Aedes de Venustas Eau de Parfum

Pucker up, buttercups - because if you dare to kick off your shoes and run barefoot through this charming kitchen garden, all sorts of earthy, wholesome, healthy delights await. Duchaufour's uncanny talent for twisting bright, outdoorsy, airy scents of nature into sheer and seductive, well-engineered fully-built fragrances shines again. Every note rings true, sometimes startlingly 'rough' and organic; and yet the full recipe adds up to something far more impressive than an amiable hippie-vegetal green. Somehow it harmonises into a deeply upscale, sophisticated, intelligent, distinctive whole. Bravo! As a rhubarb fan, but not fanatic, this seems ... simply impeccable to me; tart, juicy, mouth-watering stalks, with barely any sugar at all in the mix. I'd wondered if this would end up adjacent to Hermes Rhubarbe Ecarlate, but no way - there's none of the pink, rosy character of Ecarlate - this is all about the greenery and the acerbic snap of that rhubarb; the bouquet of green leaves & apple making it earthy, peppery, but also crisp and full of chlorophyll. Real sour - in a way that's purely pleasurable - for the first half hour, fading to a gentler and mellower, but still so so refreshing, phase later. If you are after sweet gourmand jam or rhubarb & custard patisserie, move on - this will not do - but it's so much more clever and admirable than that. Full of facets, almost scarily upscale, it's just so ASSURED - a master at work, for sure. While smelling very little like it, there's a perceptible kinship here with Duchaufour's other unexpected fruity-vetiver love for me, the mango-centred Timbuktu: making a green-fruity-musky smellscape, which is seriously hostile ground for me, completely compelling and even alluring. Drawbacks: the usual abominable Aedes de Venustas pricing and discreet-to-weak performance. And for me, ONLY, the vetiver bends just one fraction too far towards the dirty-reed-water end of the spectrum as it ages, by say 3-4h in. (Personal thing - it just always turns a little rank on my skin and I powerfully dislike the smell of stale, 'spent' vetiver scents on clothes). Reading about it, I felt sure that (like Copal Azur, Iris Nazarena and Palissandre d'Or) this was an AdV that would be so incredibly good, smell so unbelievably great, that I'd fall painfully and expensively in love and chase after it, and forgive its weedy lifespan. But no... that unlovely final twang of old vetiver means I'm off the hook - and relieved about it! And yet and still. I'm torn. It really IS a masterpiece, even if it's not a real-life proposition. The artistry of those first few hours has to be sensed to be believed. You must smell it. It bristles with so much love and knowledge that you can practically hear it squeaking with life as the rhubarb spears magically unfurl overnight. That's one of gardening's minor miracles - and this is the perfect fragrance picture of it happening. Mouthwatering - and thought-provoking, too. Oh M Duchaufour you are JUST SO CLEVER.

This one really suprised me in the best way possible. It's a really complex scent with all of it's notes, but the overall composition is very elegant and compelling. I can't stop sniffing myself and trying to work it all out. I find it emotionally moving for some reason, like a piece of classical music that's meant to express joy and innocence, and the grace of nature. I get rhubarb and vetiver first of all, where the rhubarb isn't too sweet or too tart and I find that it's well balanced between both these extremes.The vetiver roots are still wet and fresh out of the fertile earth and the apple is freshly picked off the tree, crisp and green, with a tartness sarkling with the spice of zingy bright pink pepper, as it is sliced into sections. Tomato leaves are taken in your hand, picked off of the potted plant and rubbed between your fingers and green thumb, releasing their herbal sticky scent, reminiscent of cannabis leaves. A trellis of incense smoke hangs in the air to supports the climbing honeysuckle that climbs and wraps around everytbing. You finely chop up hazelnuts, ready to add them to the desert you're baking, full of rhubarb and apples that you grew in your garden; your own Eden on earth. There's actually a gourmand feel to this one, right after the green, herbal, smokiness recedes. I find that I get a creamy note, something like pastry and then an almost citrus glimmer. For a while it makes me smell a glimpse of a realistic tart au citron. I certainly didn't expect this amongst such a green scent. This is a really unique perfume, I've not smelled anything like it before and I'd love yo own a full bottle once I can get hold of one. Edit - Ah I just noticed the nose on this one was Bertrand Duchaufour and I'm not suprised at all. Whenever I encounter something like this sort of unique piece that I fall in love with, it's often his work. He knows how to make things that really move my soul. Kudos on another wonderful masterpiece!

I tested this three times now, and went from disliking it through liking it to loving it. Maybe that's because I first tested it in the colder seasons; it feels like this is really blooming on warmer skin. On the other hand, it might just take a while to get used to this scent; it is unusual, very intense and quite sharp. Very original, at least it's not like anything I have ever smelled, although my experience is still pretty limited. It's very fruity, but not in that sugared "fruity floral" way, more like real fruit: slightly sweet but in a pleasantly sharp way, even a bit sour. The top ranked notes are rhubarb, tomato leaf, red berries and apple, and that's what I'm getting most of, too. Then there's some vetiver in the background (I think), which is a nice addition, the combination works really well to make it even more interesting. I saw it compared to fizzy water somewhere, and I think that's a pretty apt description of the vibe of this perfume: very fresh, very vibrant, more interesting than the "normal" ones in its category, and especially great on hot days. Of course it's extremely expensive, so when I didn't like it at first I was kind of relieved (yes I know, not a great idea to order a sample in the first place, but I was so curious). My sample is big, though, so I have time to save up for a real bottle (or maybe a bigger decant first). And it is very longlasting, which can't be said of all expensive summer perfumes, so that makes the price a bit more justifiable...

Rhubarb is quite possibly one of my favourite things and I've been suckered in my rhubarb scents before from the likes of CdG and the last one I purchased from Hermes. However, I was never really convinced by the accuracy of these and frankly I didn't care all that much because an augmented apple/grapefruit note or a rhubarb and custard sweet is just as enjoyable as something authentic, orgainc and accurate. Aedes de Venustas makes the above mentioned seem like Clinique Happy compared to the smell of a ripely cut orange. It's probably very much down to the vegetal, tomato leaf surround and the green vetiver an slight hint of effervescent, zing from a touch of frankincense which gives the rhubarb more credibility and it's quite a long lasting top note too. Although not massively complex there's enough going on in this scent to keep me very interested throughout and it dries down to a calming vetiver and perceivable floral notes. (must be the honeysuckle) My favourite aspect though is ginger. Not listed in the notes I hear you cry?!?! Well I get the classic culinary combination of Rhubarb and ginger in here. It could be the other elements like vetiver creating that effect but it's definitely there, and wonderful it is too. The quality is evident in this scent and although it's not massive in lasting power or silage it was okay, mellow but passable. I liked it. Not quite enough to buy but I admire it.

In testing this today, I was almost warned off from trying this by the SA who said, "most people think that smells like weed..." in a tone that implied this clearly couldn't be to my liking. Imagine my surprise as I held my wrist up to my nose and discovered an opening accord that smells exactly like standing in line at an Orange Julius: bright, citric and indistinctly fruity with a sweet twist. Eyes wide with surprise I asked my husband to confirm this association which he did with similar amazement. This delightful opening accord fades within a few minutes of application revealing a crisp green, tomato leaf note that is strikingly natural. I remarked on this to the SA, telling her that to me it smelled like a day in my garden. Next, a note reminiscent of a freshly lit cigarette appeared and remained through out the wear time. The drydown is composed of the dichotomy of this lit cigarette note and the note of fresh, astringent, warm sun shining on tomato leaves in the afternoon. Despite its green nature I would call Aedes de Venustas EdP a warm fragrance and one built around real life associations. I can see why people might call this a marijuana fragrance (its green and smokey without being tobacco) but in reality it is not. Overall, I'd say it's worth sampling for the interesting composition alone. Lovely in a self assured way.