Divine is a small independent perfume house owned by Yvon Mouchel and located in the Brittany region of France. I reviewed their L'Homme de Coeur a few weeks ago, and now Marlen & I are trying L'Homme Sage, which like L'Homme de Coeur was created for Divine by nose Yann Vasnier. It has notes of saffron, mandarin, lychee, cardamom, mace, gaiac wood, atlas cedar, balsam fir, everlasting flower, patchouli, oakmoss, amber, styrax, and incense.
He says: An amber forest at sunset, the sky glows orange, the mossy earth is warm and a breeze stirs the glowing yellow leaves. Nearby a crackling fire burns, cinnamon bark, flower petals, mandarin peel, and wood resins release a smoky incense that mingles with the scent of the earth. A man in saffron robes tends the fire, his figure breaking the trail of smoke wafting over him. This is the divine wise man, the man of roots and herbs, the man of wisdom.
There are scents that immediately speak to me. They require no period of time to understand, though nuances and complexities may unfold. Divine’s L’Homme Sage was an immediate "yes!" This is everything I want in a fragrance that will be my first choice on crisp autumn days when the mists roll-in off the bay and all the world seems still. When I asked a friend what he thought of this scent he looked at me, smiled and simply said – "Shangri-la".
She says: I wholeheartedly share Marlen's enthusiasm for L'Homme Sage. It starts very lively, with citrus and saffron-tinged spices lightly sweetened by the lychee. The early drydown is rich, deep woods; the spices remain but the sweetness of the top notes fades, leaving only the slightest tinge of vanilla. As it continues to settle on the skin, the oakmoss and resinous notes begin to develop and the fragrance takes on a calmer, more introspective cast. After several hours, it is a beautifully balanced blend of woody, earthy and mossy notes, woven through with incense and subtle hints of leather.
The amber and patchouli provide some warmth, but no particular note dominates, it just smells like a finished whole, and it smells very nice indeed. It is, obviously, a masculine fragrance, but I don't think too much so for a woman to wear. It is certainly worth a try, especially as Divine is quite generous with samples; both Marlen and I received a full set, along with a hand-written note, in response to our email requests.
L'Homme Sage is an Eau de Parfum, and the lasting power is excellent. For buying information, see the listing for Divine under Perfume Houses.
Update: there is an interesting interview with Yann Vasnier on Bois de Jasmin.
I adore L'Homme Sage, along with L'Homme de Coeur. Both are beautifully composed fragrances, classically structured, yet the result is modern and unusual. I love saffron note in L'Homme Sage especially where it is paired with leather.
Divine for women is an experience that must be felt after 5p.m. with a long black dress, and fine bottle of wine, even Yann Vasnier rated his own work of 5 stars on Luckyscent.com which I found very funny.
Wonderful fragrance and both of your descriptions are so evocative (“A man in saffron robes tends the fire, his figure breaking the trail of smoke wafting over him.” …)
I must add my raves re: Divine's great customer service and generousity.
The combination of tropical fruit notes with the smoldering incense give this scent a very raw and exotic feel to me. I think there's also a hint of immortelle in this, and for some reason that note always evokes a kind of melancholy for me. I love the drydown – the incense seems to gain focus and purpose over time.
I love this scent. It was actually love at first sniff!
I have exchanged emails with Yann Vasnier and he's a very down to earth humble guy. He created Pallisander also for CdG, so fans of his scents should try to sniff that one too.
Barry
V, it is a beautiful scent. I should have included a link to your interview with Yann Vasnier & will go add that now!
T, I have samples of all the women's scents but haven't tried them yet — I am very slow!
Thanks M!
Yes, there is immortelle, I listed it as everlasting flower although actually that is less precise.
Palisander is gorgeous, so I heartily second this.
B, thanks for the reminder, I've actually never tried Palisander & will have to do so.
Smelled from afar this was beguiling. Smelled up close it was a wreck on my skin. I'm wondering if a spray application would have solved the problems I had with it: it fragmented on my skin. There were distinct spots of delicious floral patchouli, but there were also areas of skin smelling of medicine (Clearisil!) and worst of all, burned fur or feathers The day I wore it everyone was praising it and BEGGING me to buy a bottle and wear it constantly. Even people who usually are not perfume enthusiasts were enthused. I kept them at bay and would allow no up-close encounters for fear the “ugliness” would show itself. (I waved my arms a lot that day instead of offering my wrist for others to smell. HA!) COULD the fragmentation be caused by a liquid application? I'll have to get another sample and put it in a spray vial.
K, clearasil & burnt feathers! That is very odd. I am using a sample vial myself & don't get any of that. But it doesn't sound like you should buy a bottle just yet…would hate to see this one used as room spray!
Wow, there's a complete consensus between he and she on this one! Sounds like a neat one – I love just reading the notes that are in it. Thanks for the tip on samples, R.
R: though I don't know what you look like I SEE you whenever I spray perfume into the air now! HA! I see the Stern Perfume Goddess going tsk TSK TSSSSSK! as all manner of perfume is “wasted”! I REALLY love the patchouli aspect of L'H Sage and till I sniffed myself up close was thrilled with it…it was even going to be my “vacation scent” this winter in Italy. I'm trying ONE more sample before giving up on it. K
K, What is comical is that I have way too much perfume, and since I don't use the excess as room spray, it is all just sitting in cupboards spoiling. I should probably start using it as room spray, LOL!
This is really one of the very best men's fragrances I've tried this year. Do give it another try.
K, do write them for samples, I think you would love this one. It won't bore you, anyway.