La Collection de Grasse is a new quartet of fragrances from L’Occitane, all of them developed by the house’s newly announced in-house perfumer Karine Dubreuil. On Tuesday I reviewed Jasmin & Bergamote and Magnolia & Mûre; today, Vanille & Narcisse and Thé Vert & Bigarade.
Vanille & Narcisse
blackcurrant, bergamot, narcissus, gardenia, vanilla and tonka bean
Vanille & Narcisse is the floriental of the collection, and was probably the one I had the least interest in before I smelled the set, but I’d say it’s the best (and the most unusual) of the four, and the only one I would be tempted to buy — if these weren’t so expensive (see the end of last Tuesday’s review for a discussion of the price). The opening is bright, the dry down is a spicy, medium-weight creamy floral that earns the “sensual, enveloping skin scent” of Dubreuil’s description. I would never have noticed the gardenia were it not listed in the notes…
