St. Clair Scents Gardener’s Glove (Diane St. Clair) – New Perfume Review + Farm Fresh Fragrance Draw

Diane St. Clair of St. Clair Scents

“Attempting to learn the art of perfumery is not for the faint of heart.” -Diane St. Clair

From producing farm-fresh comestibles for world class eateries to high perfumery is not that big of a stretch when you think about it; both require extraordinary natural ingredients, passion and belief in your work, patience, intention, and commitment. Perfumer and farmer Diane St. Clair (her profile in American perfumery here) has it (please forgive the unintentional pun) “in spades”. When not providing freshly churned butter to Michelin starred restaurants the likes of Per Se in Manhattan or (gasp) The French Laundry in Northern California’s Wine Country, Diane can be found in her perfumers workshop, meticulously creating mostly natural fragrances inspired by the Vermont countryside surrounding her farm. With three sensational eau de parfums under her belt Diane more than proves her gift as a first class perfumer. Her hand-bottling and small batch production belies the notion that artisan perfumes aren’t mind-blowing and breathtaking, and St. Clair Scents Gardener’s Glove is a perfect example.

 Gardening glove by Tim Walker | Northumberland, England, 2000©

St Clair Scents Gardener’s Glove is a flat out masterpiece of a fragrance; a perfect marriage of the best of vintage perfumes shot through with a modern sensibility. Like its namesake, Gardener's Glove is built on a base of well-worn leather, soft as doeskin and broken in to the nth degree of perfection. Gardener’s Glove is all about timing, specifically that moment when the plantings and cuttings you have babied through the cold of winter and ever-changing spring weather finally burst forth and bear fruit.

Archers by Tim Walker©

The smell of sunlight on freshly turned loamy and pitch-black soil, the musty fuzziness of the tomato leaf whose scent rubs off on your fingers, the ornamentals dazzling in their audacity; heirloom rose, perfumed jasmine, lily. The floral scents meld with the fragrance of faint citrus and berry fruit shrubs and linden trees. The amalgam of all these notes work to create that moment in perfume testing when you realize you’ve stumbled upon something extraordinary and damn-near otherwordly.

Diane St. Clair of St. Clair Scents baling hay

The other two fragrances currently on offer are likewise sensational; St. Clair Scents First Cut, a fragrant aria sung at the height of the summer pasture honoring the initial baling of the hay fields, and St. Clair Scents Frost a quasi-smoky and floral scented journey of love inspired by the words of poet Robert Frost. Both are sublime examples of the master perfumer’s artistry, but it is St. Clair Gardener’s Glove that ultimately stole both my heart and checkbook!

The perfumes by St. Clair Scents will weather the ravages of time and fashion, and I look forward to Diane St. Clairs’ future perfumes all the while being able to say in my most jaded and world-weary voice “Oh yes, I’ve been wearing St. Clair Scents from the very beginning.

Notes: Meyer Lemon, Tomato Leaf Absolute, Galbanum, Bergamot, Jasmine Sambac Absolute, Jasmine Organic Extract, Apricot, Black Currant Bud Absolute, Linden Blossom, Lily, Rose Absolute, Leather, Saffron, PatchouliAmbers, Vetiver, Benzoin Resin, Castoreum, Fir Needle

 St. Clair Scents are available exclusively on their website here.

Disclosure: Thank you so very much to Diane St. Clair for supplying my samples. The opinions are my own. I bought all three bottles! Support Artisan Perfumers

Robert Herrmann, Senior Editor

-Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

Follow us on Instagram @Cafleurebon and @stclairscents

 St. Clair Scents Gardener’s Glove and sampler @Diane St. Clair

Thanks to Perfumer Diane St. Clair and St. Clair Scents, we have a sample pack of St. Clair Scents Gardener’s Glove, First Cut and Frost for one registered reader In the USA, so be sure to register if you have not done so. To be eligible please let us know what appeals to you about Robert’s review of St. Clair Scents Gardener’s Glove and if smelled an artisan fragrance from a sample and bought it immediately. Draw closes on 3/29/2018.

 We announce the winners only on our website and on our Facebook page, so like Cafleurebon and use our Site feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

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12 comments

  • VerbenaLuvvr says:

    I love that artisan perfumers are able to create for us scents outside of the run-of-the-mill ubiquitous trendy fragrances that are everywhere you look. Scents that are unique and well thought-out, not products that are meant to appeal to everyone at once and rushed to market. Gardener’s Glove seems the perfect fragrance for spring and the time is right to give it a try. Grange by Nir Guy is the latest artisan perfume that sent me head over heels in love after trying a sample, it is an extraordinary example of this genre. I live in the US and thank you and to the perfumer for her generosity.

  • First, who is this Tim Walker, photographer? These photos, especially the glove (love!) perfectly illustrate the review. Thanks for letting us know that these were a purchase for you, Robert. That says it all and now I’ll definitely try these. I agree there is such a relationship between taste and smell. Perfume lovers are often gourmands or wine lovers or some form of this. Gardeners Glove sounds like a perfume made for me, as I’m a gardener and love plants and flowers. Thanks for the enthusiastic review. USA

  • Elizabeth T. says:

    “The smell of sunlight on freshly turned loamy and pitch-black soil…” This. Artisan perfumers are free to create what THEY desire, not what a brand or marketing study demands. They are so personal. These sound exquisite. Thank you for the review of these!

  • Catanosmia says:

    I’ve been reading raves about these scents and I’m as intrigued by the story of this perfumer as I am by the description of the scents! I tend to be slow about my sampling before purchasing since I don’t want to accumulate a perfume graveyard full of ignored bottles.
    I’m in the US, thanks for both the review & the draw.

  • heartandsoul says:

    I live in the US and plant a large garden every year. Robert’s review added to my anticipation of soon being able to go outside and play in the dirt. The last artisan fragrance I bought immediately after receiving a sample was Selperniku by January Scent Project. Thank you for the chance!

  • BostonScentGuy says:

    Beautifully described “amalgam of scents” here. I loved hearing how Robert describe the note progression from top to base and the cheeky references to her pedigree as a farmer as well as a perfumer. This scent and First Cut sound gorgeous. …as does the third but these two sound like my style. Thanks for the draw! I’m in the US.

  • BostonScentGuy says:

    Oh and I have definitely smelled and artisan scent (Midnight Violet by Ava Luxe) and bought it right away!

  • Chocolate Marzipan says:

    Clair’s fragrances are absolutely stunning and divine…I love all three of them and eventually will have full bottles of all in my collection. Like Robert I will also be saying ” Oh yes, I have been wearing St. Clair Scents from the beginning”. I am also looking forward to any and all future releases from this amazing house! yes, I did buy First Cut after sniffing the sample 🙂

    I reside in the United States.

  • I so enjoyed this review.
    What an amazing life–to live on a farm and create “fragrances inspired by the Vermont countryside surrounding her farm”.

    All of the fragrances sound and interesting and alive!
    I live in the U.S.
    I don’t recall buying a artisan fragrance right after sniffing a sample. I am a bit too cautious.

  • QuietlyWaiting says:

    I love the idea of creating natural perfumes based around life on the farm. I’m imagining these as just gorgeous, fresh, and practically glowing and have already checked out her site to look at them (nice offering with the sample pack too – thanks! It’s on my list of things to pick up next time I do samples!)

    I love the more natural scents, and all of these sound wonderful. I love the idea of flowers, leather, and dirt. The other two fragrances sound wonderful too… Frost is calling me. The smoky floral sounds like something I need to try.

    re: The question, I don’t *think* I’ve ever bought a new fragrance immediately after trying a sample. I’m a bit more cautious, especially since I just became interested in perfume last year (so I’ve been slowly learning what works best for me). I usually try to use up a sample before buying more… sometimes I’ll go for a smaller decant rather than a full bottle, because I really love having a variety of different fragrances to wear (and don’t want to go bankrupt buying full bottles of everything that I fall in love with). I do have a full bottle of one small, all-natural perfume that I love like crazy… but I used up the sample before buying, to make sure it would work for me in lots of different situations, seasons, etc.

    I’m i the US. Thank you!

  • These all sound like really beautiful fragrances, especially Gardener’s Glove. That one sounds like like such a refreshing and uplifting scent for Spring! The tomato leaf note is what really makes me want to try it!

    I normally don’t buy an artisan fragrance immediately after trying a sample. But I actually just did recently. It was THAT good of a scent that I purchased it shortly after receiving the sample (The Society of Scent’s FABuary 14)

    I live in the US.

  • doveskylark says:

    This fragrance smells like everything wonderful associated with gardening. I am lucky enough to be able to spend a few weeks every year gardening at my parent’s house in Western Massachusetts. I love wearing my dad’s old gardening gloves.
    When I first smelled a sample of Tuscan Leather years ago, I just had to have a full bottle. (i know it’s not artisanal. just sharing a story).
    I live in the USA.