L'Artisan Parfumeur
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
A bright, almost sharp burst of lemon and tangerine cuts through the air with military precision, but there's something notably dry about it—no sticky sweetness, no rounded citrus plumpness. Within minutes, a herbaceous undertone begins surfacing, as if someone's crushed fresh lavender buds directly into the citrus.
The floral heart crystallises around a tart, slightly green geranium that plays beautifully against the established lavender, creating an aromatic greenness that feels more like a botanical extract than traditional perfumery. The woody base begins to assert itself now, oakmoss particularly adding a dusty, slightly earthy character that grounds the increasingly sophisticated citrus-floral dialogue.
What remains is predominantly woody—a dry, resinous cedar-and-patchouli combination that's developed a faintly bitter edge, complemented by a subtle vetiver grassiness. The original citrus has completely retreated, leaving something that smells faintly vintage, faintly austere, distinctly and unapologetically aged.
L'Eau du Caporal arrives as a paradox wrapped in khaki: a fragrance that feels simultaneously crisp and weathered, like a freshly pressed linen shirt that's been packed away with cedar blocks. Jacques Fraysse has crafted something deceptively simple—a composition that wears its structure openly, yet rewards close attention with unexpected complexity. The citrus top is genuinely bright, lemon and tangerine arriving with the snap of a just-opened tin, but this isn't cheerful citrus; it's austere, almost medicinal in its clarity. Beneath this, the lavender-geranium heart refuses to sweeten the composition. Instead, these floral notes align themselves with an almost herbaceous severity—the geranium's green, slightly tart character prevents the lavender from becoming soapy, creating instead a faintly green-tinged aromatic landscape that suggests pressed wildflowers rather than a perfumer's floral accord.
What distinguishes L'Eau du Caporal is how thoroughly woody it becomes as it develops. The cedar, oakmoss, and patchouli base doesn't lurk beneath; it gradually colonises the composition, transforming those citrus opening notes into something that smells distinctly aged, like a vintage military uniform still carrying faint traces of bergamot pomade. There's a fougère quality that emerges—that characteristic sweet-dried-grass character—which knits everything together into something genuinely green and faintly bitter.
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3.6/5 (168)