Travels In France, Part Eight - Diptyque 34 Boulevard Saint Germain, Philosykos & Volutes, Three Scents for Autumn

I had to limit the perfume shops I could visit on my trip to Paris but the iconic Diptyque flagship store at 34 boulevard Saint Germain was always on my radar. I can't remember for sure but think I first became aware of this brand in the early 2000s and it was through their candles. Diptyque was one of the first to establish themselves as a purveyor of the luxury candle. Before Facebook, when online chat groups like Makeup Alley were more the norm, Diptyque was the new discovery. Their story actually started much earlier though, all the way back to 1961.

Three friends with differing artistic talents banded together; Christiane Gautrot the interior designer, Desmond Knox-Leet the painter, and Yves Coueslant, the theater director and set designer. They started by designing wallpapers and fabrics and eventually opened the shop at the iconic address. Over time they began to transform the shop into a collection of curiosities gathered in their travels, a place to find the unique and unusual item in a finely curated collection.

 I spoke with Henri Fournier, Diptyque's fourth original employee, at the Saint Germain location. "It was a gift store in the beginning. We had at this time a blanket from Wales, some products from British perfumers, some jewels, some potpourri from England, and also of course the candles. We were famous for the candles at the beginning and then we became a perfumer."

Henri Fournier in the Diptyque shop.

I asked Mr. Fournier when Diptyque's growth and expansion happened. "It was about ten years ago when we were bought by an American company based in England," said Fournier. "It was a big change, around 2005."

When you walk into the Saint Germain storefront, you get the sense not much has changed here. Being surrounded by all the candles and scents gives a heady feeling and I wish I could just scoop the lot into a big shopping bag! Now for reviews of three of my favorites for autumn.

Volutes

Volutes has one of the most romantic backstories of any of the Diptyque perfumes. The copy reads:

1930, on an ocean liner linking Marseille and Saigon. On the upper deck, women dressed in evening gowns linger, cigarette holders in hand. The orchestra plays in the lounge; first waltzes, then the Charleston. Time expands. From his childhood memories, Yves Coueslant, one of Diptyque's founders, preserved the sounds, colours, and above all, fragrances. Memories of the mild tobacco of the Egyptian cigarettes smoked by the most elegant ladies. The smoke would rise up in wisps, mingling with the powdery scent of their makeup.

Mr. Coueslant is responsible for one of my favorites from Diptyque, Do Son, a breezy tuberose tribute to his Indochina memories of childhood summers spent in a seaside summer home on Ha Long Bay. I envy Mr. Coueslant these travel experiences from a time when places still remained totally true to their culture, unpolluted with outside cultural influences. The Egyptian cigarettes that are referenced here were an iconic 1930s Egyptian brand, Khedive, which had a sweet fruity tobacco flavor.

Volutes translates to "curl of smoke" and this is what I smell in the opening. I smell tobacco,  and sometimes that note can be too harsh for my nose and overwhelm the senses. Here it is softly muted, a pleasant aroma but not like we're in the middle of a tobacco field. There is a subtle spiciness of dried fruits, emphasis on the "dry"; these fruits haven't turned to a sugary pulp. As the tobacco note warms on my skin I get a whiff of cherry tobacco flavor that reminds me of an experience in an Egyptian shisha cafe with a hookah many years ago. The cherry note is slight. Opoponox can add several scent characteristics: honeyed, smokey, and powdery balsamic. They are all present in Volutes. There is an iris note which comes across as rooty and earthy. This scent is warmly elegant and would be equally sophisticated on a man or woman. It would also make a perfect scent to wear as the temperatures begin to cool.

Volutes EDT is very similar to the EDP, of course, but the immortalle is much more evident to me. It gives me that maple syrup vibe which I don't get at all from the EDP. Later in the wear, where the EDP is very smoky and spicy, the EDT doesn't have any of this drama on my skin.

Philosykos

Philosykos EDT opens with a verdant fig scent. To me it comes across as if the stem of the fruit has just broken from the branch and the sap is oozing out, sticky and green. The EDP version opens softer, surprisingly. It doesn't have the sour sap smell which makes the EDT so distinctive to my nose. The fig is very dry, not sweet and succulent. Philosykos is meant to represent the whole tree: the fig wood branches, the green leaves, and the milky notes of the fig itself. Thankfully the coconut note is very quiet on my skin, which is what makes me think of this as a good scent for fall. Many fig perfumes emphasize the coconut note which can turn fig based perfumes into beachy scents. Here the fig stays green, milky, and later, woody. In this instance I prefer the EDT to the EDP. I expected great things from the stronger perfume version, but it just sits on my skin. Meanwhile the EDT is so green, piquant, sourish, that it makes me feel I've entered some sort of fantastical fig forest.

34 boulevard Saint Germain

Perhaps my favorite of the Diptyque scents I am highlighting for fall wear is this one, Diptyque 34 Boulevard Saint Germain. This scent was released in 2011 in celebration of the 50 year anniversary of the founding of the company. The idea was to capture the scent when you walk into a Diptyque shop, and specifically their flagship store at 34 Boulevard Saint Germain. It is an amalgamation of the experience of walking through that door; the polished wooden cabinets that display the wares, the multiple scents of the candle wax, the hints of scents from the many bottles of perfume. It could have been a mess, but I love it and find it warm, happy, and cozy. Do you know that lift you get when you walk into a fragrant setting? This smell takes me to that happy place and the longer it is on my skin the more scent I get. Warm resinous woods are spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and cardomom. The scent is warm and rich and makes me think of windswept streets with leaves blowing down the sidewalks, people wrapping their coat more closely around them, then entering the warming welcoming comfort of 34 Boulevard Saint Germain.

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There is a briskness to this fragrance that speaks of fall. This would be my perfect fragrance to cuddle into a cozy chair on a cold day with a cup of cinnamon tea and a good book. I feel it's a bit of an under the radar gem. I believe any one of these scents are a good pick for welcoming autumn.

For more about my perfumed travels in France, start with Part One, here.

All photos are my own unless otherwise indicated. Perfume samples are my own.