Poivre Piquant (2002)
by L'Artisan Parfumeur

L'Artisan Poivre Piquant

Notes: white pepper, liquorice, milk and honey (from luckyscent.com)

I was expecting a hot pepper experience when I applied Poivre Piquant. What I got instead is a sweet, powdery, warm and light oriental. The most prominent notes are peppercorn, cedar, vanilla and sweet musk. It is interesting and compelling for about ten minutes while the nose-tickling pepper and vanilla do a dance in opposition. Soon, however, the cedar enters, and it is a woody "pencil shavings" type of note--not very appealing to my nose. Needless to say, the composition falls apart, leaving seemingly unrelated notes with no strong base to give PP more long-lasting substance. As a vanilla-musk fan, I can't say this fragrance is unlikeable, however, it is rather non-descript after the top notes are gone. Deep in the drydown, some licorice notes are apparent, but by then I have lost interest. Serge Lutens Douce Amere is a far superior fragrance for capturing this same idea. PP's Longevity is extremely short, and sillage is close to the body.

(PS, Iso E Super alert--this one gives me a headache!)

Poivre Piquant is a unisex scent featuring white pepper. Notes of milk & honey add a mild sweetness, but for the most part, it's all about the pepper! Dry, which I love on my husband! I can't help but draw comparisons with Hermes Poivre Samarcande - which is superior in my opinion. (But the Hermes is also more than double the price!) Somehow Jean Claude Ellena's light-handed genius is showcased beautifully in the Hermessence line - sheer, transparent lasting beauty. It's almost impossible to beat THAT! L'Artisan's Poivre Piquant is a bit more 'dense' than the Hermes. Worth a test though, especially if you enjoy a good solid note of pepper!

Poivre Piquant opens with a creamy-soft butteriness and reminds me a lot of Mechant Loup, another L'Artisan scent. There's also liquorice and very faint honey note. That phase is really nice. However, within moments, a pepperiness sets in that is very off-putting (too peppery, which doesn't leave room for much else to come through very well). From then on, the scent is a dry, milky pepper note that wears very close to the skin with very little sillage. Then suddenly, it disappears altogether.All that this scent has to offer comes within the first 15 minutes. I'll give it a neutral thumb instead of a thumbs down since the opening is nice.

I really like this - although I hate the opening notes of milk and honey - I mean WHY bother?

Get through all of that creamy nonsense at the beginning and what you end up with is a tartly piquant pepper fragrance which is very refined and elegant. It smells a lot and I do mean A LOT like a cross between Blenheim Bouquet and Endymion, probably leaning more to Endymion but with the pepperyness of Blenheim Bouquet, with a wave of the hand in the direction of the opening of Opus too.

Let's put it this way, it smells like it should be a Penhaligon's fragrance. It's very nice. But if like me you already own Endymion which I think smells nicer all the way through, I wouldn't pay L'Artisan's prices to get one.

It still gets a thumbs up from me though because the drydown is delicious - long lasting on my skin too.

This is a white pepper, lighter and does not weight down this scent. It is almost like a spicy rose, and then the smooth milk and wood scents take over. On me, the pepper remains for a while but slowly fades over about 2 hours to a very sensual and slightly sweet sandalwood. I am in love with this!!!

A refreshing pepper scent with soft creamy/musky/clean undertones and a hint of cool anise. Perhaps a tad "perfumey" and very fleeting - the pepper topnote that I like best about the scent is gone in an instant.