Aedes de Venustas Eau de Parfum (2008)
by Aedes de Venustas

The voice of diss(c)ent: Bertrand Duchaufour’s recent scent for Aedes de Venustas smells to me a lot like his earlier Jubilation XXV for Amouage – but with about half of the ingredients removed. With incense becoming ever more popular as a fragrance theme, Aedes de Venustas faces lots of market competition – much of the best of it from Duchaufour himself. For me the question is whether this scent adds anything to the burgeoning incense repertoire.

As I’ve already intimated, this is more a case of subtraction. Absent are the amber, fruit, and floral accords of Jubilation XXV, the piercingly smoky cypriol overdose of Timbuktu, the dark rose of Paestum Rose, and the brilliantly exotic lychee/iris/peony accord of Dzongkha. What remains is a spare, straightforward frankincense over a transparent woody base. This structure is unfortunately so lean it might as well have been eviscerated. With much that had distinguished Duchaufour’s earlier incense fragrances taken away, Aedes des Venustas feels hollow. It’s also a very quiet scent that wears close to the skin – so much so that I might be the only one to notice that I'm wearing it!

I perceived the near-baroque structure of Jubilation XXV as an expansion of Duchaufour’s range into richer and more layered compositions. Aedes de Venustas marks a turn in the opposite direction, and aligns more closely with the minimalist works of Mark Buxton and Jean-Claude Ellena. In this sense it marks a retreat into more familiar territory for Duchaufour.

I can understand how Aedes de Venustas might appeal to someone for whom Duchaufour’s other incense compositions are just “too much,” or for whom his Avignon, which shares this scent’s austerity, is just too potent. But then I ask myself “Do we really need another minimalist woody incense fragrance, and a comparatively weak one to boot?” My answer, I’m afraid, is “No.” So while it’s pleasant and well put together, I did not give this scent a “neutral” rating because I find it such a disappointment coming from so talented a nose as Bertrand Duchaufour.

L'Artisan Aedes de Venustas

From the moment I saw the combination of notes on this and that it was created by the "High Priest of Incense" Bertrand Duchaufour I couldn't wait to see where this fell in Duchaufour's incense spectrum. Duchaufour has created three of my favorite incense-forward scents in Jubilation XXV, Avignon and Kyoto and incense-prominent scents Timbuktu and Dzongkha obviously comparisons will naturally have to flow. From the top this starts off as a sweeter incense very much like Jubilation XXV. What differentiates this is the fairly rapid appearance of a leather note underpinning the incense that gives this scent a different facet than Jubilation XXV. There is also a pepper note present throughout the top and heart which adds a spicy edge right out on the periphery this is more reminiscent of the spices present in Timbuktu without rising to the full-throated level present in that scent. In this one it is a pinch whereas in Timbuktu its the whole darn spice cabinet. In the heart a rose note comes in and mixes with the leather and pepper and incense and this is where Aedes de Venustas takes on its own character and blossoms on me. This middle is tremendously balanced and rich on me. It lasts for quite a while before letting the basenotes of patchouli, musk and vanilla have their turn. This is another incredible incense scent from Duchaufour which is slightly deeper than Jub XXV but lighter than either Kyoto or Avignon. Depending on whether you are an incense glutton, in which case you'll want all of them; or someone looking for the one incense scent to be part of your wardrobe Aedes de Venustas is worth a try.

I love this fragrance. Spicy, sweet but not too sweet. Almost made for the winter holiday season. On me it has poor sillage and longevity. That would be the only reason I won't run right out and get this one. I really enjoy the bright orange as opposed to the bitter orange in so many fragrances. It is not gourmond but it reminds me of the candied fruits and spices one smells at Christmas time in the kitchen. I give this one a neutral only because of the longevity and sillage issues on me.

Stopped by Aedes this weekend and tried this one. The opening was dominated by the sweet orange, pink pepper, and incense notes. The heart appeared after about twenty minutes and was nearly pure oppoponax/sweet myrrh, with hints of coffee and cedar. This persisted on my skin for at least 4-5 hours, following which soft woods emerged, tempering the pure incense experience. Those with me agreed that it smelled not unlike catholic mass, warm, incense laden, and familiar. It had good tenacity on the skin and the sillage was also fair. Worth a trip and a sample for the incense lover.

WOW! I tried this at the store a couple of weeks ago, and was mesmerized, could not wait to get my hands on it. It was finally released today,YAAY!
The scent plays out like a drier Jubilation XXV (also Bertrand D ) , the incense is mellowed out quite nicely, by a ginger like note, tons of Myrrh. Very restrained, and unique. dark yet radiant. Very highly Recommended.