Saturday, September 8, 2018

A Visit With Olivier Durbano In Grasse and Perfume Reviews


Olivier Durbano's atelier is just steps off the main square in Grasse, at the start of a narrow twisting lane that if you followed to its end would lead to the perfume museums that illustrate the perfumed history of the town. The shop is small but full of curiosities that attract the eye. There are necklaces made of cool gemstones that look as if they might grant the wearer with mystical powers, once draped around the neck. There are scarfs printed in deep colors and prints inspired by the minerals and gemstones which are the source of Durbano’s creative flow. The shop has a glass front to let in light and allow passers-by to gaze in at the wares. When I enter the shop I feel immediately at home. I am a Virgo, an Earth sign. I prefer my travel in cars and trains over boats and airplanes; in ten moves I’ve avoided living in high rises in some of the world’s most populous cities; I like my feet and my house planted firmly on the ground. In this space with its polished stone floors, rustic wall of stone, wooden shelves, and large chunky minerals harvested from the Earth’s depths on display, I feel in my element.




The most eye catching sight in the boutique, however, is a row of perfume bottles, filled with colorful potions in shades of brightest gold, deepest indigo, cadmium red, and my two favorites: a rose wine pink and a purple the color of watery lilacs. The bottles look like potions from a wizard’s laboratory, and the inventor of these potions is himself a man of enthusiastic creative energy combined with zen-like calm, as if he absorbed all the most peaceful and pleasing properties of the stones that surround him.




When researching before an interview, I usually try to read other writer’s impressions so as to know what questions have already been asked numerous times and to get a picture of the person with whom I’ll be meeting. When doing this research before my meeting in Grasse with Olivier Durbano the phrase that came up repeatedly was, “he’s just so nice,” or, “he is such a genuine guy.” It sounded a little like platitudes but within a few minutes of meeting Olivier I understood; he is just so nice; it’s an aura you can’t fake.

Olivier studied architecture in Lyon, which taught him the elements of design and structure. He worked as a designer but was eventually led back to his love of stones, a pleasure from childhood, cast aside for many of his growing up years. While still in university Olivier began fashioning jewelry from gemstones and minerals, a passion he explored for some time. Then in 2005 he decided to enter the world of niche perfumery.


www.amateurgeologist.com

My family used to spend summer vacations in Colorado and one of my most prized souvenirs from that time was a boxed collection of rocks  I got from the old-time mining town of Silverton. I loved the colorful stones and for a time in college toyed with the idea of studying geology, so it is easy for me to appreciate Olivier Durbano’s fascination for the stones. Over time, making jewelry from the stones, he decided he wanted to interpret the individual stones to scents.

I visited Olivier Durbano at his shop in Grasse and he was kind enough to explain his creative process in producing a perfume, from concept to completion.

"When you are an artist you are a kind of canal, a medium, You don’t know from where you have an idea, you don’t know from where you have an energy. I try to be open to an idea. It’s respect about creation. You do the best you can and after that you say to people, you can see you can smell what do you think? Since the beginning, the process is the same. I take time to really feel the stone. When I feel, okay, this is the one, then I open my mind and emotion and I stay with the stone. We can say it’s a kind of meditation. It’s one year of my life, from the time of first creation. Step by step ingredients will come to me. Then I see images and stories. When I feel it's complete I go to the laboratory. It’s not my laboratory, I rent, because since the beginning I realize, if you think you need a workshop, your own laboratory, your own people, then it is not possible to do what I do. I work with a chemist. I take my time to test, test, test a perfume. Then one day you say, I don't have to touch it, it's finished. That's a special moment."

"To me a perfume is not when you first spray. Some people, they come, they spray, they say no, they say yes. For me you need to take time. It’s one hour later and you feel the alchemy with your skin and with your heart."



I asked Olivier some more specific questions about the process. 
Q:  I love the color in your perfumes.
OD:  For me in the beginning it was a fight because a lot of people told me no, you can’t do it. Nobody will use it. For me it was important. The color is a kind of language, it has an energy. I realize that even now some people don’t know about the stone but they can have a connection with the color, and then the smell. It’s a different door. For me to talk about amethyst without purple, I couldn’t do it.

Q:  I notice you’ve never used brilliant stones like diamond or ruby. Is that of interest to you?
OD:  At the moment, not. 

 Q:  Is there any stone or any perfume that means more to you?
OD:  Rock crystal I like a lot, for me it’s purity. Not necessarily the perfume, but the rock, in my life is very important for me.



Q:  When did you open your shop here in Grasse?
OD:  My parents are from here, in the foot of the city. I started the necklace collection in Lyon. I had a gallery in Lyon. I went to Paris. About six years ago I wake up in my parents house with a message—an intuition—to come back to the historical center. I wake up and say, ok, lets go. At eight o’clock I was here walking through the historical center to rediscover the city. I had the idea I had something to do here. It was not so easy, I was in Paris in the Marais. Then two years ago I decided to leave. In 25 days I close up my flat and showroom. I call my parents and say, can I come for some months in the family house, and I came. And I found this place in July. I had the key in the first of August. For me the city of Grasse is full of energy. For many years, she was forgotten, she was treated like a very bad city. And now there is a revival. It was very important for me to open something the best I can, beautiful and with respect for the city. Since I came I am more and more happy to be here. For me this is really the place to be.



Olivier Durbano was kind enough to share his collection of scents with me. I experienced them in the order they were created and it was interesting to follow the evolution. The first eight scents share a common thread, in my opinion; a touch of incense that gives them a certain spirituality and quiet resonance. With his ninth scent Olivier turned to stones from myths and legends or that are considered to have magical properties. Olivier emphasized to me that this is not a departure from the stones, just a different avenue. These are not scents that immediately reveal themselves; for me at least, you need to sit with the scent for awhile to experience it. Some of the scents spoke to me more than others, as is natural, but they all revealed a quiet beauty and gave a feeling of meditative calm. I will give my impressions below.

The Perfumes


Rock Crystal

The original fragrance that started it all in 2005 was Cristal de Roche, or Rock Crystal, and confession, this is one of my favorites. Rock crystal was thought by the ancients to be frozen ice, a sort of petrified ice, and over time it came to symbolize purity of mind, body, and spirit. The stone is symbolic of purity and cleansing. Add to this the power of olibanum (frankincense) which is also a scent of purification and is said to link man’s spirit to the divine. 

Frankincense carries prayers uttered by mortals towards the heavens.

The perfume’s opening is light and luminous, and feels a bit icy and mentholated, like a scene from the movie Frozen. Maybe this is why I get images of Christmas. The opening notes of orange flower, coriander, cardamom, cumin, and black pepper contain no pine or menthol, but somehow this is the feel I get from the spices. The heart notes are a star lineup for me: frankincense, olibanum, benzoin, myrrh, and cistus. This does sound like the gifts of the Magi to the baby Jesus; only the gold is missing. Sometimes these notes can feel heavy and warm, but here they literally fly, drifting weightlessly like the frankincense smoke rising to the heavens.

My husband fell in love with frankincense on a trip to Oman and he really wants to take this one from me. The scent is uplifting, grounding, and for all my talk of Christmas, it is so transparent that it would be equally comfortable in the middle of the Omani desert. This was a strong start out the gates for Durbano perfumes back in 2005.

Amethyst
Amethyst is the second fragrance created by Olivier Durbano and it came out a year later, in 2006. In ancient times amethyst was said to be a talisman against inebriation and to protect against poisoning. 

Amethyst opens with a bright bergamot. Then the hesperidic note mixes with fruity notes of grape and raspberry and the spiciness of pepper. There is nothing sweet about these fruity notes; they soften the spice but are drained of any sugars. Rosewood and a faint incense tame the fruitiness even more, but it is ultimately the base notes of amber, vanilla, musk, and sandalwood give the scent a cozy creaminess balanced by soft woods. At this point I can smell grape very faintly. It is an unusual scent; not difficult or demanding to wear at all and is quite addictive. The scent is not like anything I have in my collection and it's comfortable to wear, like a pale purple cashmere scarf draped around the neck.

Black Tourmaline

In mineral lore black tourmaline is known as the protector, creating a shield of protection from negative energy. This applies to both human energy and environmental toxicity.  This is the gemstone that Olivier Durbano chose for his third perfume, Black Tourmaline, created in 2007.  Black tourmaline starts out with spicy notes of cardamom, coriander, and pepper. Heart notes of smoked wood, frankincense, leather, and oud give the scent the feel of a smoldering campfire, and in fact the black tourmaline stone looks like a piece of charred wood. Base notes of patchouli, moss, and amber deepen this aura. Later as the scent smolders it reminds me of five hundred year old churches I have visited in Europe, stone floors worn with hollows where feet have tread for half a millenia. Centuries of incense are imbedded in the cool stones and wooden crossbeams so that there is the redolence of smoke and burnt offerings. The scent offers ancient comfort. This appears to be on of the brands most popular perfumes, and no wonder.

Jade
Jade was introduced in 2008 and the transparent green liquid certainly brings to mind the gemstone it is meant to represent. Jade has been prized from the earliest civilizations as an artistic medium for carvings. It has beauty properties as it supposed to confer youthfulness, and jade supposedly confers prosperity and abundance, which is especially found in Chinese cultures.

Mint gives a cool opening to the perfume. Spicy notes of star anise and cardamom give the tea note an Asian feel. This is an interesting tea note. It flits in and out in strength but is distinct and dry. To these aromatic notes, jasmine and iris add a floral softness. Vetiver increases the illusion of grassy dryness, and a mate note adds to the dry, slightly bitter tea note.  This perfume feels green, and for me it’s a soft creamy green, similar to color of the stone it is meant to represent. This is a really interesting perfume and if you like tea notes or soft green notes you should give it a try.

Turquoise
Growing up in the American Southwest my associations with turquoise were the stones set in silver Native American jewelry and it brought to mind desert landscapes. Here though, in Turquoise, the fifth Durbano perfume created in 2009, think turquoise water. The perfume opens with a briny salt water feel. A note of turpentine is perhaps one element adding to the ozonic feel of the perfume. Elemi and oliban incense is faintly present. After some time the perfume takes on the feel and scent of seawater with all its seaweed and detritus. Heart notes of fragrant reed, lotus, seaweed, and lily literally float in and out of the scent trail. In its later stages  the scent takes on a softly muted blur with ambergris from the sea and myrrh. This is an ozonic scent but not the usual zesty fresh take those scents can have. Olivier Durbano grew up in Cannes by the Cote d’Azur and I’m sure this was a great influence when he composed this perfume. I had heard how stunning the turquoise water of the Cote d'Azur was but until I saw it for myself this summer, I couldn’t imagine the exquisiteness of the color.




Pink Quartz

Ah, now I come to my favorite from the line, Pink Quartz. Perhaps not coincidentally the pink quartz was always my favorite in my little box of minerals from my childhood. I loved the translucency of the color and the smooth crystals that made it look like pink rock candy. It is also the sixth perfume in the line. Olivier is very interested in the numerology of his perfumes and six is my lucky number. Coincidence?

Anyway, how does it smell? The first spray is definitely rose and this in itself is a new direction for this perfume. All the others have been such a meld of the various notes, but this is definitely a rich and resinous rose. Grapefruit gives it a bright vibrant opening. In the background are spicy note additions of olibanum, saffron, and ginger. I smell the olibanum more than the other two notes; the ginger is definitely muted on my skin. The rose feels all enveloping, like a hyper-realistic rose. The rose note is supposed to offer a feeling of well being and this definitely brings a smile to my face. The rose notes keep on coming with heart notes of palma rosa and rosewood. At this point the rose becomes even more uplifting. Eventually the rose becomes more muted as the base notes of amber, patchouli, musk, myrrh and benzoin join in.

Pink quartz, also called rose quartz, is said to bring peace, calm, and happiness. It has been used as a source of love and compassion through the ages. Olivier had a bowl of water with big chuncks of pink quartz in his new studio (more on that later), I would assume to infuse the space with positive energy. Wearing rose scents has always been a source of peace and calm for me, and this living rose—because it seems so alive on my skin—instantly enhances my mood. If you like rose notes this must be on your try list.



Citrine is a member of the quartz family, and its name probably comes from the stone’s lemon-yellow hue, although it can also come in shades of orange. Citrine is said to glow with inner fire and celestial energy. The perfume represents this by opening with a citrus glow from notes of Sicilian citrus and wild orange. This uplifting zest is tempered with the spices of ginger and pink pepper. Elemi incense is gentle but has the scent of balsam, citrus, and woods. Elemi is harvested from the pili tree in the Philippines. The tree is known for its resilience, actually becoming stronger and more fruitful when battered by winds, drought, or torrential rain. It thrives with hardship, qualities that the oil is thought to impart. The incense note is not smoky, but has an almost medicinal smell. The scent glows warmly with a quiet inner fire. This is the seventh scent in the line and was created in 2011.

Heliotrope
Heliotrope was the inspiration for Durbano’s eighth scent created in 2012 and the stunning red juice is an attention getter. Don’t be confused by the heliotrope plant commonly used as a note in perfume. There is nothing powdery in this perfume. Heliotrope was the ancient Babylonian name for the stone more commonly known today as the bloodstone. The stone is green but has red inclusions formed by iron oxide. The red spots take on the appearance of blood splatters. In the ancient world heliotrope was thought to have magical powers, including the power to grant invisibility.

The perfume opens spicy, dry, and hot with the note of red pepper as a standout. The elemi incense that Durbano often makes use of is here in the opening as well. To me it seems that this incense is more gentle than some. Olibanum, ginger, and angelica create more fire and spice. This is an extremely dry scent; for me it conjures images of the dramatic desert landscapes in Utah, with its fantastical red rock formations, in the American southwest. There is actually a note of heliotrope in the perfume and occasionally it pops out with that familiar cherry almond scent, but it is so surrounded by resins and spices that it is not sweet and the moments I smell it are very fleeting. As the perfume wears on I sense more the resin notes of myrrh and benzoin and the wood notes of sandalwood and cedar. This perfume stays close to my skin and I would call it more of a personal scent.

Lapis Philosophorum
The Alchemist by Joseph Wright of Derby, 18th Century

With Lapis Philosphorum, Olivier Durbano veers for the first time from using an actual mineral or gemstone for inspiration. This time he is inspired by a mythical stone, The Philosopher’s Stone. For ancient alchemists the Philosopher’s Stone was the holy grail, and would have been the ultimate discovery. They thought the Philosopher's Stone would facilitate their quest to turn ordinary metal into gold. But beyond that its power would be so great as to offer immortality.


"When I went to Philosopher’s Stone some people told me, 'Oh, you changed totally your collection'," said Durbano. "No. This is a continuity. It’s the same way."

Numerology plays a part in all of Durbano's fragrance creations and you can read about it on his website where he describes the meaning of the number for each stone. For his ninth fragrance this was especially important. "For Philosopher’s Stone, it was number nine. Nine means the end of a sequel and the beginning of something else, in the same way. So it was not possible for me to go with a normal stone. A mystical stone, it was the right time to do it. Philosopher’s Stone is interesting because it is also very spiritual.  There is message in all the legends of the stones to help you to learn about yourself."

Lapis Philosphorum is an usual scent and its opening makes me think of an alchemist’s lab with various unidentifiable smells. Picture a brooding scene from Harry Potter movies or maybe Merlin’s lair in Authurian legends. I think it is the white truffle that smells a little earthy and rooty. There is another very dry and rooty smell which may be the calamus, a root from India, that I have no idea what that smell is. It’s a little camphorous to my nose. This could be the menthol note. While I can’t say I love the smell it is certainly evocative. Eventually the resins and woods come into play: frankincense, opoponox, ambergris, myrrh, and mesquite for a dry woodiness. The resins give me the feel of a trail of incense smoke. Overall I find this scent a challenge. In the painting above you see the dark shadows in what appears to be an underground laboratory. This is the sense I get from the scent, earthy smells, odoriferous potions, and a feeling of damp and dark. Other reviewers have had wildly different impressions so it's just my impression, but in any case it is a very interesting scent picture. This is the ninth scent for the Durbano library and was created in 2013.



Promothee


For his tenth scent and to commemorate ten years of scent creations, Olivier Durbano turned again to a legendary stone for inspiration. This time the stone plays a part in the legend from Greek mythology of Prometheus. This Greek Titan was credited with the creation of man from clay and in Greek mythology he is known as being a champion and protector of humankind. The legend says that Prometheus defied the gods by giving fire to man, hidden in a large fennel stalk. Zeus became very angry when he learned of this deception and chained the immortal Prometheus to a stone, where every day an eagle comes and plucks his liver out to eat, only to have it regenerate and go through the same torture the next day and the next. As far as revenge and punishment go, this one is pretty nasty. In some versions of the tale, Hercules eventually rescues Prometheus.

When I spray Promethee the first sense I get is of a big stone which I can in no way describe but if you’ve ever hiked in nature and climbed a big stone you may know it, the feeling of cool grey, dampness. Very quickly the distinctive note of fennel, signifying the fennel stalk in the legend, enters. If you have ever had fennel tea you may be familiar with this smell. Pink pepper and nutmeg add a dash of spice. Myrtle and cistus labdanum reference the Greek countryside, where this legend was supposed to have taken place. There are a host of other heart notes of which the only one I clearly distinguish is the fenugreek. They include narcissus, lily, lavender, sage, and storax. During this stage I get two main scents; first there is the scent of the muddled spices, the fennel, and the fenugreek. None of these are commonly used substances in perfume so this is definitely not like anything I’ve smelled before in perfumery. And just occasionally I do get a sense of the cool stone. Maybe I'm being fanciful and influenced by the legend, but it is there. The spicy herbal stage lasts for some time, eventually settling into a more musky and woody accord. The aroma it puts off is pleasant and has interesting notes but I can’t decide yet if it’s something I would wear. In any case it is an artfully arranged scent that will titillate noses with unexpected notes.


Chrysolithe
For Durbano’s eleventh perfume, introduced in 2015, he references an ancient Greek term for a glowing gold stone, Crysolithe. Today we think this references peridot or olivine but in ancient times chrystolithe is mentioned often; in the Bible, the Torah, the Qur’an, and other ancient writings. If Lapis Philosophorum is the stuff of wizards and sorcerers, then Crysolithe is brewed by a white witch in a cozy forest dwelling where healing potions are dispensed to those in need. 

There is a veritable herb garden in the opening minutes, and again, Durbano highlights unusual ingredients. There is hyssop which gives a mild mint-like tingle. Verveine and cumin, two very different green scents, tame each other so that the overall effect is herbal green rather than the uber freshness of verveine or the sometimes overpowering bitterness of cumin. Spice notes of ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper add warmth. (I am beginning to notice a trend with pepper. So far I think all the Durbano scents have featured the note, be it black, pink, or red.) These herbal notes create a very soothing, very pleasant scent that feels creamy green with gentle lift. Sage and rosemary heart notes add to the feel that we’ve wandered into a herb garden. 

“If one wishes to become wise and avoid extravagance, one must simply take the stone named Chrysolithe” – from The Book of Secrets, an 8th century spell book

There is something about this perfume that feels like autumn with the fragrant herbs and gentle spice notes. I find wearing Chrysolithe to be a very calming experience and it imparts a feeling of well being. Eventually vetiver and cedar wood will soften and blur the fragrance to a gentle dry down. I really like this perfume and I would be surprised if you have anything like it in your collection.


Lapis Lazuli
For his twelfth perfume, Olivier Durbano chose the stone Lapis Lazuli, revered from times of earliest recorded history as a “sky stone”. The stone is a deep blue and sometimes will be shot through with flecks and streaks of pyrite, commonly known as fool’s gold. The stone of blue so deep it is almost purple, combined with tiny pricks of gold glitter, can give the appearance of a night sky studded with stars. Lapis lazuli's history can be traced back as far as any stone because of its use for carvings and decorative use by ancient royals. As far back as 1271, Marco Polo records that the best mines for lapis lazuli are in the area we now call Afghanistan. Going even further back in time, Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist and philosopher, described the beauty of the sky stone. We know that Egyptian pharaohs used lapis to decorate their tombs and Cleopatra wore eyeshadow made of ground lapis, or so it is recorded. Painters have long relied on lapis to make paints with which to depict the blue of the sky. At some points in history lapis lazuli has cost more than gold.

"A fragment of the starry firmament” – the description of lapis lazuli by Pliny the Elder in his book The Natural History, 79 a.d.

It could be argued that this brilliant azure liquid is the most visually stunning of the Durbano bottles, which when placed in a colorful line, from a distance take on the appearance of  string of party lights or the brilliantly colored stained glass windows in Rajasthani palaces. Perhaps because of this vivd blue I think I expected a perfume that would boldly seek attention with a pyrotechnic performance. This was not the case. The journey starts with a combination of tea tree and cypress notes for a cool clean and serene opening. Next artemisia, also known as wormwood, gives a  green bitterness to the mix. Heart notes are thyme, plant milk, spelt, and iris. I don’t get but a hint of the grain note from the spelt. The thyme accentuates herbal and aromatic aspects of the scent. Up to this point Lapis Lazuli has felt very much an Earth scent with its herbal and aromatic accents. As the base notes start to appear the scent becomes moodier and more reflective. Notes of elemi, tolu balsam, and ambergris imbue the scent with a warm, resinous fragrance. It is balsamic and begins to have that same meditative spiritual vibe found in many of the Durbano scents. The mood is quiet, reflective. Vetiver and cedar wood bring a dry woodiness which will stay with the scent until it eventually slips away like a trail of smoke in the sky.


Labrodorite No. 13
For his thirteenth creation in 2017, Olivier created Labradorite No. 13. Labradorite shimmers with internal energy and light and in mineral lore it is considered a magic stone, used by shamans and healers. In folk lore of the Inuit people, who are found in Arctic regions as well as Labrador, Canada, the shimmering northern lights, or Aurora Borealis, were captured in a stone that fell from the sky and this stone is now called Labradorite. The stone comes in various intensities of grey, but its beauty lies in the way it reflects light in shades in iridescent blue, gold, or green. Imagine a peacock’s fan-like tail and you get the idea.

My first impression of Labradorite No. 13 is of entering a dim woodlands. I sense trees, dampness, the smell of wet leaves underfoot. Then comes a totally unexpected animalic scent of castoreum and civet. This is new territory for a Durbano fragrance. If I had smelled this perfume before I talked to Olivier I would have had a lot of questions about his creative path to these notes but as I had not I will give you my interpretation. After reading about the Inuit legend, I interpret this as a Northern forest which is rainforest, but not in the tropical sense that we usually think about rainforest. The smell of wetness and damp vegetation, the leaves, twigs, and dirt surround. Then enters this animal note which could represent the beaver or bear that roam the forests known to the Inuit. In the midst of this comes a totally unexpected note, the scent of tuberose. This is not a creamy tropical tuberose. The flower can have an animalic aspect, and this mixes with the already present notes of castoreum and civit. With time the tuberose note is becoming stronger and the civit and castoreum notes recede a bit, but they will remain a quiet influence throughout the life of the perfume. As the perfume fades the tuberose note lightly slips away. I interpret this tuberose note as the iridescence in the stone; the scent addition that creates the shimmering illusion of light reflecting from stone




Coming Attractions?
Olivier Durbano has introduced a stone every year since 2005. When I asked him about what is in store for 2018, he had this to say.

“I will launch the new one in September. The last finishing touch was three weeks ago (this was recorded July 2018). Since the beginning I try to never talk about a new perfume before the launch, and usually it’s in Pitti in Florence. It’s like theater, I open and reveal on the first day of the exhibition.”

"I can tell you something about the new one. For the new one it’s the beginning of the same beginning," Durbano said, creating even more mystery. I will be looking forward to see what lucky stone has intrigued Mr. Durbano and how he will interpret it in scent. 

Another coming attraction that Olivier is very excited about is the opening of a new shop called Grace Concept Store just steps down from his current location. In addition to his line of perfumes, diffusers, and candles it will carry handmade accessories such as hats and totes as well as decorative items. I visited Olivier Durbano in July and at that time the store was scheduled to be opened by September. Here are a few photos from the new location to whet the appetite for the lovely environment this jeweler/perfumer has created in the small town of Grasse. I want to thank Mr. Durbano for his generosity in sharing his world with me!








I hope you have enjoyed reading about Olivier Durbano and discovering a little about his perfumes. If you would like to read more about Grasse and perfumed travels in France, start here.

Rock crystal, google image. Perfume bottles from Olivier Durbano website. Garden painting, www.bhg.com. All other photos my own. Thank you to Olivier Durbano for perfume samples.

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