Séville à l'Aube (2012)
by L'Artisan Parfumeur

Genre: Floral

Seville à l’Aube’s romantic backstory obscures the fact that it is basically a straightforward – if high quality – orange blossom soliflore. Its distinguishing characteristic is a peculiar savory, almost saline, quality to its orange blossom note. (A trait it shares with Vero Kern’s equally lovely Rubj.) The orange blossom is sweetened with benzoin and enriched by a very subtle incense note, but the composition feels otherwise direct and simple. The mood is sunny, warm, and cheerful, with enough indole present to put an animalic edge on the florals, but not enough to cloud the scent’s bright summer horizon. This is emphatically not the intense, decadent, indolic orange blossom one encounters in Serge Lutens’s Fleurs d’Oranger. Sillage and projection are nevertheless ample, and Seville à l’Aube has real lasting power. The sweet, mildly animalic drydown of beeswax and benzoin takes several hours to arrive.

How you feel about this fragrance will probably boil down to your attitude toward orange blossom in general, and your preference for its treatment in particular. If you like orange blossom on its own, and want a happy, perky interpretation, I suggest giving Seville à l’Aube a try. If it’s suggestive, insinuating orange blossom that you’re after, you may want to look elsewhere – perhaps Fleurs d’Oranger or Narcisse Noir.

19^th July, 2014

Full, rich, round, cloying accord of waxy resinous vanilla in Duchaufour's opulent gourmand style. Which here is however not really played well for me, I find the composition more close to a nauseating mess wth a weird evolution – and personally I totally miss like half of the ingredients which are supposed to be here. I don't know where lies the problem exactly (a gallon of benzoin?) but I surely do not like this – but I guess that if you are into Duchaufour's style, than on the contrary you may like it.

5/10

11^th April, 2014 (Last Edited: 12^th April, 2014)

There is a restrained brightness in the opening, with petitgrain prominent, but soon a gentle orange blossom takes over as the driving force of this creation. A bit of lavender is added, and after the first four hours a slightly richer resinous tone adds a bit more substance. Nonetheless, this remains a fairly light scent for warmer days. Good silage and projection with an unexpectedly excellent longevity of nearly nine hours on my skin - the latter tilts it to the positive score.

09^th January, 2014

Orange Groves Under a Clear Blue Sky.

l had to try this one after reading Denyse Beaulieu's wonderfully entertaining book "The Perfume Lover", which describes in delicious detail the story behind it & its creation by Bertrand Duchaufour.

The opening is a fresh blast of petitgrain, candied orange blossom & waxy zest, quickly joined by a subtle lavender note. Shortly after, there's an undercurrent of something deeper, resinous & mineral-like. Another reviewer mentioned a "wet stone" note, which describes it very well. From here the scent stays fairly linear for several hours on me, slowly sweetened up by a vanillic benzoin in the base. The incense note is very faint, but the creamy blossoms are still present nine hours in as it's fading.

An interesting & rather lovely spring/summer scent, this does not have the syrupy sweetness of Lutens' Fleur d'Oranger, nor does it emphasise the metallic facets of orange blossom, as in Profumum's Neroli, for example. lt may not conjure up images of sex as many seem to have expected, but for me this does not matter. lt does conjure up the beauty & romance of real orange groves under a clear blue sky, & that in itself is reason enough for me to wear & love it.

07^th June, 2013

simple , very nicely done orange flower theme

this reminded me the most of BY Kilian Sweet redemption, BUT its much nicer done,

opens up with green orange flower absolute, bitter, refreshing and green, then goes into beautiful orange flower soliflore, with not that much sweetnes as in Kilian, and no powdery notes from opoponax, as in Killians, but instead it holds beautiful olibanum note that gives it elegance , and that luxury touch every perfume must have.

Pros: perfectly blended
Cons: if you dont like orange flower

23^rd May, 2013

Disappointing

Very sharp green and Orange Blossom opening...almost vetiver green, Dries down quickly to warm benzoin, beeswax, and orange blossom.  I like it, but it loses its uniqueness

Pros: Very nice Sharp floral top, boring dry-down
Cons: too linear after a few minutes.

19^th May, 2013