Julien Blanchard and Madalina Stoica Blanchard of Jul et Mad 2014 Esxence Photo Tama Blough
In 2012 Jul et Mad (Creative Directors Julien Blanchard and Madalina Stoica-Blanchard) launched a luxury line with three perfumes, recounting the story of their love affair from accidentally meeting in Paris to desire, love and marriage. Stilettos on Lex, Terrasse à St Germaine and Amour de Palazzo were all signed off by Robertet perfumer Dorothée Piot. I loved the luxurious glow and depth of Amour de Palazzo; it smelled lacquered, consummated and sweetly sexy.
A fourth movement was added in 2014 entitled Aqua Sextius, made by the immensely talented Cécile Zarokian, inspired by the Aix en Provence setting where Julien and Madalina got married and have their home. It is impeccable perfumery, a compelling mix of saline facets, sunny fig and dry woody music. The freshness of pine resin breathes through like dust-speckled mist. Cécile Zarokian crafted a sparkling luminescent scent combining the deeply personal reflections of Jul et Mad and Cécile’s own dazzling use of olfactive aerodynamics.
Luca Maffei and Sidonie Lancesseur Les WHITES
Now we have the second wave of Jul et Mad, Les WHITE, a triptych of three ultra-luxe extraits de parfums inspired by the romanticism of lost civilisations. Néa, Nin-Shar and Garuda are very different in style, tonality and essence from the flirtations and storytelling romance of the original Les Classiques fragrances. Why Les WHITE? A reference I imagine to Blanchard, the couple’s surname, Blanche = White. The new trio was unveiled at Esxence in March 27. Garuda and Néa were signed off by Art and Olfaction Award winner Luca Maffei and Nin-Shar by Sidonie Lancesseur.
Garuda Cambodia
My favourite is Garuda, named for the half-man, half-bird hybrid deity that features in hundreds of powerful stone bas-relief carvings at the brooding Angkor Watt complex in Cambodia, built by the Khmer kings in the 12th century. Julien and Madalina visited the temple complex and were struck by the play of aurous light across the stones as the sun dropped in the sky. The wash of amber light over such ancient and sacred architecture was the inspiration for this profoundly opulent woody oriental. Garuda vibrates with contemplative desire; oud pops up again, bolstered by a truly beautiful saffron effect and mellow, throaty rum. The Cambodian oud Maffei has used is sleek and oddly fruity, echoing with grace and equity the jungle toned vetiver and vibrant orange in the top notes. Everything harmonises with quiet maturity and order, notes flowing and out of each other with lucent finesse. The use of Timbersilk is key to Garuda, acting as a persuasive golden filter over the composition whilst lending its own velveteen tenacity.
H Waldeck 1900 The Hanging Gardens of Semiramis
Sidonie Lancesseur Nin-Shar takes inspiration from the mystical Hanging Gardens of Babylon, supposedly built by King Nebuchadnezzar II for his beloved Queen Amytis. Essentially a dense sweet rose, the scent develops with gourmand tendencies due to a delightful tangle of bourbon vanilla and benzoin resin in the thick jammy base. An oddly plasticised oud rolls a subtle smokescreen over the rosaceous woodiness and a cocoa-tinted patchouli enhances the depth and beauty of the Turkish rose. The blending is good, but I found the slide into vanishing a little precipitous on occasional wearings, but when it hit the mark it was incandescent, like a priestess hurling armfuls of spectacular blood red roses into the air on burnished high city walls. The petals catch the light of a dying sun, their scent bleeding into night sky.
Euchiris Girl with a basket of fruit Painting Lord Frederick Leighton
Néa is inspired by the Byzantine Empire; originally the powerful and influential eastern outpost of Roman Europe, this Luca Maffei perfume reflects the cultural diversity of this extraordinary civilisation. I will be honest. I have been honest with my fig struggles; decide for yourselves. I know many of you will smell astonishing in this moreish cornucopia of succulent caramel, dried plum and carmine spill of pomegranate.
Roman Painting circa 300 AD (start of the Byzantine Empire)
The complexity of the mix is an echo of the melting pot heritage of this most intriguing of lustrous empires. over the years, but every now and again perfumes come along that play a different game with this beloved and very Mediterranean note. The fig in Néa is sticky, crushed with a fatty date facet and glazed with a huge dose of ambroxan. Maffei has been wise with his dosing but after an hour it is the persistent cling of blurry skin scented ambroxan that will thrill or divide. I will leave you to decide.
Luca Maffei
Les WHITE are sensuous, extraits, you can feel the genuine quality in each of the fragrances; they have texture, brilliance, mood, love and imagination. Néa and Garuda also serve as elaborate and powerful calling cards for Luca Maffei, who at the age of thirty is still early in his career as a perfumer. He has time to develop and become extraordinary. He has vision, dexterity and style. I would love to see him creating for Jovoy, MDCI, Masque Milano or Céline Verleure’s risk-taking Olfactive Studio.
Foxy Collage of Aqua Sextius, Amour de Palazzo and Terrase a St.Germain
It has been interesting sampling these new Jul et Mad extraits. I would add Aqua Sextius and Garuda to my library, but each of them has points of resonance and attraction. I admire their spirit for tackling larger dramatic themes compared to the more disciplined and personal biography of the first collection. The collection has a luxurious price tag, reflective of the high quality materials used and the undeniably gorgeous presentation of the flacons. It is lovely to witness the delicacy and passions of Julian and Madalina carried through from conception to skin. The perfumes are also available in super cute Love Dose sizes of 5ml, which makes sampling them pure pleasure.
Disclosure – Samples of Les WHITE kindly provided by Jul et Mad, samples of Les Classiques are my own.
The Silver Fox, Editor and editor of The Silver Fox
Editor’s Note: In the U.S. Indigo Perfumery has Les WHITES in stock
Thanks to Jules et Mad we have an exciting draw. One registered ÇaFleureBon reader in the EU, USA or Canada can win their choice of a 5 ml Love dose of their choice of Nea , Nin-Shar and Garuda. Please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about TSF reviews, which seemed to intrigue you, the love dose you would like to win and where you live by 7/17/2015
We announce the winners only on site and our Facebook page, so like CaFleureBon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will just be spilled perfume.