Christèle Jacquemin Enlightenment triptyque © photos by Christèle
French artisanal perfumer/photographer Christèle Jacquemin is an adventurous traveler with a keen eye for subtleties – in particular, for those moments which signify a departure or passage from one emotional journey to another. As a visual artist, physical-geographic context figures prominently, often echoing an internal landscape. Such is the case with her new release Christèle Jacquemin Enlightenment, which was inspired by several wintry weeks spent in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, at the high mountain commune known as La Foux-d’Allos: its name means “narrow gorges” in the Occitan dialect. Christèle was filled with hope for an unconditional love to assure a stable footing along her path. While she has chosen to quote Virginia Woolf (“There is a virgin forest in each; a snowfield where even the print of birds’ feet is unknown.”), I both am in accord and have my own impressions, based upon the olfactory materials which make themselves known in Christèle Jacquemin Enlightenment:
Care selve, ombre beate, vengo in traccia del mio cor! ~ attributed to Belisario Valeriani (aria by G.F.Händel)
Beloved forests, blessed shadows! I come in search of my heart!
© photos by Christèle
Christèle Jacquemin Enlightenment evokes the stillness of those steep alpines blanketed in snow, peppered liberally with the needles of its native larch, spruce and fir: in fact, La Foux-d’Allos comprises 1,869 hectares of woods and forests which entice off-the-beaten-path skiers in the winter and mountain-enthusiast hikers during summer months. The Verdon cuts through an immense limestone canyon known as the Grand Canyon of Verdon; there are several estuaries, lakes and ponds teeming with life.
Christèle Jacquemin
I am enthralled by the perfumer’s elegant restraint and hyper-realism in the presence of the powerful aromatics which she employs. Although Christèle Jacquemin Enlightenment is floating in terpene-rich elements, I never feel overwhelmed by what could have been a medicinal disaster in the hands of someone less skilled in sleight-of-hand. Larch essential oil is potent stuff – piney and sylvan, it evokes fresh mountain air; black spruce becomes warm and dry with time, balsamic and airy.
Christèle Jacquemin©
A wisp of elemi, when it encounters white sage – could potentially produce an astringent effect, but they are so beautifully balanced as the lemon-peppery resin’s sweet green undertone meets the rosemary-redolent cineoles of cooling white sage. It’s a lovely dance. Rock, aka sea fennel, possesses aniselike facets without the overt sweetness; it displays a carroty aspect tinged with lemon as well. Bay leaf is a heavy-hitting material, sweet, rich, spicy and loaded with terpenes; it requires diligent dosing otherwise it will drown out quieter fragrant components, which Christèle never permits. With Sichuan pepper as a top note, complexity is built-in: citrus, spice and exotic floral tones all contribute their fleeting voices while intimating a whisper of pine. The base marries unctuous silvery orris concrete with sweet, animalic leathery styrax for a truly refined finish.
Christèle Jacquemin©
Christèle Jacquemin Enlightenment is one of those contemplative, thoughtful beauties that doesn’t feel the need to shout on your skin: fresh, alpine, airy, salty and resinous in the same breath. It intones the purity of unconditional love.
Let us join the perfumer in her invitation to “abandon the abysses and gently awaken to the giddiness of love.”
Notes: orris butter, bay leaf, rock fennel (criste marine), elemi, larch needles, black spruce needles, Sichuan pepper, white sage, styrax
Sample kindly provided by the perfumer – many thanks! My nose is my own…
Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor
Thanks to the generosity of Christèle Jacquemin we have a 30 ml ml bottle of Enlightenment for one registered reader in the EU, USA, or UK. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest based upon Ida’s review of Christèle Jacquemin Enlightenment and where you live. Draw closes 6/14/2022
Will you be at Esxence? Please visit Christèle at stall BF8
Please read Nicoleta’s review of Memory Lane and Meandering Soul included in her 10 best perfumes of 2021, Lauryn’s review of Underworld, and Karl’s review of Impermanence.
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