Description
The French perfume house L’Artisan Parfumeur launched its first completely natural (with the ecology certificate) line of products for body and soul. The line is named Jatamansi. Jatamansi is Sanskrit word for Himalayan grass known as Himalayan Nard. This rear herb grows at the height or 3000 meters in India, China and Pakistan and is used as a sedative, very similar to valerian. Unlike valerian, Jatamansi smells very pleasantly, like a precious musk. L’Eau de Jatamansi is a woody fragrance with aromatic green accords and velvety touch of balm and resin. The fresh citrusy opening of grapefruit, bergamot and aromatic herbs is replaced after a while with woody accords and sweet note of rose petals ( Nard, rose and ylang-ylang). Base notes introduce warmth and comfort of incense, Saintwood, Australian sandalwood and light papyrus. Jatamansi is a beautiful example of L’Artisan Parfumeur’s composition, inspired by nature, very precise and minimalistic. It was created in 2007. The nose behind this fragrance is Karine Vinchon Spehner.
Daoli6yr – :
Phase 1. Gin + poured on fresh cut tree trunk (deciduous tree) + several drops of pineapple syrup
Phase 2. Gin changes into effervescent lemonade tablet (I feel like sticking my nose into the glass of effervecing “coriander seeds lemonade”)
Phase 3. bitter herbal church incense + scent of earwig (!) / or an old photographic plate / or some kind of tanned leather.
From a distance I scent the bitter note, but when I move my wrist closer that incense/earwig note begins to effervesce and then I smell coriander lemonade again.
Like lemonade closed in the incense.
street76 – :
A tonic on a hot, humid, summer’s day! Spiced grapefruit and herbs. Slightly bitter, but then slightly sweet. It also smells of a fresh, green incense. Woody, herbal and fresh. Refreshing!
azikazimow – :
I blind bought a used bottle of this for an almost funny price. Had I tried it in store I wouldn’t have bought it, because of the initial blast, which is aggressive at first. But this way I waited for it to calm down and it became real aromatherapy in bottle! A savior for hot and humid days.
I smell mostly grapefruit and clary sage, but my coworker said she smells patchouli on me.
GAYJIN – :
Mary in the Bible who poured out her very costly perfume over Jesus feet, preparing Him for His burial. Her fragrance was Jatamasnsi (Spikenard).
A great exotic fresh fragrance.
The review following mine here said he gets mostly sandalwood. I was thinking citrus and herbs, but he is right, there is a creamy sweet natural sandalwood as the main basenote, reminding me of the Mysore sandalwood found in Creed’s Boise du Portugal.
It also has an old classic feel, yet is modern with it’s herbal and smoky twist.
This was my Springtime signature. It is just so comfortable and enjoyable to wear. It’s beautifully fresh, wonderfully green and exotic, mesmerizing wafts of floral nuances. Manly Mediterranean vib…
It smells fresh, yet it has herbal richness that is very natural and comfortable to wear. It reminds me of Caron Pour Homme in that way. When I get tired of wearing fragrances, Jatamansi or Caron Pour Homme are great, because they are so natural smelling, you don’t feel like your wearing a ” fragrance”.
I now see that the dominant note is a fine Clary sage. I allways liked Clary sage, in Zino, Azzaro Pour Homme, Aramis Tuscany, this reminds me of those frags that have a strong Clary sage note. It’s known to smell earthy, leathery, fruity, amamalic, a nice warm note that ads depth and richness to this fragrance. It makes a very pleasant accord with the nard, citrus, and papyrus.
I never smelled spikenard, but I know very well how Valerian root smells like, they’re related. My family from Lithuania, used it as a mild sedative tea. When I first sniffed Jatamansi, I got a bit of that earthy Valerian smell, then I couldn’t pick it up again. It’s like when I first sniffed Encre Noir Sport, I got the aquatic note, never picked it up again, interesting.
Well Jatamansi, smells a lot like Azzaro Pour Homme vintage. So that’s good news for Azzaro PH lovers. Jatamansi, is cleaner, and has some pleasant exotic herbs, papyrus, and the hint of spikenard etc.
I blind bought this as I like the perfumer, Karine Vinchon very much. She hasn’t done to many frags, but Amouage Memoir Man, and L Artisan Vetiver Sacre, my favorite L Artisan along with Timbuktu. She blends grasses and herbs very well.
So if your looking for a great citrusy warm weather casual, this is great. It’s also exotic, herbal and green, with a nice touch of incense for depth.
This is a top 5 for me, for Spring and Summer.
This is stronger and out performs the original version that came in a 250 ml bottle.
Rating: 8/10
God bless you. John 3:16
docijus – :
I have a decant of this from years ago. I remember reading that it is all natural. Be that is it may, every time I wear it I am seduced. It reads as a delicately spiced sandalwood. I spray it on, thinking, gah, I have to use up these decants! Then I spend hours daydreaming… This is really beautiful, quite delicate, yet a haunting perfume, oriental, and old fashioned in its persistence. Surely a perfumer for hire could recreate this beauty. It is a subtle musky skin scent, that makes you wonder if one of your first passionate lovers used it… But no, we were all povvo students who couldn’t afford perfume…unless you were
me, who would rather buy Mitsouko than food…
Fallpane – :
Unfortunately I just can’t wear this. I get a huge burst of syrupy cloying sweetness when I apply it, it gets a little better as it dries down but not enough to let me enjoy any of the other notes. I’m not sure what is causing this, I’ve never had this problem with any of the listed notes, and no other reviewers mention a similar experience. It’s the first time I haven’t loved a L’Artisan fragrance. Disappointing.
Dodgeast – :
The opening is extremely green and oily yet somewhat camphore-like.Its citrussy-grassy,with relaxing balmy undertone. After 10-15 minutes its getting resinous and woody, very much in tune with beautiful Cacharel pour Homme, yet I am aware its warmth of guiac paired with brightness of citrus and clary sage that unites them.
Jatamansi is also posesses that unique papyrus note that makes the Timbuktu so exotically woody-dry.
It’s definitely very natural fragrance,being Asian by nature and unfamiliar to European nose, its doesn’t fail to soothe and relax my tired European soul.
f1zzo – :
I think this one is better for man. Clean and elegant.
MrAstonMartin – :
This perfume is one of the most memorable, amazing scents I’ve ever experienced. It is not for everyone though. I should say it would fit someone who is into meditation and yoga, as it is a calming and warm fragrance. Quite unique composition, yet vaguely reminds me of Kenzo Jungle Elephant…What a shame it’s been discontinued.
rus7777 – :
Before writing up my review I realized this is my fourth of four scents made by perfumer Karine Vinchon. I reviewed my comments on her other scents and picked up on a common theme… she tends to throw notes together to see what will happen
Anyhow, the opening is strongly citrus, mainly lemon. This lasts for about 5 minutes before giving way to a more interesting middle phase. Here I got flashbacks of oak moss, back when oak moss was legal, and a pleasant, more oily floral. This phase is the most complex, waxing and waning in response to my body heat, showing itself to be a higher end perfume.
Dry down is faint, green and softly floral. I like this phase too. It’s only the opening that screeches on me, but other than that this is a fine fragrance. Worth trying for old school chypre fans.
MuncWhoxunuff – :
To my nose, L’Artisan Parfumeur EAU DE JATAMANSI is really an oriental fragrance. Definitely more oriental than woody, and not very floral at all. I would place this in the general category (apparently used only by me) of Indian Grocery Store Perfumes.
I’m not saying that I detect sharp asafoetida or cumin or curry or fenugreek. But I get the overall impression of a mixture of many different somewhat exotic spices that have been exposed to air so as to render them less potent than they would be fresh from the mortar and pestle.
I must confess ignorance as to the smell of jatamansi and papyrus (doesn’t it just smell like paper? (-:), but the general gist of this composition is nonetheless familiar enough. To be sure, a fine scent to experience, but not something that I have any real interest in smelling like. Désolée!
Arayk – :
Citrus and wood incense dry to a mild smooth soft wood scent with that powdered incense edge. It’s lovely and soft without being harsh or sharp or smokey. Very pretty, very relaxing somehow. Still it has the L’Artisan problem with faint sillage.
pro.pushkarev – :
This lastest for about three hours on me, but never had a ton of sillage. Not a problem: After an initial citrus start, it’s a warm, woody incense scent on me, with very little floral to gum it up. It isn’t smoky or murky, but clear and soft, with hints of faint spice. Very nice. I like this alot.
vanxxxl – :
I tried a sample of Jatamansi that was generously sent to me by another Fragrantican, and was quite disappointed in it. Jatamansi is supposed to be spikenard, and that’s what I expected it to smell like. I love spikenard essential oil for its strong, earthy, slightly skanky herbal scent (even nicer than vetiver, in my opinion), but spikenard was not detectable in Jatamansi, even in minute amounts. All that I experienced was a light, slightly floral but mostly citrusy scent that quickly faded into nothing. It never ceases to puzzle me that perfume houses so often name their scents for a single note that is not even present in the perfume. It’s like selling apple pie in a restaurant, but listing it as cheesecake on the menu. And in the case of Jatamansi, the size of the slice was very, very small, disappearing in one bite.
Ivan2583 – :
too light and airy…. just 1 hour and then it it gone…..
Bobbygrls – :
Great scent. But too light again… l’Artisan is light! Great ingredients!
Light and sunny scent. Yes it is more a bath stuff than a night out one…
7/10
serega-boroda – :
Hey, how can anybody think THIS is strong? It smells wonderful, a light floral/citrus introduction that tapers off into a nice balsamic/oriental ending not half unlike Hinoki/Monocle by CdG…but what’cha got here is basically a wonderful cologne, which is why it comes in a HUGE bottle…so you can soak it up. I like it a lot…but I would say more as something to spray on after a Sunday bath than for a night out…basically a bath and body type thing rather than a full fledged perfume…but it is good. Not a classic.
bufer76 – :
Fresh, smells like Lemons. I think I could focus on this. Light and airy. Refreshing for sure. I don’t know how long it will last probably not very but this is very nice and calming, soothing. Drydown is getting a little masculine on me For the price this is not one of my favorites by L’Artisan.. Reminds me of Bath and body works Kitchen Lemon Scent