The Art of Perfumery is a new perfume house based near Grasse, France. They have introduced a line of 7 fragrances: 4 Eaux de Parfum for women and 3 Eaux de Toilette for men. Each fragrance is also available in a room spray and candle.
Per founder Peter Milsted, who also runs the do-it-yourself custom fragrance site Perfume Lab, "We sought to release the creative genius of top perfumers. We offered them time and support to create the perfumes they themselves want to develop free of the constraints of mass appeal.” Unfortunately, the names of the perfumers will not be released.
The fragrances are:
No. 1 for women: "a delicate and original mandarin, spice, aquatic floral with unforgettable presence"
No. 2 for men: "an inspirational fresh, bergamot, fougere, woody, herbal cologne that produces a blast of pure energy"
No. 3 for women: "a classic lily of the valley blended with perfect white flowers, producing a perfume of uncommon purity"
No. 4 for men: "a perfect meeting of peppery fire and marine ice – a fragrance of beautifully controlled contrasts"
No. 5 for women: "a sensual, gourmand oriental masterpiece, combining classic themes with masterful innovation"
No. 6 for men: "Rich spice cake and elegant lapsang in front of a roaring wood fire – a masculine fragrance that women will love"
No. 7 for women: "rose and amber create breathtaking romance in a bottle."
The 50 ml bottles run 75 euros; samples are available for 3 euros each. Read more at the Art of Perfumery website.
Number 6 sounds good to me, but 75 euros for 50 ml? that's pricey, especially as the perfumeries in/near Grasse tend to be fairly inexpensive – fragonard, galimard, etc. Also sounds sort of like the original press for FM scents. Shame this company isn't going to release the names of the perfumers. I like to know the perfumers almost as much as a note listing!
No. 1 seems to to be a bit busy, no? It hits nearly all the “categories:” citrus, spice, aquatic, floral. No. 2 as well…a strange mess of notes: fougere, bergamot, woody, herbal. Maybe it's just the descriptions that rub me the wrong way.
Nos. 4 and 6 do look promising.
Zippy, I am with you on wishing they released the names of the perfumers! Le Labo did it, and it doesn't seem to have hurt them or any of their perfumers (although I supposed time will tell, as they have only been open a month).
Quite so, although given their approach and the fact that their store is online only, I wouldn't think that they see Fragonard & Galimard as their competition.
And yes, wish they would give the names of the noses, especially since each has a statement about the perfume they created on the website.
I would say it helped Le Labo tremendously, at least in terms of garnering interest on the fragrance forums. But on the website they say that contractually they cannot release the names.
And I want No. 6 too!
Okay, nitpicking — Chanel did it, but I want no more naming things with numbers. I understand how difficult it must be to come up with a decent fragrance name, but I CANNOT remember the numbers. Where's the charm in No. 6? It's better than FCUK Her, I guess. But not much.
It is about as anonymous as can be imagined, isn't it – mystery perfumeurs, no-name scents, and only available via the internet? I'm not entirely sure if I would have been swept away quite so profusely by Musc Ravageur if it had been called Scent 23a. Still, nice website, the juices sound inviting and postage is FREE for samples (in the EU anyway). Thanks for the news, R!
M, LOL — not FCUK Her bad, surely? Although I'd rather see names too.
Hey, lucky you on the free shipping! Let me know what you think if you order any of them.
I agree that the number thing is old. Old! I guess they don't want to err by coming up with an embarrassing name, but the minimalism of no names just leaves nothing for the mind to grab hold of. And then the packaging. It's so…shampoo. OK, now I'm waiting for someone to smell them and tell me if the juice transcends the outward lack of imagination.
It does seem a little strange that they charge 75 Euros for the women's scents which are listed as edp and charge the same for the men's which is listed as edt.
It does seem strange too that they are unwilling to say who these perfumers are. Surely, if they are in the same league as the creators for Malle and Le Labo, it would be to the companies benefit to say who they were.
T, I would rather see “real” names myself, but this seems to be the thing at the moment. Parfumerie Generale did both a number & a name, which is preferable I guess. The packaging I don't care so much about so long as the juice is fabulous.
B, I would argue that even if the perfumers aren't in the same league, it is still better to say who they are…my favorites from Le Labo were mostly by Daphne Bugey, who isn't nearly as well known as some as the others they used…but it is still nice to know the name and what else they've done. But — admittedly — the number of perfume consumers who care about the name of the nose must be rather small?
This is Peter Milsted, CEO of Art of Perfumery. First of all, thank you all for your comments and your interest in our range. I just want to clarify one point – shipping on samples, for your first sample order of each fragrance, is free to the US and worldwide, not just in the EU. Thanks again, especially for the orders we’ve received. We can’t wait to hear what you think of the fragrances.
Thanks for letting us know Peter!
I've been reading (lurking) for some time now, but I live in the country these days and rarely get to go -a- sniffing in Department stores anymore. My perfumes are those of the flowers I grow, mostly Old Garden roses, and the not so delightful eau-de-goat, which we raise here on the farm.
I ordered samples of 1, 3, 5 & 7 and they arrived today – FREE!
I had also wandered over to Perfume Lab when ordering from Art of Perfumery to try their perfume creator – ordered a rose, amber, jasmine, vanilla, aldehyde , oriental blend, and that arrived as well.
I over enthusiastically sprayed myself with dabs of each – elbows, wrists, & neck, so have no idea which is which – but I smell wonderful , and my husband noticed as he passed by the computer. He doesn't usually like the perfumes I wear, except for Poeme, which he adores but can never explain why – will go back and systematically test each one starting tomorrow.
I really don't care about bottles, names or labels – it's all in the scents – and since I don't waste my time growing scentless roses, any perfume that can't compete with one of my rugosas or Kazanlik (the damask from Bulgaria used in attar of rose) will not get worn.
I will go back to lurking. I enjoy this site immensely, especially during winter months when I have nothing in bloom. I will de-lurk to share my nose opinions on the numbered vials.
Denise
Glad you are liking them! The only one we reviewed was no. 6. Marlen reviewed it, but it was my favorite of the line as well.
And thanks for the nice words about the blog 🙂