Art de Parfum is a British perfume house which launched in 2015 with the tagline "French sophistication". Created by Lithuanian-born Ruta Degutyte, the brand has a capsule of 5 core unisex scents: Gin & Tonic Cologne, Signature Wild, Sensual Oud, Sea Foam and Excentrique Moi, all made with highly concentrated perfume oils. No prizes for guessing which one I was the most excited to try... Art de Parfum is heavily influenced by the liberating style and effortless chic of the French Riviera, and so they wanted to create a perfectly balanced range of fragrances that would make the wearer feel sexy for any occasion. Art de Parfum also aims to be kind to both the environment and the wearer, without testing on animals and also being free from nano materials, CMR, GMO and colourants. A couple of weeks ago, I filmed my first impressions and I've never been so wowed by a fragrance brand. I never go into a testing perfume video expecting to like all of them, if any at all, so I was really surprised when consistently they knocked it out of the park. Now that I've had a bit of time to play around with the scents, here's what I think of them...
Signature Wild | The oriental-leather one, perfect for autumn
"Unapologetically dark and wild. This highly addictive fragrance combines a powerful leather accord with the boozy and syrupy davana herb and sweet delicacy of orange blossom". Despite being named as a range of genderless fragrances, Signature Wild* is the brand's more masculine scent, so I was surprised to find it to be one of my favourites on first impressions. Top notes are cinnamon, davana and cardamom, combining with a boozy note to give a sweet, warm and gourmand opening. The edible notes continue with dried fruits, and move into an orange blossom heart with radiant woods. The base is dry and woody, with labdanum, sandalwood, peru balsam and Haitian vetiver, with a spot of leather to add a bit of mystery. Signature Wild is decidedly autumnal, and reminds me of a dishy man in an aged brown leather jacket, drinking a honeyed whisky. Mmm now where's he been hiding all my life? It lacks the classic aftershave scent, so it is wearable to both genders. On me, the sweet cinnamon notes take centre stage (and reminds me a lot of my fave cinnamon honey almonds in the Graze Hot Cross Yum snack) but I'd love to see how this would smell on a man.
Gin & Tonic Cologne | The fresh one, smells exactly like G&T
"A sparkling cocktail of zesty, herbal and bitter notes. An ice-cool gin-tonic accord, brought alive with grapefruit peel, resinous juniper and a slice of fresh-cut cucumber." This green citrussy fragrance opens with notes of juniper berry for that authentic G&T feel, with grapefruit, lemon zest and cucumber giving it a refreshing true-to-life fizz. The heart is a mysterious gin-tonic accord, with a base packed full of botanicals including cardamom and juniper berry oil, as well as an ambergris note, cedarwood, vetiver, white musk and incense. On my skin, Gin & Tonic Cologne* becomes a unique citrussy floral and, although it's more of a summer scent, there's no denying it's a must for gin lovers!
Sea Foam | The marine one, smells like the ocean
"A true splash into the ocean. Iodic notes of seaweed and salt conjure up a purifying seascape. Drift away on a wave of a lactonic sandalwood, fig leaf and weathered woods." Sea Foam* opens with a spicy, almost gingery note of bergamot, mixing with soft marine notes and a heart of creamy guaic wood and fig leaf, giving an almost coconutty feel. It has a base of Haitian vetiver, driftwood accord, ambroxan, sea salt, sandalwood, patchouli and incense, but it is still a very light and fresh fragrance. It is a really interesting scent, and not what you would typically expect from a marine fragrance. It has a real softness to it, which makes it extremely wearable for women and I'm excited to wear this one more!
Excentrique Moi | The floral woody one
"Truly remarkable and unique, just like moi. Rich red fruits blended with flowers and dry tannic tea notes complement the dark woody base of patchouli and guaic wood, ushering in sensuality and depth." Excentrique Moi* has a dry, spicy opening, with notes of pepper, clove and red fruits mixing with black tea notes and woods in the base. Hibiscus provides a floral note lifting the fragrance and adding a little freshness, although the base of patchouli, white musk, cedar and wormwood ensure that Excentrique Moi retains its spicy, woodsy essence.
Sensual Oud | The floriental one
"Seduction of the finest order. Blending dark woody notes such as cypriol and patchouli with warm spices, rosy geranium leaf and velvety suede for a sexy and sophisticated scent that will take your breath away." Sensual Oud* opens with clove, date and saffron to give the rose note a spicy, Damask Rose feel. It is aromatic, and the geranium leaf adds a little freshness. There is also a hint of Turkish delight to the rose, with a slight syrupy sweet edge. The base adds richness to the fragrance with notes of patchouli, oud, cypriol, jasmine absolute and clove. I'm not usually a Damask Rose lover, but Sensual Oud is really nicely balanced, with a mix of powdery, sweet and fresh notes making it smell more modern. It's heavier feel means that this will be the perfect winter rose perfume!
It goes without saying that I am really impressed with Art de Parfum as a brand, they have a really solid wardrobe of scents and all are impeccably composed. Whilst not every fragrance is hugely groundbreaking, each fragrance has something a little bit unique about them which I love. In terms of picking a favourite, I'm not 100% sure if any of them are "me", but I'll definitely be playing around with them more over the next couple of weeks and taking full advantage of my samples. I wasn't overly excited by Excentrique Moi, but the rest of the scents really drew me in. Gin & Tonic Cologne really does smell amazing, and I could picture it being a great holiday fragrance, and Sea Foam would also be gorgeous in the summer. In terms of the warmer scents, Signature Wild is such a different scent and the boozy cinnamon tones will be gorgeous for this season as the weather drops. Finally, we have Sensual Oud and I didn't think it would be my favourite because I'm not too much of a fan of Damask Rose but it really surprised me. It is perfectly balanced between being a sweet and musky rose, and it will be gorgeous in the winter!
Which sounds like your kind of scent?
- Post contains PR samples (*) -
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