Sunday, March 8, 2020

Perfumista by Anatole Lebreton


I chose the image above to illustrate my initial feeling from a spray of  Anatole Lebreton's newest fragrance, Perfumista. The perfume is purposely intended to be a retro throwback to an age when perfumes had flair and presence. When I initially spray Perfumista it brings images of pink to mind. It feels dressy, sophisticated, and a little proper. It feels like a layer of confidence, where one spray will make you feel more polished, more elegant, like the best version of yourself.

That first smell of Perfumista takes me down a memory portal to the past, and those of us that were around and wearing perfume more than thirty years ago recognize that certain fragrance profile that signals a perfume of an older era. Perfumista fits that bill with its fuzzy florals melting into a mossy green background.

It is a subtle, very pretty chypre, but not in the forceful manner of some vintage chypre perfumes from back in the day. Perfumista has more than a nod to the past; it hearkens to some of the grand dame perfumes of a generation ago. At the same time it feels slightly modernized, acknowledging todays redrawn boundaries of not invading the user's surrounding space in a big way, or those in their orbit. How the chypre aspect of the perfume translates to me is like the quiet but persistent buzzing of a bee, cheerfully dipping in and out of petals sipping nectar, humming along, persistent but gentle.



So back to the opening. I've gotten ahead of myself. First is a pear note, juicy and sweet, which turns creamy as the opulent combination of Bulgarian rose and Indian jasmine appear. The rose is deep and rich, the jasmine sweet but sensuous. These are listed as middle notes but appear quickly on my skin. The top fruity notes— pear, plum, and raspberry— bubble up and give an effervescent quality to the fragrance. The beautiful floral notes mingle with the fruity ones and bring a joyful feel to the scent. The pear and raspberry are the stars at first, bright young things. But the plum stays longer, blending with the rose to give it a wine note.

The opulence of the florals stay present for quite some time. This is interspersed with the mossy green feel, and if you sense color from scent, this one feels very pink and green.

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The deeper notes include patchouli, cedarwood, Peru balsam, and musk. These give the florals a woody and slightly balsamic aura as the scent begins to wind down to its conclusion.

Anatole Lebreton, who is from the Brittany area of France, came to the job of perfume creator via an indirect path. His resume includes stints in the theater, as a purveyor of chocolates and tea, a collector of vintage fragrances, and a past fragrance blogger. He began creating perfumes in 2014 and Perfumista is his sixth. The whole creation of this perfume was an interactive project between Lebreton and some of his customers. He guided the process of creating a perfume which would be an ode to perfume lovers of the world and pay respect to those great vintage scents. His test group went through the process with him, giving feedback and Perfumista is the result.

If you miss the grandness of perfumes of the past, if you love florals that are lavish and miss mossy notes that are velvety and plush, then Perfumista should be on your list of scents to try in 2020.

Top photo Google image. Bottle from anatole lebreton website. Perfume sample purchased by me from Luckyscent.

4 comments :

Undina said...

I also bought a sample of this perfume from Luckyscent, which doesn’t happen too often. But I decided that the name warranted some attention.
I liked it. It indeed reminds me of some perfumes from 80s. Not sure yet if I want to wear it: I plan to keep testing.

Cynthia said...

I am finding alot of strong likes lately. Too many! Although I don't write about what I don't like. This one was just pretty, old style. Not trying to smell like a baked good or a unicorn's garden.

Undina said...

It seems the mobile version doesn’t allow me to nest the comments. I’m amazed at how poorly Google manages this platform.
I was just thinking about it recently: against the usual odds, recently I came across too many perfumes that I liked. If it weren’t for the size of my collection and desire to wear those perfumes that I already have, I would be buying more of these recently tested.

Cynthia said...

I agree. I wish it would notify people of replies. I agree about wearing what I have too. I am trying to slowly release the ones that I never reach for and really start wearing the ones I have.