Les Abstraits La Douleur Exquise, Belle Ame, Givenchy Foudroyant, Goldfield & Banks Island Lush and other reviews – 2022

It’s not every day that a member of our fragrant community sets up their own brand. It’s even less common for the brand to be worthy of attention. But this year, we’ve been treated to one of these rare occurrences in the form of Les Abstraits, the perfume house founded by Eugen Nizic (of the U Smells Good channel). It already has two scents under its belt, and I reviewed both of them, as well as a few other releases, over on YouTube the other day. Here’s a link to the broadcast: Les Abstraits La Douleur Exquise and Belle Ame; Givenchy Foudroyant and Noctambule; Goldfield & Banks Island Lush, Purple Suede and Silky Woods reviews. And here’s the complete rundown of the episode:

Les Abstraits Belle Ame (Antoine Lie) 3:09
Les Abstraits La Douleur Exquise (Antoine Lie) 11:28
Givenchy Foudroyant 19:07
Givenchy Noctambule (Ane Ayo) 25:58
Goldfield & Banks Island Lush (Amelie Jacquin) 28:26
Goldfield & Banks Purple Suede (Ilias Ermenidis) 32:37
Goldfield & Banks Silky Woods (Hamid Merati-Kashani) 34:38

From the list above, there’s no question that the fragrances you ought to seek out are the duo from Les Abstraits. Belle Ame is a study in angelic purity: a balsam-sweet iris, whiter than a field of freshly-fallen snow. But the standout is La Douleur Exquise, in which Antoine Lie winds a blood-scarlet rose around an assertive leather to give us a heartfelt, angst-ridden statement on the importance of moving on and facing the future with hope. A complex, rewarding delight.

Persolaise

[Samples provided by the respective brands in 2022.]

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