À Ce Soir – floral and balsamic and beautifully sweet

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I live with an architect who loves bridges. He’s fascinated with bridges of all kinds, like arched bridges, fixed bridges, covered bridges and, aqueducts. He’s tickled by ancient stone bridges, swoons over a lattice truss bridge, and more than once has been struck silent by the graceful power of the cables on a suspension bridge.

Over the years, we’ve had many discussions about which bridges we like and why. These discussions have sometimes gotten a bit heated. I remember a particularly lively debate in a bar on a rainy day in Florence over which was the better bridge: the Rialto or the Ponte Vecchio. That was the day we had to build a bridge over troubled water.

But there’s one bridge we both agree is our favourite in Paris - the Passerelle des Arts or Pont des Arts, the pedestrian bridge that links the Institut de France (a building many consider to be architecturally perfect) and the central square of the Louvre. Over the years, this charming wooden footbridge has come to have a special meaning for us. It’s the place we arrange to meet up with friends before going for a meal or a gallery together; it’s where we go if one of us is feeling blue, and if you are ever in Paris on New Year’s Eve, the Pont des Arts is the place to be.

So, when a Parisian perfume house called Ponts des Arts was launched last year, I knew I had to check it out. After trying the three inaugural fragrances, I bought À Ce Soir, signed by Bertrand Duchaufour, and I could not be happier.

À Ce Soir opens with tangy lemon and fruity, floral green mandarin. Bamboo, green and earthy, starts to creep through the citrus fruits. A note of leather gives it a smooth sensuality before boozy rum appears and calls to mind another Duchaufour favourite, the long-gone Havana Vanille. Here, the sweet, aromatic rum is warmed by spicy cinnamon. Blackcurrant bud adds a light, fruity woodiness and, along with woody/rosy faceted pink pepper, ushers in one of the most gorgeous floral hearts I have ever smelled: rich, erotic ylang-ylang and heady, narcotic narcissus gently brushed with powdery, vanilla-tinged orchid. Lentiscus smells herbaceous, resinous and balsamic, and it swirls through the flowers, giving them depth and making them even more voluptuous. The base is sweet from vanilla, amber, and Benzoin of Siam and tempered by earthy, green and woody vetiver.

The drydown is elegant and sophisticated, with a cozy sweetness and balsamy woodiness that are perfectly pitched, creating a come-hither quality that draws you close. It’s also as gorgeous on a man (the architect) as it is on a woman (his wife).

One of the things that makes À Ce Soir so beautiful and a pleasure to wear is the seamless transition from stage to stage, like crossing a bridge.

Check out À Ce Soir in our Shop.