Bucoliques de Provence was launched in 2016 after Spanish-based perfume group Puig bought L’Artisan Parfumeur. This limited edition eau de parfum is part of a new collection of fragrances that celebrate different regions of France. For Bucoliques de Provence, nose Fabrice Pellegrin, looked to the southeast: “The main idea for Bucoliques de Provence was to celebrate the heritage of Grasse. Lavender, naturally, presented itself, to illustrate the flowers of the South of France and, more specifically, the Provence region. But then the idea of leather came to me from the history of Grasse as ‘the Perfume City’: Catherine de Medici asked that the waters used for tanning leathers in the town be scented with flower maceration [to mask the smell of the hides].”

Bucoliques de Provence opens with a bracing, piquant note of juniper that soon yields to lavender – not just any lavender, but lavender from Seillans. Seillans is about 30 km west of Grasse, and the lavender grown there is unique to the terroir: rich and sweet, with aspects of honey, hay and w. And I smell them all. There is no sharpness or harshness to this lavender. In fact, it is surprisingly soft. The lavender is supported with iris – floral, opulent and powdery at times - and the combination gives Bucoliques de Provence a gorgeous elegance. The iris also bridges the lavender to a note of leather. The leather is soft and supple, and the effect is of a scented glove. White musk seems to hover above this skin scent rather than anchor it. The result is the smell of a soft spring day in the Provençal countryside.

Notes: juniper berries, lavender, iris, leather, white musk.