My mother preferred her perfumes served up in lotions, creams, or bath products, and she wasn’t stingy in the use of toiletries. Mother wasn’t a snob when it came to perfumes either — she used every drop of every fragrance anyone ever gave her, whether that fragrance was by Avon or Guerlain. I use perfumes I tire of or don't particularly like as air fresheners; my mother used such perfumes in another way — she'd pour entire bottles of scent into a tub filled with hot water and Mr. Bubble; in summer, when our house's windows were left open, you could always tell when she was taking a soak in the tub — the scent of fragrant water and suds wafted from the bathroom window into our yard (and into neighbors' yards too). The moment I got a whiff of L'Atelier Bohème Immortelle, I thought of my mother and her perfumed bathing extravaganzas, and I remembered, especially, the fragrances she wore when I was growing up: Guy Laroche Fidji, Chanel No. 19 and Norell.
Immortelle was created by perfumer Crystelle Darchicourt (who needs to hire a good translator for the English version of her website); it contains tangerine, bergamot, white flowers, pomegranate, amber and immortelle. In ad copy for Immortelle, L'Atelier Bohème mentions the goddess Juno (and her attendant, the peacock) and pomegranates — symbols of fertility, bounty and immortality (the immortelle flower is likewise "ageless", refusing to wilt even after being harvested). Immortelle, the perfume, is not "immortal" — overall it’s a mild fragrance that stays close to the body, and it needs to be reapplied at least once on the days one wears it.
L'Atelier Bohème Immortelle's opening is strong and ‘humid’ and evokes tropical flowers that are scenting warm air with their perfume. Immortelle is well blended, but as the fragrance matures, and softens, I smell hints of straw-immortelle (there is a faint, dusty bitterness in Immortelle's dry down — the scent of dried flower bouquets) and tart fruit. To my nose, Immortelle is more about a perfumer’s idea of “pomegranate” than immortelle, and it is reminiscent of Santa Maria Novella’s Melograno fragrance. Immortelle’s amber is crystalline and shimmers throughout the composition. As we all know here at Now Smell This, it's so '1975' to classify scents into masculine/feminine categories, but if you are a man who would never consider wearing Chanel Bois des Iles or Balmain Ivoire, you will certainly not be buying and wearing Immortelle; however, as I did my usual rounds with this scent, I found that men really like it and a large percentage of women find it "old fashioned" and “too powdery". If Immortelle came in candle or soap form, I'd buy it immediately since it reminds me of two easy-going, lazy, warm and jovial (on good days) things — summer, and my mother.
L'Atelier Bohème Immortelle Eau de Parfum comes in a cotton-flax pouch and sells for $75/42€ for 50 ml. There are two other fragrances available from L'Atelier Bohème: Hélianthe (for women) and Fil de Soie (for men); please comment if you’ve tried them. L'Atelier Bohème offers different scents in home fragrance products: scented candles, room sprays and solid perfume "nuggets".
For buying information, see the listing for L'Atelier Bohème under Perfume Houses.
After your description I am so eager to try this. L'Atelier Boheme sounds like a company that is doing everything right, from the complex scent concept to the gorgeous bottle. Do you know of any shops in NYC that carry the line?
oblitterati: I know luckyscent.com carries the scent and sells sample vials…but you may want to write L'Atelier Boheme using their webpage and see if they can tell you if anyone stocks it in NYC, K
Lovely (and funny) homage to your mum, Kevin! Judging by your description, I'd probably like L'Atelier Bohème Immortelle very much, but seeing as I prefer the note in higher concentrations, perhaps it's best that I save my money for Eau Noire. Lately I've been thinking about scents that are 'really me' and Eau Noire is just that, along with a few others, of course.
Dusan: yes, the Eau Noire may give you a slightly heavier dose of immortelle. (And when you send R some Trussardi, make sure the sample is big enough for her to share! HA!)
LOL! Will do!
Great post, Kevin. As a guy who picked up a huge bottle of the recently reissued Bois des Iles EDT, I thought it was funny to find it mentioned here. For the most part, I don't pay attention to the whole masculine/feminine thing; I simply buy what I like. Actually, I had no idea its was marketed to women – to my untrained nose, it smells like Egoiste's (the original) lighter, smoother cousin and it never fails to get compliments. So I might have to seek this Boheme out the next time I'm in the market for another scent.
Julien: thanks; I chose the Bois des Iles and Ivoire as examples for a reason: I've worn BdI before and just got a bottle of Ivoire — I don't feel weird when I wear them since I go easy with the applications. Hope you can get a whiff of Immortelle soon.
I'd love to try this. Even the price is good, considering how so many perfumes have escalating prices lately. All three of your mother's favorites are favorites of mine, too, along with Balmain Ivoire, so onto the *must sample* list it goes. Thanks for an excellent post, as always.
Thanks, Rosarita; isn't it NICE to see a niche perfume these days under $130?!
So I went to the website (no writer can resist a website that's been translated badly) and found this descriptions of the perfumes' quality:
>>>Each one was thought, from its manufacture to its presentation, to bring satisfaction to you. In this attention, our solid products are scented in the mass, which confers a great quality.<<< After deciding to quit pondering what "scented in mass" means, I discovered that the Fil de Soie (Ummm, doesn't that mean Son of Silk?) is described as smelling "like spiced animal with aniseed." So I'm thinking, if the animal is quail, maybe, but if the animal is sheep, absolutely not.
QC: I went many a 'chuckling hour” bespoke with ingredient of classics and strange alike enamoured of the pages also.
Fil de soie: thread of silk. Son, in french: fils. Ad one 's' and you're there.
Spiced animal? With aniseed? This seems to stem from an indian menucard. Getting curiouser and curiouser…
Bradamante: we'll have to rely on the French site version and keep the ole Larousse handy while reading….
I actually just tried this one Wednesday (how's that for coincidence?) and was trying to think how to describe the one annoyance I had with it… powdery fits it perfectly. It's one of the nicer fragrances I've tried recently, although I'm not sure that “nice” is overwhelming praise. I liked it a lot; I didn't love it. The tangerine, bergamot and pomegranate were completely missing for me though, or I'd probably have been much more enthusiastic about it.
boojum: the pomegranate is not “literal” … there must be some note out there that's used to give an impressionistic take on pomegranate..and that's what I smelled in this and other “pom” fragrances… And these days “nice” is good enough…it's more than I can say for most of the stuff I smell!
I agree…although I can't complain too much, because if I'd found something to love more easily, I wouldn't have stumbled on this blog.
Really, what I meant was that it was all flower and sweetness on me, no hint of citrus or any fruit at all. I'd definitely wear it again…just not on “date night”. My daughters both loved it though, and it's rare that they agree on much.