L'Artisan Parfumeur
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The liquorice hits first—proper, dark, almost medicinal anise backed immediately by a crack of pepper that makes your nose tingle. It's an arresting combination, sweet yet sharp, like biting into a spiced pastille whilst crushing peppercorns underfoot in a medieval apothecary.
The nutty accord blooms now, but this is raw hazelnut skin and freshly split chestnut rather than Nutella, their earthy bitterness amplified by woody tannins. Honey begins to seep through, though the gaiac wood's smoky, rose-like facets keep it grounded, whilst myrrh adds a church incense solemnity that prevents any drift towards the simply edible.
What remains is a skin-close whisper of cedarwood and tonka, warmed by lingering honey and stabilised by myrrh's resinous grip. The sweetness has been tamed entirely, leaving behind something akin to sandalwood prayer beads worn smooth, faintly animalic, utterly comforting yet strangely austere.
Méchant Loup—"Big Bad Wolf"—is Bertrand Duchaufour's olfactory fable from 1997, and it prowls the line between sweet woodland comfort and shadowy spice with remarkable dexterity. The opening salvo of black liquorice and pepper immediately announces this isn't your grandmother's nutty oriental; there's something darker lurking beneath. As the composition unfolds, hazelnut and chestnut emerge not as sugary praline confections but as earthy, almost savoury elements, their natural bitterness intact and amplified by hazelnut wood's tannic quality. This is autumn in a bottle, but captured in the forest floor rather than the patisserie window.
The genius lies in how Duchaufour balances the gourmand impulses against a robust woody-resinous framework. Gaiac wood and cedarwood provide a smoky, pencil-shaving backbone that prevents the honey and tonka from becoming cloying, whilst myrrh threads through with its medicinal, slightly bitter resinous character. The result feels simultaneously cosy and feral—imagine a hermit's cottage deep in the woods, where dried herbs hang from rafters and the fireplace burns with aromatic timber.
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3.9/5 (119)