Fleur d'Oranger by L'Artisan

Fleur d’Oranger, L’Artisan’s latest and “very" limited edition fragrance, was built around the 2004 harvest of orange blossom from Nabeul in Tunisia. Nabeul is apparently well known for the distillation of perfumes using orange blossom and even hosts an orange blossom festival, every year from the late March to the early April. Exceptional olfactive qualities of 2004 harvest inspired the creator Anne Flipo and marked a rather novel approach in the perfumery, which binds a perfume to the year of a harvest. By definition, L’Artisan’s Fleur d’Oranger can only be a limited edition. Only 2990 bottles will be available in L’Artisan Parfumeur boutiques and selected stores; it comes in the signature L’Artisan bottle, which in this case is beautifully engraved with flowers of orange tree and is set up in a wooden coffret, much like an expensive vintage wine bottle. Fleur d’Oranger is a beautiful, slightly green and dewy scent. It starts very citrusy on my skin; this citrus accord becomes greener and greener, leaving an impression of a leaf being rubbed in one’s hands. A floral note meanwhile gathers momentum and by the middle stage it is very much a floral scent, albeit with delicate citrus undercurrent. Orange blossom note becomes sweeter, creamier and more luscious by the minute, sometimes almost turning tuberose-like on my skin. It reaches the apogee of intensity and sweetness and then gradually begins to settle into a more subtle fragrance, with almost a tea-like note to it that reminded me of another L’Artisan, Thé Pour Un Été. This is my favorite stage; when the drydown comes, Fleur d’Oranger is everything I want in an orange blossom scent; it is light, delicate, almost ethereal and very summery. This is not a complex scent in any respect, and however unique the marvelous qualities of the 2004 orange blossom harvest in Nabeul may be, in my very humble opinion, the price of this fragrance is still rather exorbitant ($250.00). Fleur d’Oranger is essentially a linear scent, a light Eau de Toilette to be applied generously in hot weather or indeed in winter, to dispel the gloom and cold. It is lovely and pleasant, but that is all there is to it. The engravery and the wooden coffret seem a little over the top where this pretty but simple fragrance is concerned. Fleur d’Oranger is available in L’Artisan boutiques and selected stores like Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys. *The photo of Fleur d’Oranger is from osmoz.com