mostly as vehicles of emotions, and I enjoyed listening to
them talking in that vivid, enthusiastic way we aficionados know so
well!
The six fragrances are conceived to
evoke the same emotions told by a French chansonnier with his songs,
his actual verses acting as a thread, a sort of "moodboard"
backing each scent.
Takasago was selected to partner this
project, at this moment they're producing interesting fragrances
featuring classic accords revisited with an ultra-modern light, so I
appreciate the choice. Histoires d'Eaux feature some high quality raw
materials, but the focus is more on the taste for experimentation and
the desire to find a somehow "new" and contemporary way to
voice emotions as old as man, sung already in thousand songs, told by
a thousand verses.
"Maladie d'Amour" is a woody
fruity/spicy scent with a sugary accord of banana, coconut and red
fruits, well contrasted with spicy dry notes such as curry and
cloves, and a woody drydown. Being so blatantly fruity, at first I
perceived it as the “easiest" of the lot, but wearing it I
realized that it's by no means trivial! It clearly shows how fruits
might tell daring stories when they're used outside a "Barbie
pink" environment! There's a similar idea in "Archives du
69" by Etat Libre d'Orange (but used in a different direction),
a sign that there's hope for the future. Very interesting!
"Comme d'habitude" is the
most complex of the line, a woody/leathery with a citrus top,
flanked by warm notes of cinnamon, chamomile, thyme and leather,
which sit comfortably on a wood/resin base, rich and well built.
"Et Maintenant", perhaps is
the less immediate but interesting, it's basically a surprising
vetiver, blended with coconut and surrounded by jasmine absolue,
patchouli, cistus labdanum. The vetiver/coconut accord reminded me
of the exciting work by Isabelle Doyen for the Turtle Project
(Vetiver II, Front) but here its execution is less "extreme"
and more wearable.
"Ne me quitte pas" is the
less challenging fragrance in the line, powdery, soft and enveloping,
with notes of citrus, jasmine, cistus labdanum and vanilla. To pamper
yourself.
"Etè Indien", plays on
intriguing notes of elemi, clary sage, geranium, a handful of resins
(cistus labdanum, styrax, Tolu balsam) and a hint of beeswax. It's
warm, sensual, opulent, a true Queen that should be tested on skin.
"Mon Jardin d'Hiver" is the
most difficult to label: a strange fougère/ozonic with a salty white
musk, lavender and rose, pleasant and much less predictable than
other marine/ozonic scents out there.
I must say I liked the line also as a
whole: basic and straight to the point with no frills; fresh,
contemporary accords, some playing with harmony and others on
contrasts, with so many aromatic, resinous and spicy notes and very
few flowers -but carefully measured-; good concentrations (about 13%)
thus clearly perceivable and long-living on skin. And finally, a
refined, linear packaging, consistent with the rest.
Would you like to try them? Then I
recommend you visit Pitti Immagine Fragrancze: the brand is in the
stand A4.
And for those who cannt go to Florence
... stay tuned!
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