New Niche Perfume Review: The Vagabond Prince Enchanted Forest + Once Upon A Time Fairytale Draw

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Fairytales have returned to the popular zeitgeist with their own modern twist; dueling versions of Snow White at the multiplex and ‘Once Upon A Time’ and ‘Grimm’ on your flat screen.  The appeal of these tales, even with a touch of modern ambiguity added, is they are simple tales where the good guys prevail over the bad guys and our heroes live happily ever after. The setting of these is also fairly simple too and is often summed up as “palace and woods”. With the latest release by Master Perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour for The Vagabond Prince I am further reminded that it is not just woods these clashes between good and evil take place in, they are places where magic is evident. The new fragrance is called Enchanted Forest and it is truly a magical fragrance by one of our best fragrant storytellers. The story of Enchanted Forest is almost a fairytale in itself.

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 The Mighty Duchaufour's Labo

Once upon a time the husband and wife team of Zoran and Elena Knezhevich, founders of Fragrantica.com, wanted to make a perfume which reminded them of their family’s travels from Eastern Europe to the US. They traveled to the magical perfumed city of Grasse to find a master magician of olfaction The Mighty Bertrand. As Princess Elena and The Vagabond Prince Zoran told him their tale he began to imagine the contents of his eventual potion.

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Bottle & Art Designed by Princess Elena

The wily wizard had been working with blackcurrant and wanted to center a perfume around it. He believed that pairing it with the smells of the forest would bring the two halves of their journey together in one bottle. After working tirelessly for about a year The Mighty Bertrand presented his work to his patrons. Upon sniffing it they were so happy they couldn’t keep this magical elixir to themselves and so they shared it amongst their perfume loving subjects and they all lived happily ever after.

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Blackcurrant Bush

Enchanted Forest is a fascinating study of the use of blackcurrant by M. Duchaufour. Blackcurrant is often used in high concentrations to add a strong berry component to many fruity florals and often it is a note which tips a fragrance from sweet to saccharine. In Enchanted Forest by using a combination of CO2 extracted black currant with an absolute of blackcurrant buds he creates a cassis accord that feels like you have stumbled over a bush of ripe to bursting blackcurrants growing on the forest path. M. Duchaufour claims this “is the only perfume I know of that is built around blackcurrant as the sole raw material”. While I am not sure if that is true his goal was to create a cassis accord and he has done so. That accord is the magic in the heart of this Enchanted Forest.

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This perfumed forest walk begins with a frisson of aldehydes and pink pepper; these are the bony-fingered come hither notes. As you approach there is a bottle of rum waiting next to a blackcurrant bush as you get a hint of the leaves and flowers. You pick up the bottle and swig it deeply and then you realize you are in a glade of blackcurrant bushes surrounding you there is a sense of green growing luscious berry all around. You have to leave to return to the forest path but the scent lingers on your clothes as the smells of the forest surround you: the fir trees, the animals who have been here before you, the decay of all living things returning to the earth. Fir balsam absolute, castoreum, patchouli and musk do the bulk of the lifting for this accord.  

Enchanted Forest has above average longevity and above average sillage.

I am happy to say that like all fairytales this story has a very happy ending as Enchanted Forest is a perfumed tale I will want to experience ever after.

Disclosure: this review was based on a sample provided by The Vagabond Prince

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Thanks to The Vagabond Prince we have two carded 1.5mL samples of Enchanted Forest perfume to give away. To be eligible leave a comment on your favorite fairytale or character in a fairy tale. The draw ends on January 6, 2012.

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.

-Mark Behnke, Managing Editor

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69 comments

  • What a great story surrounding a fascinating scent! My favorite fairytale character is Belle from the Disney’s version of “Beauty and the Beast.” Truth be told, I like that character in any adaptation.

  • I so want to try this. I Love the story behind it’s creation, and I absolutely adore the magic of Duchaufour. My favorite tale is one of Aesop’s which taught me as a child a very valuable and life long lesson . It is the Boy who cried Wolf. Thanks to Zoran and Elena for sharing this with all perfume lovers. This is my new favorite fairytale 🙂

  • I will always love The Princess Bride…and I adore Bertrand Duchaufour. So excited to smell this new scent!

  • My favorite fairy tale character would have to be The Ugly Duckling.

    This new scent is definitely one to try.

  • I love the whole idea behind this and am eager to try it (pick me! Pick meeee!) but …you asked about my favorite fairytale character..I love Cinderella – but not just any Cinderella – the Czech version “Tri Orisky por Propelku” (Three Wishes for Cinderella), wherein Propelku (Cinderella) is a bit of a firebrand and a force to be reckoned with!

    xoxoxoA

    ooh! funny side story: I fell in love with this version in undergraduate school back in the Jurassic Era…but forgot about it and lost the name, etc…10 yrs later did some sleuthing, pre-Internet (remember microfiche? ) and found it in an old TV Guide as Three Nuts for Cinderella…anyhoo…then, right at the dawn of yahoo (pre-Google) I queried and….well…do you know how much porn you get when you query the words ‘nuts’ and ‘Cinderella”. The mind boggles.

  • I love the Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson
    What a fragrance that would make
    What size is this perfume and what is the price?
    Will it be sold on Fragrantica ?
    Lovely story and excellent review as always

  • Oooh, what a fun question – favorite fairytale or character in a fairytale? Wow. Need to think a bit on that one. Princess Bride was one of my very favorite books. Such a fantastic fantasy story that the movie just didn’t live up to for me. One wonderful memory from childhood – my mom painted scenes of fairy tales for our walls…

  • I’ve been itching to try this one! When it comes to DISNEY fairy tales at least, I’m all about the Little Mermaid or Mulan – badass little ladies.

  • I also love the Snow Queen-and this perfume sounds amazing. Thanks as ever for the great draw!

  • My favourite fairytale is Little Red Riding Hood. Gotta love cautionary tales! Thank you for the draw, & HNY!

  • Is Shrek a fairy tale? Assuming so, it is my favorite.
    Thank you for another opportunity to try what promises to be a captivating fragrance.

  • I absolutely loved the fairy tale “The Tinderbox” as a child, and it remains a favourite to this day.

  • I’m a professor, and I just taught a course on fairy tales…so this release really got my attention! I love Red Riding Hood, particularly because of it’s history, changing meanings, and constant retellings. Same with Beauty and the Beast, come to think of it…although Angela Carter and Robin McKinley, specifically, have done some of my favorite retellings of that one.

  • I would have to say the fairy tale that comes to mind in this case is The Emperor’s New Clothes, and the child who dares to say he isn’t wearing anything at all. No sample for me: I’ve already tried it.

  • I remember I loved fairy tales when I was a child.My favourite book was with fairy tales from Hans Christian Andersen.Iloved all of them.

  • My favorite fairy tales of euro descent are The Tortoise and the Hare, The boy who cried wolf, if you are willing to send to Australia then mention should be made of the cautionary tales of Drop Bears, Bunyips and Kadaitcha men.

  • My favorite stories of Euro descent are The Tortoise and the Hare, and The Bou who cried wolf.
    If we were to talk of Enchanted Australian forests the cautionary tales of Drop Bears, Bunyips and kadaitcha men. Thanks for the draw 🙂

  • Belle from Beauty and the Beast was a favorite as a child. I had no idea about the backstory of this fragrance. It sounds lovely. Mr. Duchaufour continues to impress me. Thanks for the draw!

  • grimm’s “The Golden Bird” is my fav. The imagery is so potent, it could do with a modern film treatment.

  • This sounds really lovely,Maestro Bertrand has done it again!
    So many fairy tales are not happy ever after in the original versions, I love the story of Swan Lake, true love and ultimate betrayal.

  • My favourite fairytale is Cinderella. There’s always hope in that story, and even in my adult life I keeping wishing on a Prince Charming to waltz into my life and rescue me from the doldrums in life.

    🙂
    Thanks for this feel good draw!

  • Sounds like a magical scent! My favourite fairytale is The Snow Queen, which Mum used to read to me. It was especially exotic to me, since it doesn’t snow where we live…

  • I also like Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I like the theme of looking at people for more than what is on the surface.
    This perfume sounds interesting. I am enjoying anything with fir these days.

  • As a child I was fascinated with the Little Match Girl. Would love an opportunity to sample this-am of Eastern European descent also!

  • My favorite would probably be Little Red Riding Hood for the simple reason that it was the first story I ever read in a foreign language.

  • I cannot wait to try this, have heard SO many good things about it!
    One of my favorite fairytales is Red Riding Hood along with Hansel & Gretel.
    Thanks for the draw!

  • This sounds very interesting. My fairy tale is probably Little Red Riding Hood, since I grew up listening to a dramatization on old 78rpm records that belonged to my grandmother. I still know most of it by heart.

  • farawayspices says:

    I like the Beauty and the Beast …the Beast in the Cocteau movie. I remember watching it as a child and being disappointed when he turned into a man, he was more interesting as the lion/feline looking beast. Since blackcurrant can be a bit of a challenging ingredient (some think it smells of cat pee). I would love to try a sample of this fragrance.

  • My favorite fairy tales are Cinderella & The Princess and the Frog! I’ve heard and read so many great things about this fragrance and cannot wait to try!

  • My favorites were Rose White & Rose Red. My favorite fairytale comment came from my 4 yr old daughter, who wondered why Cinderella didn’t simply call a taxi and go to the ball by herself!

  • Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale. I have read about this fragrance ans would love to try it..I like black current and think it would be great in a fragrance.

  • Fairytales are pretty far in my past, and I’ve carefully avoided the Disney iterations, so I don’t really have a favorite character. Any female character who took her own initiative and didn’t wait around for someone to rescue her would be a candidate for me. Maybe Gretel?

  • That’s a difficult question….I think perhaps the swedish folk-tale “Prince Hat-below-ground” or Ali Baba and the 40 robbers from a thousand and one nights.

  • how lovely this sounds.

    and i, too, have always loved the beast of beauty and the beast.

    btw ellen covey of olympic orchids has used black currant to fabulous effect in “a midsummer day’s dream.” worth checking out, if you love the black currant scent or taste.

  • Oh I love fairy tales!!! Mighty Bertrand will definately will be my next favorite fairy tale character !! Until now Red Riding Hood was my fav !!

  • First of all, I love the story of this perfume and have always loved fairy tales. While not of this genre in the classic sense, my favorite story as a little girl was “A Little Princess” by Francis Hodgson Burnett. I would love to try this perfume – thanks for the draw!

  • I have a little book of Japanese fairy tales, and my favorite among them is Momotaro (The Little Peach Boy).

  • My first childhood favorite was probably the little mermaid, most identified-with was Belle, but my most favorite was Ronia from Ronia the Robber’s Daughter. Not sure if the book by Astrid Lindgren really counts as a fairy tale though.

    The packaging looks very enchanted Eastern-European forest! I like how cohesive everything is. Also like the idea of a blackcurrant ‘soliflore’ mingled with an evergreen forest!

  • I have a sample so no need to enter me
    Pinocchio would be the fairy tale I associate with Enchanted Forest
    Because I would be lying to say I thought this was any good and my nose is long enough

  • Just got word that enchanted forest will be sold in the US towards the end of January on the vagabondprince website and at Luckyscent and MiN
    $180 for 100ml

  • I enjoy black currant as a note and am curious to see how it is treated as the star in a fragrance. The packaging on this is just exquisite, and I am one who loves that sort of thing.

    I love any fairy tale with Baba Yaga in it!

  • What little girl doesn’t love the Cinderella fairy tale? That was one of my first memories. Would love to try this. Thanks!

  • My favorite fairy tale is Beauty and the Beast, but my favorite character is the cat in boots.

    I have already tried Enchanted Forest and it’s wonderful. Blackcurrant lovers have to adore it.

  • One of my favorite characters from a fairy tale would be the Pied Piper. That tale did not have a very happy ending.

  • I’m mad for Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her wonderful red shoes along the yellow brick road to reach the emerald city!

  • I like the sick endings of many of the Grimm’s tales – my favourites include the toes hacked off by the step sisters to get their feet in the glass slippers and the vengeful cinderella who has her step sisters and step mother dragged by the stage coach after she marries the prince and has all the power in the relationship. good gory. I have to say the men are all baboons in these stories -absent dads and wispy princes – the action belongs to the ladies who are mostly duking it out and toiling and shedding blood.

  • My favorite fairytale is Rapunzel. I was fascinated by the length and strength of those tresses! I’d love to try this perfume. Thank you for the generous giveaway.

  • Favorite fairytale is Little Red Riding Hood, it still seems very strange to me. Thanks for the draw.

  • francescabelanger says:

    I recall loving, not really a fairytale, more of a folktale, called “The Mirror of Matsuyama,” in which a girl is bequeathed a precious mirror by her dying mother; when she looks into it, morning and evening, she thinks her mother is there for solace and advice.

  • francescabelanger says:

    I meant to add, this fragrance sounds wonderful, and the packaging is truly magical.

  • My favorite is The Princess and the Pea. She was/is my hero because her sensitivity made her royalty. Whether anybody beliieves or not…it is there.

  • An epic failure.
    Its an anti-Bertrand perfume.

    Like Serge’s l’eau.

    Its a mess.
    Absolutely no complexity. Muddled.
    No smooth rendition between notes & accords.
    Reminds me of when I get stuck in sand when I go off roading. Agonizing.
    Complexity is not an opinion, nor is harmony of transition between top, middle and base. Not all perfumes are intended to be complex, nor should they be. But it’s clear when Enchanted Forest was intended to be complex but failed miserably. Then there’s the muddled transition.

    Don’t get me wrong. I love B. Duchafour. Heck I own 15 of his creations but it’s like a mangled walrus freeing itself from quicksand. It’s not a graceful sight.