Basenotes' Adventures in London - Part One: The Rare, The Exclusive and The Exquisite!

by Danielle Cooper, 04 March 2007

It's 8.45 on a grey and uncertain Saturday morning. Basenotes founder Grant Osborne and I are sitting in a coffee shop in Victoria station hoping against hope that the monotone sky doesn't open and release the buckets of drizzle that it has been threatening to throw down since dawn. This is not our only hope as we struggle on with our black coffees. We are also hoping people from all over England and as far afield as Paris and Helsinki are going to be converging on Victoria Station in half an hour to attend the first official Basenotes Lunch.

With a strange mix of nerves and excitement we make our way to the meeting point and before long before we are surrounded by a sea of eager, smiling faces all clutching a Basenotes information pack and ready for some serious fragrance appreciation.

Our first stop is Les Senteurs in Belgravia. The whole group begin the first leg of the journey excitedly talking amongst ourselves, the buzz almost tangible. Arriving 15 minutes early at Les Senteurs proves not to be a problem and we are warmly greeted by James Craven who ignores my apologies for being a little ahead of schedule and ushers us in asking whether we would prefer champagne, orange juice or a little of both! The atmosphere inside the shop soon reaches the same pitch that one might find in a child filled sweetshop and everyone soon becomes absorbed in perusing the elegantly stacked shelves asking questions, listening to the stories behind fragrances and hearing first hand accounts of meetings with world famous perfumers.

Les Senteurs offers an incredible range of fine fragrance and scented products for the body and the home. As well as being the only boutique in the UK from which one can buy Frederic Malle fragrances, it is also an Aladdin's cave of offerings from niche perfumers such as Mona Di Orio, Creed, Parfums Caron, Lorenzo Villoresi, Serge Lutens, The Different Company, Acqua Di Genova… Such luminaries of the fragrance world combined with a 10% discount can be a dangerous thing for any self-respecting fragrance addict and more than one or two of the group will leave Les Senteurs happily swinging their purchases alongside their bulging goodie bags.

Whilst in Les Senteurs the Basenoters found themselves in the enviable position of being amongst the first people in the UK to try the latest offering from Creed: Virgin Island Water. This pre-release sneaky peak filled the air with the warm scent of summer holidays in tropical climates. The initial burst of juicy mandarin and lime floats on a balmy breeze of coconut, coming from the use of the white flesh of the seed (copra) and coconut toddy – a liquid derived from the sap of palm trees. The bergamot extends the citrus lilt of the mandarin and lime into the heart of the fragrance where it gently fades into the spicy ginger and the heady florals; ylang-ylang, hibiscus and jasmine. As the flowers gently unfurl on the nose they reveal the base of the fragrance, which is sweet and rich, dripping with sugar cane, splashed with white rum and lightly touched with Tonkin musk. The overall experience to my nose, is one of juicy pineapples, fresh coconut, warm sand and freshly oiled skin ready for basking in a bright tropical sun.

This was not the only exclusive that we Basenotes lunchers had the pleasure of being among the first in the UK to sample. Michael Donovan, of Profile PR, the UK representative for many of the brands stocked at Les Senteurs, also produces a bottle of the newly reorchestrated Violette Précieuse from Parfums Caron. The fragrance was originally released in 1913 and the 2007 incarnation retains the strong floral elements that were popular during that period. The violet that explodes in the top notes, which contain both violet flowers and leaves, is tempered by sweet orange blossom and a hint of iris, before making way for a heart of rich jasmine and creamy lily of the valley. The violet is the dominant element throughout but the overall sweetness of all the florals is beautifully freshened with a hint of slightly tart raspberry and a summer breath of leafy, green vetiver at its base.

Among all of the wonderful fragrances (I cannot resist a quick whiff of Love in White and taking advantage of my 10% discount with a bottle of the recently re-released Ma Griffe) you can also find such delights as Rigaud candles. These beautifully presented candles in their glass containers, capped with silver and finished with a colourful ribbon, have been in production since 1950. The elegant fragrances and long-burning formula have made them perennial favourites with royalty, politicians, artists and designers all over the world. One can also find candles by Diptyque, Creed and Annick Goutal among others. Basenotes moderator Col and I are also captivated by the Branche d'Olive room diffusers on display at the counter. These room fragrancing devices are made up of a set of wooden sticks, supported in a chic glass jar that contains a fragrant alcohol-based essence. The sticks absorb the essence and gently release the fragrance around the room. I would love to go on to write about the skincare products that sit alongside some of the fragrance ranges such as Annick Goutal, E.Coudray, Lorenso Villoresi and Editions De Parfums Frederic Malle, as well as the soaps from Savon de Provence, bath oils from Olverum and a wide range of products from Abahna. Unfortunately all too soon our time is up, we have to leave the wonderful Michael, James and Martin and we are on our way to the next dot on the map.

After our fascinating hour and a half in Les Senteurs the group has fallen into free and easy conversation about the thing that has brought us all together. I am impressed that as we make our way down Sloane Street we manage not to lose anyone as we pass Jo Malone and eventually we arrive at the most famous department store in London – Harrods. On the fifth floor of this huge emporium of all things luxurious, Roja Dove has created his Haute Parfumerie. The black lacquered walls and film star lighting give an air of opulence to the space and the parfumerie manager, Annette, and her team are very welcoming and answer all of our questions in detail.

The centre of the parfumerie is dominated by the huge stunning Caron urns, whose contents and adornments emit a golden sparkle under the lights. Watching as a member of staff named Marcel prepares a purchase from the urns, one cannot help but feel that one has stepped back into an 18th century pharmacy. Beautiful antique bottles from Roja Dove's own collection are displayed under glass and, tantilisingly, are for sale. Cards dotted here and there among the displays grandly but quietly announce the exclusivity of the fragrance that they are resting in front of. A feeling almost akin to panic ensues when I see those little cards announcing that this is the only location on the planet from which I can procure this or that amber coloured liquid. I almost feel compelled to buy something – anything - so rare, so exclusive, that this might be my only chance to own it. Fortunately it is for moments like these that credit card limits were invented and the madness passes. For a time though, I am spellbound by Balenciaga's Le Dix. The citrussy opening of bergamot and lemon is enough to hook me and lead me into the sweet floral heart, before reeling me in and landing me on the deck with its civet and musk base that takes me back to childhood and the fragrances that my grandmother wore. Le Dix, we are told, is here purely at Roja's request. Though Balenciaga had discontinued it, Roja felt that his parfumerie would not be complete without this or its sister Balenciaga fragrance Quadrille and as if by magic it has reappeared here.

Baccarat's Les Larmes Sacrées de Thebes. Picture: RDPR

On the subject of magic one can also find the extraordinarily rare Les Larmes Sacrées de Thebes. The scent is based around Ancient Egypt, the era in which the very foundations of the art of fragrance making were laid, and the scent promises all the mystery and romance which that represents. This fragrance contains the rich and royal frankincense and myrrh, ingredients used in the first known fragrance formula which was created for Tutankhamen. This Baccarat creation is presented in a purple and transparent pyramid shaped crystal flacon of which there are just six left for sale in the world. Make that five, for one of our party parts with a cool £975 for one of these incredible bottles, which contains 7.5ml of fragrance. A 15ml refill will stretch the overdraft slightly less at £195.

Upon leaving the Parfumerie (with our gift of a generous size bottle of Jean-Charles Brosseau's sweet and sheer Ombre Rose bath and shower gel) I don't think I am the only one whose nose is feeling the fatigue. A cup of coffee to clear the senses and a sit down to verbalise the wonderful experiences of the morning so far is very much in order. Thankfully it is now time for lunch…

In the second part of my report on the day's sniffing activities I will be discussing all ten fragrances that we had the pleasure of trying in Ormonde Jayne, the history of Penhaligon's and the multitude of cream cakes that we sat down to, exhausted but happy, at the end of our fragrant adventure!

Categories: Basenotes, Les Senteurs, Roja Dove

Basenotes' Adventures in London - Part One: The Rare, The Exclusive and The Exquisite!

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