1 review for Masculin Féminin Jolie Laide Perfume

1. 

   alex111111 – 2022-07-05:

   5 out of 5

   The name of this perfume suggests a lot about the house, Jolie Laide, and the perfumer behind it, Heather Kaufmann. Jolie Laide is a French colloquialism for unconventional beauty – literally, “ugly beauty.” (Think about the Japanese Buddhist concept of wabi-sabi, except half a world away.) Jolie Laide is a botanical line that “combines natural scents that are both luscious and odd.” They are made with only botanical ingredients, and in small batches. And if her name didn’t pique your interest, something about the names of her perfumes very well might. Perhaps some people will notice a common theme: Masculin Feminin, A Bout de Souffle, Jules et Jim? These are the great masterpieces of French New Wave cinema. If I wasn’t already sucked in before, I knew that basing all of her perfumes on some of my favorite films of all time just put me over the edge. I had to try this stuff, and I’m so glad that I did.
   For seven years, Heather studied with renowned natural botanical perfumer Mandy Aftel, many of whose students go on to make big splashes in the perfume community, both online and off. May, 2016 will mark the third anniversary of Heather’s perfume premier at the Artisan Fragrance Salon in Seattle. To be completely honest, I find nothing “laid” about Heather’s perfumes, and I was eager to share Masculin Feminin (based on the 1966 film of the same name that features a ménage a quatre and the intermingling of love, life, and politics, directed by Jean-Luc Godard), which is perhaps tickled me the most.
   The notes for Masculin Feminin include mate absolute, rooibos, jasmine sambac, white cognac, and red mandarin. Fragrantica classes this as an “oriental floral.” While I would accept “floral,” I might have some slight quibbles with “oriental.” The reason I wouldn’t call this an oriental (if labels really are that important to anyone reading this) is simply because that words elicits the feeling of certain ingredients, namely spices – cinnamon, coriander, clove, allspice, etc, that I just don’t detect in here. To be honest, this would have smelled too muddled as an oriental; it already has enough complexity to keep the nose occupied as it is.
   As soon as it goes on skin, you get the faintest hint of mandarin orange, and then it practically disappears. What you’re then left with is a beautiful smoky tea that has so many facets I easily spend a few thousand words listing them all. The tea is neither too much mate (green, leafy, verdant), nor too much rooibos (nutty, earthy). Jasmine sambac, which can so easily completely dominate a perfume, is certainly noticeable but beautifully restrained. I don’t detect any cognac, which I can live without anyway – both inside and outside the world of perfumery. The notes come together in a way that I think no synthetics could. The perfume is not a “fresh” scent itself, but its ingredients have a sharpness and a crispness that can’t be manufactured in a factory. You get the sense that you’re putting your nose into a wholly “natural” creation – and of course you are. The mate/rooibos combination contains such a fine balance in itself, calming while invigorating, light but with some darkness and depth. This is such a new, exciting play on what a tea fragrance can be.
   In the distant chance that you don’t reside in Alphaville (come on, I had to), you can buy samples and full bottles on Heather’s etsy page. And if Masculin Feminin doesn’t speak to you – and how could it not? Love is the universal language, you know – check out her other perfumes there which run the gambit from Bande A Part (an animalic floral) to Jules et Jim (a contemporary fougere).
   How else to end a review like this? Au revoir les enfants!