Top: Stéphanie Bakouche. Parfums MDCI Invasion Barbara; Bottom: Claude Marchal of Parfums MDCI, Stop and smell the Patchouli

I recently interviewed young perfumer Stéphanie Bakouche  of L’Artisan Parfumeur. I was familiar with and had reviewed her recent Rose Privée, the scent created with Bertrand Duchaufour for L’Artisan. I hadn’t yet sampled her well received debut, Invasion Barbare (MDCI Perfumes). Stéphanie had this to say about a fortuitous meeting with Claude Marchal, the Creative Director of Parfums MDCI. “In 2005, I was 26 and met Claude who was just beginning his brand at a beautiful exhibition called Divinessence and my G-D it was  destiny. I walked around and he only had Ambre Topkapi and nothing else and we just talked. I admire him so much; he started from nothing; he does so many things himself. I dared to ask him ‘will you accept some samples’… I always liked to work with beautiful natural ingredients. I wanted something with a lot of personality. I wanted the strength (of Invasion Barbare) to be very obvious. I don’t like 1000 hints of everything. I wanted a modern fougère and I decided quite quickly to make it leathery and animalic with costus, and I used thyme, which is an aromatic leathery herb. I used a lot of spices and aromatic herbs and a lot of artemisia, and an overdose of thyme and then I spiced everything up.  I met Claude again and I gave him the samples. He didn’t really trust himself so he needed to take advice. He took the samples and he called me to say there was one that was unanimous and it was Invasion Barbare.”

Stevie Nicks Rocks a Top Hat: 1981 Photographer Neal Preston

Perhaps I’ve been swayed by listening to Stéphanie talk about how she created Invasion Barbare. Or it could be that Luca Turin gave this perfume a 5 star review in the Perfume: A-Z guide. But nevertheless on first sniff Invasion Barbare reveals the hallmarks of a handsome, polished beauty. It comes across as a luxuriously refined scent laying on the charm, but having enough swagger to rock things up a bit.

Patti Smith for O The Oprah Magazine 2010

Stéphanie’s intention was to create a strong masculine perfume.  I believe the idea of shared perfumes was very different ten years ago and Invasion Barbare  can easily be worn by women particularly if you swoon over lavender, a touch of spice, an oriental edge and a strong personality. This is a  perfect perfume for an androgynous styled femme with an attitude to match. I’m thinking of women like Annie Lennox, Patti Smith and Kim Gordon who forged musical paths in pop and rock. Now they’re seen as strong female icons with imagery that stands the test of time, eschewing the near naked clichés that exist in music today.

Annie Lenox Sweet Dreams (are made of this) video, 1983

 Invasion Barbare is drenched with natural and high quality components right from the first invigorating spray on skin. A beautiful citrus opening with crisp bergamot and grapefruit make a swift incision to the heart that captivates immediately. The perfume then unfolds smoothly with a radiant blend of shiny lavender, sweetened and emboldened by the spices.  Thyme and cardamom in particular are used to great effect here and Artemisia (aka wormwood), a note that is less frequently utilised in perfumery is also in evidence. I know a lot of fragrance lovers struggle with lavender but it really smells heavenly in Invasion Barbare. It has a minty edge but is softened by the oriental base.

Robert Mapplethorpe and Smith at the ­Chelsea Hotel, circa 1969. Photo: Judy Linn.

Stéphanie uses a touch of her beloved patchouli, in addition to vanilla and musk in the base. The oriental shift provides a great denouement to the scent and possesses a hazy, dreamy quality whereas the front end has a sharper tonality. A huge strength of Invasion Barbare is that it lasts and lasts and smells divine many hours after it’s been sprayed on skin.  It’s a gender bender of a perfume that will rock your world.

Megan Paki, Senior Contributor and author of Megan In Sainte Maxime

Disclosure: Bottle of Invasion Barbare generously provided by MDCI Parfums

Editor’s Note: In the USA, Parfums MDCI is available at Luckyscent.com in L.A. and Osswald Parfumerie in New York. Claude always credits his perfumers and has done so before it became “fashionable.” You might enjoy revisiting our reviews of Cio Cio San (2015), Nuit Andalouse (2013; both by Cecile Zarokian)  Cuir Garamante (Richard Ibanez  2013), Chypre Palatin (2012)  and La Belle Helene (2011, both by Bertrand Duchaufour).Art Direction-Michelyn

Thanks to amazing generosity of Claude Marchal we have a 75 ml bottle ($250) of Invasion Barbare for any registered reader in the USA, EU or Canada. To be eligible please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about Megan’s review, your favorite “androgynous icon male or female” and where you live.  Draw closes 7/11/2015

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