Last year, the swanky Parisian boutique Colette arranged for a trio of limited edition unisex fragrances pairing perfumers from Symrise with fashion designers; the result was called "Curated by Colette". For the fashion design house As Four, perfumer Frank Voelkl created Three AsFour, a fragrance that has turned out to be one of my favorite finds from 2005. The notes are lime, bergamot, ginger, iris, sandalwood, cedar, musk and vetiver.
AsFour highlights a trio of fragrant roots: ginger, iris and vetiver. The opening has a high pitched, fizzy quality, somewhat reminiscent of a gin & tonic with lime. It settles into a smooth, earthy, almost creamy iris with a velvety finish. The ginger and vetiver are subtle (I think of AsFour as primarily an iris fragrance) but together they add a peppery-spicy kick, and with the woods, give a satisfying depth to what is otherwise a transparent fragrance. The lasting power is quite good, although I find it does better sprayed than dabbed.
I liked AsFour very much when I first tried it, and with subsequent wearings I like it even more. It has joined my list of iris perfume favorites, along with Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile, L'Homme de Coeur by Divine, Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist, The Different Company Bois d'Iris and Hermès Hiris. I highly recommend that iris lovers give it a try before it disappears — only 300 bottles were produced.
Colette indicated that this would be the first in a yearly series of limited edition perfumes, and I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with next. Three AsFour is available as an Eau de Toilette from Colette in Paris and Aedes in New York.
I thought it was primarily iris, too—and it is lovely, indeed. Glad you finally got some, dearie ;D.
I haven't had a chance to test it at leisure yet (and thank you so much, R., for this opportunity), but at first sniff it smelled lovely, elegant, transparent…not like something I would expect Colette to come up with somehow.
R, I´m so jealous, I´d love to test this one, but Colette/Paris won´t send samples & I don´t like to buy it unsniffed (if it´s still available at all…).
Your description sounds so lovely & interesting, it´s sad there isn´t a chance to try it
Gaak! Only 300 bottles? Like you, I love it love it love it — but I haven't yet bought it bought it bought it. It reminds me of a blend of The Different Company's Bois d'Iris and Divine Bergamote, but fresher and airier. (Not that that's always a good thing, but with spring approaching it's just what the doctor ordered.)
But, before buying it, I must ask you this: If only 300 bottles were created, is there any point in buying it? If it's LE, will I only torture myself by plowing through a bottle that I can never replace? (I know you've dealt with this issue before and have come down on the “why fall in love with what I can't have?” side. So why, pray tell, did you take the plunge this time?)
Thanks L!
And I have a sample of the Eau de Colette and haven't even smelled it at all yet…so I had no real expectations, I guess. Haven't tried the other 2 in the trilogy, for that matter, but haven't heard anything wonderful about them either.
S, the nice thing about Aedes picking this up is that now at least you can get samples in the US, but sorry because I know that doesn't help you any.
K, I am completely inconsistent on LEs, aren't I? They tend to make me mad when they are overly expensive & when the presentation likens the scent to a rare jewel, if you know what I mean (L'Artisan Fleur d'Oranger). When, as with this set, or the Nelly Rodis, or the L'Artisan summer scents, it is more like a fun scent that might not have been created under other circumstances, and it isn't outrageously priced, it doesn't bother me so much. Also — have to face the fact that I have so many bottles that the likelihood of my finishing *any* of them, much less plowing through one, is not great!
Sort of hoping this one will find enough fans that they'll make it a permanent thing, as has happened with so many of the L'Artisan summer scents. But no idea whether that is actually likely.
It sounds like a lovely scent, and I definitely want to check it out. Another beautifully written review.
A little off the subject, and I'm sorry if I keep doing this, but I tried Serge Lutens Bois de Vanille today and it's delicious. I have to admit, I do sometimes love a foody, sweet scent as long as it's interesting.
Does anyone know of a perfume that smells like pink lilies?
G, I didn't know pink lilies smelled any different than white lilies (?) Did you try the Serge Lutens Un Lys?
Oh, R, this sounds wonderful! When I get out from under this jury duty I got stuck with yesterday (I may be “unavailable for the next two weeks!), I will have to order samples or maybe even a bottle of it unsniffed. Hey, why not?
Hugs!
P.S.–A certain little someone is absolutely adorable!!! I have the photo on my refrigerator door. :):):)
It's not that they smell different…I just think of those pink lilies, when I think of lilies. Don't know why. I guess because they grow here in CA and I see them quite a bit.
Will try the Serge Lutens Un Lys…thanks for the suggestion.
Thank you so much R! And hope you got an interesting case…I enjoyed jury duty, actually, but it can be dull.
Ah, I see! Well, the Un Lys is pretty and trying hard to think here — have a feeling I'm forgetting something — but it might be the only lily scent I have. Yosh Stargazer is also very pretty, but expensive.
I did order a sample of the Yosh Stargazer. Thanks for the suggestion. It's a little pricey, but not like JAR – I won't even let myself try those yet…
My tastes are so funny – it all depends on my mood. Some days I'm more about the spicy, woodsy scents, others it's something sweet and warm, some days it's green leaves, and on I like floral on other days. I hope I'm not the only one who's all over the place with my tastes.
I truly appreciate this site!!!
I felt pretty much the same way about the JARs at first, but have to admit a few of them have caught my fancy. Like to think I wouldn't buy them under any circumstances, but who knows. Hope you will like the Yosh, and do try the SL Un Lys if you get the chance.
I'll eventually try the JARS, but I'll resist the temptation to buy…it's just too much $$…but I hear that they're really nice. I also got a sample of the Un Lys coming…excited about that. Ordered a few samples of random things I'd heard were good on Lucky Scent.
I've loved perfume all of my life. My first was a scent called “Skin”, which is still available in drug stores. I bought a bottle just for nostalgia purposes. I remember buying orange blossom perfume in Florida as a kid, but once it made me throw up, I haven't tried it since. Ha.
I don't know a whole lot of perfume terminology – but I'd like to learn more about all that. Is there a book you could recommend, a sort of glossary of perfumery terms?
G, there is a brief glossary here (look under the perfume resources link at the top). There is a good glossary at the back of Perfume by Cathy Newman — scroll through the Perfume Books topic (right column under “browse by topic”) and you'll find a complete review of that book.
What a coincidence, I just received a sample of this (and the other two limited Colettes) in a swap with a wonderful Basenotes member. The Asfour is by far my favorite, the ginger gives the iris a whole new twist. It's actually surprising that a fragrance with such ethereal top notes stays around for a good amount of time.
This would be bottle-worthy, but it seems that the price at Aedes is quite a bit higher than the 50 Euro it costs in France. However, I just received an email from the Colette customer service that shipping to the USA runs at about 30 Euro. Guess I'll need to plan a trip to Paris.
Ouch on the shipping! Plan that trip to Paris soon before the 300 bottles are gone…but I have no idea if it is a big seller. Agree though that the lasting power is excellent…given how light it is, you wouldn't expect it to linger for more than an hour or so.
So are the other two in the trio even worth trying?
I think AsFour is by far the best-crafted and most interesting scent. I'm not good at this fragrance-description thing, so I'd like to see your take on them if you get the chance to sample them.
All I get from Bless is the gingerbread accord. Although the ginger makes it nice an zingy, there is something in there that smell doughy to me. Not good.
The funny thing about Hussein Chalayan is that to me it smells like an expensive knockoff (if there is such a thing) to Acqua di Gio. I've actually tested them side by side, and I'm surprised at how similar they are. HC lastst longer, and is well-made ie, it goes through different phases during the dry-down. Still, not worth the money imo. I haven't really read any other reviews about this scent. Anyone else out there notice the similarities between HC and AdG?
I haven't seen many mentions of the other two, so assuming very few people have tried them in the US, and since Aedes for whatever reason only picked up the As4, it might stay that way. Thanks much for the descriptions, neither sounds terribly appealing to me.