Poivre Piquant - L'Artisan Parfumeur - review

Poivre Piquant EDT by L'Artisan Parfumeur - Review

Ol-facts:

Launch: 2002

Perfumer: Bertrand Duchaufour.

Inspiration: Kama Sutra, Route of Spices, Indian wedding tradition.

Description:"Inspired by an Indian wedding tradition of mingling sugar and pepper, one to make life sweet, the other to make it burning with passion. Poivre Piquant conceals the hotness of white pepper behind the veil of milk. The magic white love potion for a lifetime of tenderness and passion."

Olfactive notes (brand): white pepper, licorice, milk, honey.

Olfactive notes (other sites/blogs): white pepper, pink peppercorns, licorice, milk, sugar.

Olfactive notes by + Q Perfume blog: white pepper, pink peppercorns*, rose, freesia, licorice, honey, milk, sugar, opoponax.

* Brazilian source

Family: Oriental-spicy.

Gender: Both men and women - Yes, but it is more feminine than masculine.

Sillage: Discret.

Longevity: It last 3-4 hours tops.

Technical improvement/innovation: Not found.

Price x Benefit: It is a bit expensive for such a short pleasure.

Where to find: L'Artisan Parfumeur, Olfattorio (Roma), Luckyscent, Aedes de Venustas, Neiman Marcus, Aus Liebe Zum Duft.

Poivre Piquant belongs to a collection of 3 fragrances called Les Epices de la Passion (the spices of passion), debuted in 2002, with two other perfumes: Safran Troublant and Piment Brulant. Now sold individually, the fragrance is presented in two sizes - 100ml and 50ml.

PINK PEPPERCORN

photo credit: Korhanak

Pink peppercorn comes from a Brazilian plant called schinus terenbinthifolius or from the Peruvian Tree schinus molle. Although sold as pepper because it has a pepper-like taste, it is not a real pepper (piper). In perfumery it is rather floral with fruity notes. The fragrance of pink pepper is very delicate.

Some perfumes can have a real special aura due to pink peppers, such as Ta'if by Ormonde Jayne which has a brilliant pink pepper opening (combined with saffron and dates) andChampaca, also Ormond Jayne's, with a luxurious accord of pink peppers, neroli and bamboo.

Poivre Piquant has a strong peppery opening. A tickling-the-nose, woody, slightly floral pepper note. As if you crushed pink peppercorns in the hands. Slightly androgynous to masculine. Very sensual, very inspiring. But as quick and short as a sneeze pepper can provoke, it vanishes too soon. It could really last a little bit longer, since it is so ambiguously interesting.

WHITE PEPPER

The taste for pepper comes from ancient times, and it was so appreciated and so prized as trade good, that it was called "black money".

Pepper also changed the world history. The preciousness of this spice and its exorbitant price during the middle ages, led Europeans to put all efforts and expenses to find the route to India, by conquering the seas, and later discovering America and other colonies.

White pepper (piper nigrum) differs from the black pepper because it is picked from the tree when fully ripped, with the skin removed. But both comes from the same plant.

In perfumery, black pepper is used to round notes and to connect them. It has fresh, woody and fruity accents that comes from the outer layer. Since white pepper does not have the "skin", these notes are almost missing, plus, a musty note is added due to fermentation.

White pepper was sprinkled on top of the freesias and it blends really well.

Pepper always gives a final touch to flowers such as roses, geranium and peonies.

LICORICE - AMARELLI

photo credit: + Q Perfume Blog

Although many sites are mentioning licorice, I find myself sniffing and sniffing many times in the search of a hint of this note.

From the combination of words glukos (sugar) and riza (root), this note in perfumery is woody, sweet, anise -like and spicy.

I am crazy about Licorice candies since I was a child. I just love the salty ones. I came back from Italy with nothing less than one kilo! My favorite brand is Amarelli. Strong, pure, salty and slightly bitter.

What I did get was the notes of milk, blended in burned sugar. A warm salty-sweet, slightly bitter smell of milk and caramel sugar.

Licorice? Without the anise touch? PERHAPS!

MILK

Milk notes are used in a perfume to give a velvety creamy touch, a tenderness to the fragrance. Milk has a sweet undertone that goes very well with honey, vanilla, coffee and caramels.

HONEY

Milk and honey is a lovely combination. And yet, although they are mentioned by the brand as being combined with licorice, I will insist on what my nose tells me: milk and burned sugar.

OPOPONAX RESIN

I once got raw materials from a fragrance house. When I opened the small flacon with opoponax oil for the first time, I immediately thought of caramel, milk, burned sugar. Strong, gourmand and very, very sticky.

So, I do smell opoponax in this perfume.

Opoponax? PERHAPS!

What I did find out were notes not mentioned by others, such as freesia and roses. Freesias are very intense, but roses are very pale.

I compared to other perfumes with strong freesias so I would not mislead my senses.

Poivre Piquant has freesias & roses? PERHAPS!

DID I LIKE THIS PERFUME?

PERHAPS PERHAPS PERHAPS!