L’Artisan Parfumeur was, once upon a time, one of my favorite niche brands. This was way back in the day when I could count my favorite niche brands on one hand, and probably could have listed all the niche brands on a piece of paper (remember paper?) while sipping a cup of tea. Times have changed — niche brands are so plentiful that niche has very nearly become a dirty word, and L’Artisan has changed owners and directions several times over. I don’t dislike them, but they are no longer the first brand that comes to mind when I think of my favorites.
Bucoliques de Provence, which launched this past spring, is the first fragrance in a projected series inspired by the different regions of France, and was the first to sport L’Artisan’s latest packaging design.1 It sounded awfully nice…