L'Artisan Parfumeur is an old friend. I've owned bottles of Ananas Fizz (discontinued), Mûre et Musc (original version), L'Eau de L'Artisan, Passage d'Enfer, L'Eau d'Ambre, Dzongkha, Séville à l'Aube, Traversée du Bosphore, Dzing!, Timbuktu, Méchant Loup and Bois Farine, not to mention amber balls and candles. When I saw the ads for the new Bana Banana,* with their antique botanical illustrations of banana plants, I was primed to BUY (I love the scent of banana).
Things started off swimmingly. Bana Banana opens with spiced banana leaf, flower and fruit (lots of pepper and nutmeg); the vibe is smooth and liqueur-y. A wonderful violet leaf note shades the background (this is my favorite violet leaf note since Carven Pour Homme). Bana Banana's fruit note seems "reconfigured": some leaf and unripe peel, a hint of candy, and the "salad" scent of the banana flower. Bana Banana has a tropical character, even when powdered iris arrives. The silky iris seems "apt" and blends beautifully with the other notes, providing a "post-bath" refreshing/talc scent. Tonka bean, sharp and vibrant, arrives next and is joined by a sheer (non-cloying) amber accord.
All this good stuff happens in 7-10 minutes on my skin. If you're a no-nonsense shopper, that's enough time to sniff a tester, pull out your credit card and be on your way. Too bad that at the 10-minute mark of development, a suffocating white musk note/accord arrives and coats everything of interest. Ten minutes of originality and fun, followed by ten hours of cheap-smelling vapidness. Such is the marketing ploy for many contemporary perfumes. (This may be based on ingredients' pricing — add a few drops of the good stuff and load up on dreck — and wanting to make as much profit as possible. Ramón Monegal is the emperor of this tactic.)
When I think of the interesting perfumes L'Artisan has dropped from its line-up...smelling Bana(l) Banana annoys me even more. And it won't wash out of fabric! I've washed the shirts I wore during testing TWICE without dislodging the musks. If you want a great, longer-lasting banana scent, I recommend Blackbird Y06-S.
Wish: L'Artisan would release Bana Banana as a cologne, with only the top notes included. One can dream....
L'Artisan Bana Banana Eau de Parfum is available in 100 ml for $165.
* Perfumer Céline Ellena; listed fragrance notes of pepper, nutmeg, violet, jasmine, iris, banana, banana flower, tonka bean, musk, amber.
I too loved the top and heart notes of this one, though I liked the base a little bit more than you did. Not worth a full bottle, but I’ll take some of that cologne you’re whipping up.
Coumarin: if only!
Bananas, and more bananas for you, I guess. I tried the Blackbird frag, sure it would be love. Well, just nope. Too green or something. I think my banana scent taste may swing more towards candy banana flavor. (Now that I wrote that, it doesn’t sound likely either.) In any event, a 10 hour laundry musk marathon hardly seems worth even a really wonderful violet leaf.
Thanks for the great review!
Butting in to say I do love the Blackbird (it is on my buy list), but if you want banana candy you want the Comptoir Sud Pacifique ?
I should try that one. I canceled my Scentbird subscription in a pique, but they had the banana vanilla as one their options. I am always scared of too much vanilla (turns out, at 52, I am no longer a fan of many vanilla heavy scents–bananas!)
Well, it is mostly vanilla after 10 minutes — you could nearly make the same argument that Kevin makes above, except that 10 minutes of fun is enough for me from CSP, esp. when I’ve gotten it on sale.
I do expect better from L’Artisan — and I’m paying for better too.
R: I need to try that CSP just for the heck of it.
Well, see above!
But if it ever cools off I will send you some along with the Muguet Porcelaine.
Hey Kevin,
If you get this msg and still want to try the CSP, ping me at ann dottie eisenberg attagirl comcast dottie net
I bought a 10 ml decant from a decanter on eBay, but it turns out I cannot stand the stuff. Happy to pass it on to you!
Oakland: you’re welcome!
I tried this in March along with the entire Les Paysages series.
This one didn’t really work for me, for more or less the same reasons. I did love the top note, but found the dry down hard work.
The Paysages, on the other hand, I just love. I can never quite decide which one is my favourite.
austenfan: I don’t think I’ve tried any of those…never see them in Seattle.
What a roller coaster!
Regina: a quick ride though (before the never-ending plunge to horror).
?
How does the Blackbird compare to Hermes Vanille Galante? I find VG very banana-y and I love it in the summer.
tara: maybe Robin will chime back in. I can’t remember what Vanille Galante smells like…lots of ylang-ylang?
Like salt water tinged with ylang — very JCE. So the Blackbird is way deeper.
Just sticking my head in to say they really are pretty different, but I do think you’d like the Blackbird if you love VG. Y06-S is much richer, as Robin says, but the tropical jasmine vibe does make it great for summer — I wore it yesterday and it’s my only bottle purchase of the year so far.
Thanks for the review! I was interested in this when I first heard about it but now with reading you review, I realize its is not a “Top Banana”, so I won’t peel out any dollars and will skip this one.
Love how you slipped in those puns!
Filomena: HA! Indeed, skip it, don’t slip on it!
My experience with this is the same. It’s only fun for the first 30 minutes at most, then sinks into a generic boring synthetic amber base of little interest.
Bill: maybe we’re entering the “Age of Banana” and will get more choices in the next year.
Kevin, I haven’t tried this, but I sympathize with your dislike of the all-too-common white musk drydowns. I feel similarly but in addition am bothered by something else (Iso E Super?? Ambroxan??) that smells ugly and acidic to me and overwhelms a fragrance that I can tell I would like if I could just peel back the ugly layer…It’s in LL Another 13 and in Pierre Guillaume’s DjHenne among others. I’ve noticed it only in the last five years or so. It’s so frustrating.
springpansy: the culprits for me are often Iso E Super, Ambroxan, Cashmeran…and of course white musks. But, I’ve worn lots of perfumes that contain those ingredients and enjoyed them…and bought them. I hate it when they dominate; what’s the point?
Kevin, you have my sympathies on the tenacious musk lasting thru multiple washings! I have used a paste of baking soda and water to remove perfume from my clothes. Apply it before washing, let it sit for an hour or two, then launder as usual. Good luck!
Jalapeno: I’ll try that…maybe make a soak of baking soda and warm water in a basin before washes.
Forgot to mention that your review of Diptyque Eau de Minthe was spot on for me. I had the chance to sniff it recently. Great mint top note, then it became a hairy-chested fougere in very short order.
Jalapeno: I really can’t imagine a woman wearing it…but who knows? It might smell quirkier on a woman than it does on a man.
Sadly you are right on – fun banana top note (like the CSP) then a lackluster drydown. In the immortal words of Luca Turin, the cash runs out after 20 minutes…
cazaubon: it happens WAAAAAAAY too often.