Dries Van Noten par Frédéric Malle is the first entry in a new collection from the Frédéric Malle brand: XXX par Frédéric Malle, in which Mr. Malle promises to “translate the world of people and brands that [he admires] into scents”.1 The Belgian designer Dries Van Noten is up first, and most long time readers could probably guess that I don’t know Dries Van Noten from Adam, but after reading in Wikipedia (where else?) that Mr. Van Noten does not do haute couture because “I’m a little naive but I don’t like the idea of showing things that you don’t sell in a store”, he has already stolen my heart.2
Reportedly, it took 18 months for Malle to translate the Van Noten universe into scent, working with perfumer Bruno Jovanovic:
Then I tried to make Bruno understand the essence of Dries’ world. I spoke about the different themes and recurrent materials that my hero often uses: Indian embroidery, XVIIIth century engravings, or the very graphic and colorful prints that he juxtaposes to create unexpected harmony — just like a perfumer does…
Somewhere between the over-spiced/overpriced, under-sandalwooded Serge LutensSantal de Mysore and the nuclear-strength, feminine, flowers and fruit of Santal Blanc (now residing in exclusivity, in Paris, smart thing!) is an open slot for a perfect Serge Lutens sandalwood perfume. (Or at least a sandalwood with charm, balance and a carefree attitude.) When I heard Lutens was releasing a new sandalwood fragrance, Santal Majuscule*, I was interested…but cautious. It’s been a long time since a new Lutens fragrance has tempted me.
Santal Majuscule goes on smelling mildly/vaguely spicy with aromas that remind me of candied orange peel and immortelle (and is there something “minty” in the background, too?) Quickly, the perfume becomes denser and gives off the aromas of shortbread cookies (on the verge of burning) in a wood stove — incensy, and not at all unpleasant. Then, unexpectedly, a rose scent mixes with the toasty wood notes (and for a short spell, smelled on the air, not up close, Santal Majuscule smells like a richer version of Cartier Déclaration d’un Soir). As the perfume develops I get hints of brown sugar/molasses and sweet cocoa…
Simon Constantine of Lush talks about the world sandalwood market. It isn’t the most visually stimulating video ever, but provides a good introduction to the subject.
Below the jump, another video from Lush, this one about a sustainable sandalwood source in New Caledonia. Here you’ll see how the trees are processed to make sandalwood oil.
Roger Turpening has made a career of searching for hidden things of great value, many of them deep underground and traded on commodities exchanges. Now he is applying his seismic imaging skills in pursuit of another kind of oil, one that grows in trees.
