Anais Beguine of Jardins D’Ecrivains

Anais Biguine is the creator of the Jardins d’Écrivains range of perfumes, candles and bath products that showcase her love of literature and fragrance.  Junky, a perfume inspired by William Burroughs was a ÇaFleureBon 2014 Best of Scent. One of my loves is the swoon worthy, cross dressing orange blossom beauty George. The seductive La Dame Aux Camélias is another I adore from the range.  Gigi, Wilde  Orlando  and Marlowe complete the collection to date.

Mme Biguine has now released Les Cocottes de Paris  – a trio of perfumes housed in handsome, simple, tall, slim bottles. She is now taking us away from writers’ salons to the sumptuous parlours of the courtesans of the Belle Epoque. Three are the inspiration for this new collection of offbeat, vintage inspired scents.  La Castiglione, La Belle Otero and Melle Cleo were not ordinary mistresse. They enjoyed grand lives and were intimately connected with the most famous men of their time. There is an intriguing allure of seduction, riches, privilege and debauchery that one can summon up while reading the back-stories. Like Les Cocottes de Paris’ three muses, these fragrances are unique and are unlike anything I’ve smelt before. It feels like 19th century flacons were discovered under layers of dust; unexpected entrances from the 19th century. They are shrouded in mystery and take time to know.

La Belle Otera

 La Belle Otero: Agustina Otero Iglesias (1868 – 1965) was a Spanish dancer who became the star at Folies Bergères.  Here she inhabited a character called La Belle Otero, a Spanish gypsy. Along the way she amassed a fortune and became an influencer of the rich and powerful. Her intimates included Prince Albert of Monaco, Nicolas II of Russia, England’s Edward VII, Wilhelm II of Prussia, Leopold II of Belgium and Alfonso XIII of Spain.  She also loved to gamble and saw most of her wealth disappear.

This is my favourite of the three fragrances and is by turns sweet, spiced and aromatic over a resinous backdrop. The opening has a syrupy sweetness from the fig, neroli and pear with a hint of spice that references ginger and black pepper.  The liquid is shaded violet and it is this flower that has a starring role but with hints of woods. Buchu is listed as a note. Its scent is aromatic and this may be what I smell here. There is some iris too but it’s one of those scents that is hard to pin down, much like La Belle Otero herself. With a woody finish and only the tiniest hint of incense, it all feels slightly languorous with the smell of decadence and a sweetness that belies the strength of Belle Otero’s character.

La Castiglione:  Born into an aristocratic Italian family Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione (1837 – 1899) became a mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France.  She was known for her beauty and extravagant theatrical costumes as well as her behind the scenes role in politics of the time. Interestingly she also has a place in the early history of photography.  She engaged Leopold Ernest Mayer to take photographic recreations of important moments of her life. Her last years were spent in the Place Vendôme where curtains were reputedly drawn; black furnishings were de rigeur and mirrors forbidden. She couldn’t bear the signs of fading beauty and advancing age. It was said that she would only leave the apartment at night, when she would not be seen. Some say she inspired the Movie Sunset Boulevard starring Gloria Swanson.

Portrait of La Castiglione by Leopold Ernest Mayer

The last part of her life is what I am able to link to the fragrance.  To me La Castiglione is a dark, gothic scent.  It has an almost vampiric quality that embodies a true sense of noir. Its vapour hints at lashings of licorice and patchouli that cloak the scent in the mystery of night. It’s mixed with a herbal greenness that could be the mugwort. This lends prickliness, and a few rough edges.  A resinous base with ambergris, myrrh and styrax smoothes the scent to the end. And La Castiglione returns to her apartment in the death of the night.

Cléopatra Diane de Mérode the first ballet dancer to dance with a male partner at the Ballet Russes

Melle Cleo  Cléopatra Diane de Mérode (1875 – 1966) was a ballet dancer in the Paris Opera and was reputedly linked to King Leopold II of Belgium. She was renowned for her beauty as well as her dancing. Many famous artists drew her including Edgar Degas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. She inspired fashion trends with her low-slung chignon hairstyle and took a risk by dancing at the Folies Bergères.

Mele Cleo to my nose is a highly unusual fragrance with a rosy opening plumped up by the delicate sweetness of lychee. Night blooming cereus takes on a curious, slightly bitter vanillic twist while cotton flower adds a more ethereal quality. The mix of notes in this perfume lends a bittersweet sense of decay.  It’s as if there is something dark, almost pungent that gives the skin of this perfume an unusual pallor as it transitions to a musky base.  A curious mix indeed that suggests that Mlle Cleo is hiding something under her beautiful exterior.

 Megan Paki, Editor and Editor of Megan In Sainte Maxime

Disclosure : Samples graciously received from Anais Beguine Les de Cocottes de Paris.  Opinions my own.

 

Editor’s Note: It is not a  far reach  for Anais Beguine to turn to these scandalous Parisiennes as inspiration. Gigi of course was based on the story of the  young courtesan in the book of the same name by Collete and the title character  Marguerite Gautier, (who is based on Marie Duplessis, the mistress to Alexandre Dumas, fils  inspired Mme Beguine’s La Dame aux Camelias. In the USA you can find the line at Twisted Lily Brooklyn, Indigo Perfumery and Pickwick’s Mercantile in Portsmouth Maine-Michelyn

Thanks to the generosity of Anais Biguine of  Les Cocottes de Paris Parfums  we have a worldwide registered reader’s choice of a 100 ml spray of La Castiglione, Melle Cleo  or La Belle Otero. To be eligible you must be registered. Please leave a comment with which of the characters scented story intrigues you the most, your choice should you win (you also have the option of a sampler set) where you live and if you have a favorite Jardins d’Ecrivains perfume. Draw closes August 2, 2015

We announce the winner’s only onsite and on our Facebook page, so Like CaFleureBon and use our RSS option…..or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume