I had heard about the Coquillete Paris line of fragrances when Managing Editor Mark Behnke reviewed the first four in the line. The brainchild of the combined fragrance passions of Rosa Vaia and Elise Juarros, the line consists of a collection of beautiful, unique, and very wearable fragrances. Introduced at this year’s Pitti Fragranze show in Italy, the newest perfume in the line, Tan-Tan, was inspired by the Moroccan city and port of the same name. With guardian camel sculptures flanking the road leading to town, Tan-Tan is a desert oasis with close proximity to the Atlantic.

Tan-Tan image from Photos du Mahgreb

This journey to Morocco starts in the south of Italy, with energizing bergamot and pine. Soon, though, there is a wonderfully earthy fig note that appears. It is not milky or especially green; more like it would smell sitting under a fig tree full of ripening fruit in high bright heat. There is an interesting quality of dust. We have reached the Moroccan desert.

Nathaniel Under the Fig Tree by James Tissot

That Tan-Tan is close to the ocean has not been lost on Ms. Vaia and Ms. Juarros. As the perfume matures on skin, a slight breeze cools the desert air, tinged with salty ambergris and driftwood. How must the ocean smell when you are looking at it from the heat of the desert, when the caked dust is in your nostrils, and the plants around the oasis are baking in the sun? It must smell like this.

Desert Pass by Helen Frankenthaler

Ultimately, I consider this a unique fig perfume rather than a marine or oceanic one. It is complex and intriguing, and unlike any of the other fig scents I have worn. It is more human, with the far drydown growing almost animalic from the woods and touch of leather. It has decent sillage through the first hour or two and great longevity. It is an excellent addition to an already fantastic perfume line.

Notes: pine needles, bergamot from Calabria, artemisia, Moroccan white fig, Calabrian cedarwood, Pakistani vetiver, Polynesian jasmine, Sumatran green patchouli, Chinese carnation, figtree bark, coconut milk, white musk, ambergris, geranium, sandalwood and leather.

I have had the opportunity to smell the rest of the Coquillete line, and can recommend them all. Ms. Vaia and Ms. Juarros announced at the outset that there would be six perfumes. This is number five, which means one more scent is in the works. I cannot wait to get my nose on it. I also hope they don't stop there.

I received my sample from Coquillete Paris’s American distributor Sens Unik. Coquillete Paris fragrances are available at Beautyhabit, where you can find the line featured on the home page,  and Indigo Perfumery.

Tama Blough, Senior Editor

Thanks to the generosity of Coquillete Paris, we have a deluxe sample set of all five fragrances (Tan-Tan, Herat, Sulmona, Moramanga, and Sumatera) to give to one lucky reader in the US. Leave a comment about why this fragrance or any of the Coquillete fragrances appeals to you and make sure to let us know you are in the US. Draw ends December 6, 2013.

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 spilled perfume.