Lanvin
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Black pepper and juniper assault the senses with immediate, almost aggressive clarity—your first instinct is to lean back rather than lean in. Bergamot attempts mollification but barely penetrates the peppercorn haze, while pink pepper adds a slightly sharper, more floral dimension that suggests this won't be a comforting fragrance.
As the pepper subsides, beeswax emerges with surprising tenderness, coating the nostrils with honeyed warmth. Cardamom and lavender create an unexpectedly herbal-gourmand dialogue, like sweetened herbs from a medieval remedy jar, whilst nutmeg adds a creamy, almost spiced-cake undertone that shifts the entire character from austere to contemplative.
Tobacco and amber finally dominate, creating a warm, slightly smoky hug that feels earned rather than immediate. Benzoin softens everything into a creamy, vanilla-tinged embrace, while vetiver and cedar provide a dry, woody skeleton that prevents the sweetness from becoming cloying—the fragrance finishes thoughtful and nuanced rather than triumphant.
Avant Garde arrives as a contradictory proposition—a fragrance that simultaneously whispers restraint and shouts indulgence. Shyamala Maisondieu has constructed something genuinely unusual here: a spicy-sweet composition that refuses to settle into predictable territory.
The fragrance announces itself through a peppercorn assault, black and pink varieties creating a biting, almost medicinal opening that's immediately complicated by juniper's dry, resinous presence. This is bracing stuff, decidedly unfeminine despite Lanvin's heritage. Yet beneath this austere peppery declaration lurks something honeyed and tactile—beeswax and cardamom emerge to soften the edges, transforming what could have been merely sharp into something genuinely complex.
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3.9/5 (84)