Plaisir by Laura Tonatto

The definition of a comfort scent can only ever be subjective; it is also bound to change with one’s mood, hormonal balance and weather. On a hot summer day nothing is more comforting than a spritz of a clear lemon scent like Eau d’Hadrien. In certain dark moments of the soul only an incense scent like Passage d’Enfer is capable of bringing me consolation and peace. Typically though, for me, to qualify as a comforting scent, a perfume has to be fairly sweet, more often than not gourmand, and even rather powdery. There are many scents that would fall under these categories in my collection; I will review three of them, my relatively recent discoveries in the warm and dreamy land of comfort perfumes.

First, the most favorite one, Plaisir by Laura Tonatto.

On Laura Tonatto’s website, Plaisir is described in sensual and exotic terms: “Recollecting the alcove: the passionateness of patchouly dressed with an exotic and bitter-sweet note of pink grapefruit and vanilla.” Truth to be told, I don’t think of Plaisir as a sexy scent, least of all as a passionate one. That is not to say that it is bland and cold, not at all, it is just not about “the alcove” for me, or not in the sense that I assume they are implying. Plaisir is a cuddly scent, a perfume to make you feel snug as a bug on a cold rainy day, curled up with a book or with your cat, you child, your significant other, anything and anyone who would compliment this scent’s gentle warmth and coziness.

The other thing about Plaisir is that the official notes do not prepare you for the luscious deliciousness that is this fragrance. Orange, grapefruit, rose, cinnamon, vanilla, white musk, amber … They could describe an insipid citrus scent for all we know, nothing here warns about the incredible edibleness of this scent. And edible it certainly is. Plaisir reminds me of a wonderful layered cake called Napoleon, one of my mum’s masterpieces. Don’t be scared by foody references though, Plaisir is not overly heavy on vanilla or cloying, no one would ask you if you were baking. Imagine Taint de Neige or Talco Delicato without all the powder, with creaminess instead of powderiness…In fact, if you asked me to describe Plaisir in one word, it would be “creamy”.

According to Laura Tonatto site, Plaisir can be found at Takashimaya, Art et Maison and Bigelow’s (New York); Kuhl Linscomb (Texas); Beauty Collection Apothecary (LA); Martin Richard (San Francisco); Luminaire (Chicago). It also seems to be available from hqhair.com, $72.50 for 100ml (with 4 weeks stock delay).