Herbs and flowers are the common elements of perfumes. But who knew that the crops that share space with them in a garden make for equally endearing fragrances, as well? This is a realization L’Officine Universelle Buly is more than happy to let everyone discover with its latest line, Les Jardins Français.The scent series is rooted in an incident back in 2019 when French Moroccan artist and creative director Ramdane Touhami chanced upon a hundred small paper boxes containing a very old collection of seeds and seedlings from a mysterious antiquarian.
After tracing their earliest known history (a 19th-century school of Swiss botany), he mulled over the idea of using traditional French vegetables, fruits and herbs as perfume inspiration. The result of his curiosity is the Les Jardins Français.There are six fresh scents in this range, each of which personifies a morning garden stroll or a basket of the current season’s harvest.
There’s Andes verbena and Ulu basil, Iraqi beetroot and Egyptian rhubarb, Scandinavian redcurrant and Peruvian tomato, Oriental watercress and Sardinian parsley, Caribbean sweet potato and Afghan carrot, and Indian cucumber and Syrian mint. Apart from being available as Eau Triple, an alcohol-free, water-based perfume, the cast of aromatic characters has been adapted into a variety of familiar iterations: Huile Antique, a nonsticky body oil made of apricot kernel, sesame and coconut; Lait Virginal, a moisturising body milk; Savon Superfine, a PH-neutral soap made with vegetal glycerin; and La Sizaine Pafumée, which is a set of all six scents in travel-friendly 9-ml vials.
Endearing, refreshing and naturally sexy, this line of perfume will surely grow on you (no pun intended).
Les Jardins Français is available at Officine Universelle Buly Manila, 1/L Greenbelt 3, Makati City.
Angelo Comsti writes the Inquirer Lifestyle column Tall Order. He was editor of F&B Report magazine.
