Frapin1697

By Marla "And at home by the fire, whenever you look up there I shall be— and whenever I look up, there will be you.” -Gabriel Oak, Thomas Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd Have you ever smelled a perfume that whispers “Home” to you? Wim Wenders’ iconic 1980s film “Wings of Desire/Angels Over Berlin” was the original inspiration and title for this new perfume collaboration of Frapin (the cognac people) and Bertrand Duchaufour. “Les Ailes du Desir” sounds rather steamy, but in fact, the movie, starring the incomparable Bruno Ganz, revolved around themes of basic human connection, and depicted an angel’s search for meaning, love, and family. These themes of comfort, warmth, and homecoming match “1697”, named for the year the Frapin family received its coat-of-arms. It’s the most compelling and cozy winter perfume I’ve worn, most especially so as night falls, which is early here in the snowy Alps. “1697” opens with a strong accord of dried fruit stewed in spiced rum. There’s quite a bit of rum absolute, which gives an ambered liqueur effect. Cognac absolute does indeed exist, but M. Duchaufour found it clashed with the other accords and switched to rum. Next, there’s a heart of jasmine and rose, then antique leather, roasted nuts, dark woods, myrrh (of course, it’s a Duchaufour!), with a creamy background of tonka bean, vanilla, and labdanum; far in the distance, there’s a bite of ambergris and castoreum for a subtle edge. In the movie, there’s some great footage of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds that has a similar animalic effect. “1697” is curling up in front of a roaring fire with your favorite sweetie and a couple of cats, some cognac and caramel-roasted nuts to sip and nibble, while you page through a pile of antique, leather-bound books. Yum. It is scheduled to launch this month. Full disclosure: I received a decant of “1697” from the perfumer, at my request.

Endless Summer: L'humaniste by Frapin

By Tom Late September can be brutal in Los Angeles. The arrival of the Santa Anas can mean weeks of triple-digit temps, wildfires that make the air chunk-style, and humidity so low you can feel your skin drying like you're leaning too close to the coals of a barbeque. On days like that the idea of dousing myself with something like, say Spiriteuse Double Vanille commends itself to me about as much as a mink-lined trench coat. What to do? What to spritz? L'humaniste would seem to be perfect: listed notes are bergamot, cardamom, bay berry, black pepper, juniper, nutmeg, thyme, peony, gin, oakmoss, and tonka bean. My first hit is of the gin, specifically gin and tonic. I'm not a big fan of them usually; I was served one on one of the same sort of brutally hot day we'd been having and I wanted to bathe in it. As the peony, pepper and finally oakmoss joined the party I wanted to bathe in this. It is, if possible more refreshing and far easier on the liver. L'humaniste is $130 for 100ML, which is even a relative bargain in the world of niche perfumery. At LuckyScent