The incomparable Oliva Giacobetti created Dzing! for L’Artisan Parfumeurs in 1999; this is one of my desert island fragrances, but I favour the 2011 version. Inspired by a prototype of a vintage-style pop-up circus book based on Paris's historic Cirque d’Hiver (the Winter Circus), it always brings back memories of my young son and me going to the circus together each summer when it came to town. 

On me, it opens with a transparent whisper of dry, metallic saffron and vibrant, fresh ginger. A note of sweet, juicy apple, with a slightly tart edge, rounds out the spices, hinting at what’s to come and building a sense of thrilling anticipation. As it blooms, saddle leather conjures the smell of whips, saddles, and strapping. Notes of furry musk and sweat are warmly intimate and animalic; smoky, tarry, rubber-smelling guaiac wood recalls the scent of fresh motorcycle tires and rubber mats on the arena floor. Dry, balsamic cedarwood and a note of golden hay bring to mind fresh wood shavings and straw beneath our feet. Benzoin connects to the woods, capturing the smell of show programs moist from the heat. One whiff triggers memories of a hot summer’s day under the big top.

And then comes the gourmand twist: the fading leather and woods melt into a base of buttery caramel, sticky warm toffee, and cotton candy, anchored by the benzoin and warm, powdery tonka bean.

The drydown is cozy, warm, and nostalgic. Dzing! has contrasting notes that really shouldn’t work together: leather and tarry smoke, creamy wood, and sweet cotton candy. Yet Giacobetti wrangles them with her soft, impressionistic approach that pulls beautifully at memory.

Notes: Saffron, ginger, apple, musk, sweat, saddle leather, guaiac wood, cedarwood, hay, benzoin, caramel, toffee, cotton candy and Tonka bean.