There is a time-honored tradition of going to where the art is, to be discovered or to learn the business. Actors go to Hollywood or New York, country music singers go to Nashville, and perfumers go to Paris or Grasse. No matter the perfumer once you ask them to tell you their story it seems at some point a trip to France is part of the foundation. Many of these stories involve leaps of faith including one way tickets from their home. For the first time we have a perfume which actually tries to embody that flight to fragrance.

Monsillage is the Montreal-based perfumery of perfumer Isabelle Michaud. This house is one of my most pleasant discoveries of 2011. One of our loyal readers, Claudia Kroyer, sent me samples of the first four fragrances by Mme Michaud and Aviation Club was my favorite of those first four. After that review published Mme Michaud asked me if I would like to try her newest perfume Vol 870 YUL-CDG. As with her first four fragrances Mme Michaud supplies a bit of background to set the stage for her fragrance:

“I was shedding away almost everything: a good career, a warm nest, and a few habits. I had but a one-way ticket Montreal-Paris, a dream, and the rest of my life. Oddly enough, I wasn’t sad nor scared, had no regrets, and wasn’t doubting at all my decision to go. I was wholeheartedly embracing this rare opportunity to meet up with destiny and reach my true potential. I wasn’t about to miss the boat!”

The name of this fragrance Vol 870 YUL-CDG is that one-way ticket in fragrance form. The name translated is Flight 870 Montreal (YUL) to Paris (CDG). Mme Michaud attempted to create that trip from the winter woods of Montreal to the Old World sophistication of Paris. That means the balsamic beginning transitions through an airborne floral heart to a resinous musky landing.

I think one of my favorite top notes in all of perfumery is clary sage and Mme Michaud opens up Vol 870 YUL-CDG with that note and it has a slight woodsmoke quality along with its herbal nature. She surrounds it with a forest consisting of fir, cedar, and cypress. Together they create an accord which captures a cold afternoon in the northern woods with the smoke from a fireplace hanging low. It is a gorgeous beginning. Mme Michaud then flings us airborne on a mix of two amazing floral notes; ylang-ylang and osmanthus. The leathery apricot quality of osmanthus and the spicy sweetness of ylang-ylang propel the wearer into the stratosphere. The osmanthus Mme Michaud uses is very deep and displays all of the complexity that makes osmanthus a great component when used well. Finally Mme Michaud sees the runway lights of CDG and lands her fragrance on terra firma in the guise of amber, incense, and musk. This is a well-worn group of basenotes but it feels right to express the old world perfume traditions of Paris. It isn’t surprising or modern but it is very well-balanced and matches the intensity which has come before.

Notre Dame in Montreal (l.) and Paris (r.)

Vol 870 YUL-CDG has average longevity and above average sillage.

Like so many of my favorite perfumers Mme Michaud took her leap, or flight, of faith to Paris and returned with the informed inspiration to make outstanding perfume. With Vol 870 YUL-CDG she allows us to raise our tray table, fasten our seat belts, and exhilaratingly join her in this fragrant flight of faith.

Disclosure: This review was based on a preview sample supplied by Monsillage.

Thanks to Isabelle Michaud I have a sample of Vol 870 YUL-CDG to giveaway to one lucky commenter. To be eligible share a time in your life when you’ve taken a leap of faith. Draw will close on December 3, 2011.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume

–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor