L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Potager collection review – Quentin Bisch and Alexandra Carlin; 2022

Veggies of the world unite! Your day has finally come. For their latest release, the folks at L’Artisan Parfumeur have moved away from fruits, petals and woods and turned instead to peas, beetroot and even the humble cauliflower. The brand’s new Le Potager range consists of five fragrances (four by Quentin Bisch and one by Alexandra Carlin) that seek to prove there’s just as much inspiration to be found in a vegetable patch as there is in an orchard. I reviewed them in a recent episode of Love At First Scent. Here’s a link: L’Artisan Parfumeur Cedrat Ceruse, Iris De Gris, Vetiver Ecarlate, Tonka Blanc, Musc Amarante reviews.

These days, when a brand releases five scents in a single go, I’m grateful if even one of them turns out to be surprising or interesting in some way. So the fact that no fewer than three of the Potager compositions made me sit up and pay attention marks a tremendous achievement on L’Artisan’s part. When you consider that the other two (Vetiver Ecarlate and Carlin’s Tonka Blanc) are both pleasing and eminently wearable, Le Potager turns into something of a minor miracle. Clearly, someone in the creative department at Puig was having a good moment when they dreamt up this idea. Or maybe they’d just eaten a particularly tasty carrot.

Putting aside its bold (or should that be foolish?) name, Iris De Gris is a terrific meeting between the hyacinth-iris coolness of the likes of Chanel No. 19 and the rooty, earthy, fuzzy edges of Hermes Hiris. Cedrat Ceruse drags Guerlain Herba Fresca across Wimbledon’s centre court before liberally sprinkling it with fennel seeds. And Musc Amarante picks up the baton from Comme Des Garcons Rouge (also a Puig creation) and makes the beetroot note redder and juicier, while bolstering the vetiver in the base. Fascinating creations one and all, made even more noteworthy by Bisch’s refusal to pump up their longevity to silly levels through the use of musks and crass synthetic sandalwoods. It’s just a shame they’re so expensive. If L’Artisan released them in a set of smaller bottles, I suspect they’d sell very well indeed. Hint hint.

Persolaise

[L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Potager reviews based on samples obtained by me in 2022.]

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