Meandering Soul

The Meandering Soul perfume is part of the initial collection of photographer and perfumer Christèle Jacquemin, who launched three fragrances in 2019 and, right away, was nominated for the Art and Olfaction Awards 2020, in the artisan category. Meandering Soul was born through the collection of photographs that the artist made in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, where she lived for a month. She says it was a chaotic period, in which she tried to escape the noise and the frantic pace of the city through night walks in search of serenity. Meandering Soul has notes of fennel and hinoki wood, at the top of the olfactory pyramid. Then, ylang-ylang, narcissus, and cinnamon form the body of the fragrance, while the base brings a mixture of tobacco and caramel. When touches the skin, the fragrance carries a feeling of discomfort and, at the same time, curiosity. For me, the opening moments are frighteningly delicious, although this is good for some and bad for others. There is an extravagant mix of green, fresh, herbal, aromatic, and smoky nuances that tend to keep out those who have not yet left the commercial level in search of novelties in the most authorial universe of niche perfumery. In any case, the latter is the target audience of the brand and in this sense, the perfumer reaches the goal with perfection. But Meandering Soul excels at every moment! In a matter of minutes, the ylang-ylang flower leaves aside its fruity nuances and appears with its most aphrodisiac content. And the narcissus gives the smoky side of tobacco, in addition to bringing a more animalic facet. It is at this point, in fact, that lovers of incense fragrances will fall in love. From here, the evolution is smoother, but the smell of tobacco stores begins to become sweeter, when the tobacco and the caramel merge, in a hot accord of whiskey with a silky aspect, as if it were a vegetable wax burning through a handmade candle. It's that kind of addictive fragrance that makes me smell my own skin several times. Undoubtedly, among the three fragrances launched so far, Meandering Soul is my favorite. But I also think it is important to say that, in my opinion, it is the one that has the most masculine bias. I don't consider it gourmand, although the caramel note might suggest it. It is oriental and full of floral and woody facets. In its sinuous curves, Meandering Soul meanders through exotic, sensual, and sophisticated nuances. Once on the skin, it is a path of no return.

I love it. Perfume has become my hobby in this pandemic, and this is EASILY in the top ten of the 100 or so bottles I've bought in that time. Would that everything had this performance and pleasing nature. To me, it is fennel and mint. It offends no one, and is fresh in an unusual and effortless way, such that one could also choose to regard it as coolly sophisticated. Happily, that original impression lasts, though the perfume deepens and widens with time. I have two bottles, and fear I will be buying another, it's one of two or three scents that I don't hesitate to wear with complete confidence. Both my 30ml bottles came in well made wooden boxes, with the bijou bottle in a cushioned draw bag.

Christele's fragrances might not appeal to everyone, but it's hard to imagine that any true fragrance nut would overlook each fragrance's quality of composition. At least one full bottle is on the horizon due to the reasonable price point and uniqueness and beauty of each of Christele's fragrances (IMO, there's not really anything out there like them). I'm not one of those fragrance connoisseurs that can identify every note in a fragrance (other than the obvious amber, vanilla, tobacco, or patchouli notes), however, I can tell you that each of Christele's scents makes me happy - from each glorious spray to the interesting dry down. At least try the discovery set.

Between this and Memory Lane, I want to try every fragrance Christele Jacquemin puts out. In Memory Lane, the brilliant, oddball pairing of parsley and meringue resulted in a fresh, surprising gourmand unlike anything in my collection. With Meandering Soul, the bright and herbaceous sweet fennel gives way to a gorgeous, smoky, earthy (thanks to the hinoki) caramel with a slightly tangy tobacco edge, one that has me taking deep sniffs of my arm over and over again. I love that this is comforting and slightly challenging at the same time, which appears to be my sweet spot for niche fragrances. Just gorgeous.

this perfume is called "meandering soul" and not just "meandering".

Hinoki and fennel are dominant in the initial opening, but over a short amount of time, caramel and cinnamon take over. I get the feeling I am in a busy, commercial kitchen. And the large centrally located kitchen smoker is fired up, ready for the first batch of whatever is highlighted on the menu for that day. Meandering Soul is a gourmand scent, and a bit of an oddball too. I love love love that fresh opening. Still, it reminds me of an upscale, gourmet, grocery store. The kind of store that has fancy counter seating for in-store dining. The benches are made out of some exotic wood, possibly Hinoki. The opening also reminds me of fancy, organic toothpaste. Go figure. I don’t pick up the florals though I do not doubt the list of featured notes; I just can’t detect them. I like weird stuff, and that’s where I would file Meandering Soul, my first foray into my Luckyscent discovery set from photographer Christèle Jacquemin.

Minty fennel... I get woody, greeny, herbal mix that i barely can detect the sweetness from far away (AT FIRST) with doses of hyrax that shows around 5 minutes in. Now weirdly, around 10 minutes in the blends changes kind of dramatically! I started to get tobacco-ish with chunks of caramel & bits of cinnamon. After a while, i started to get the haze of narcissus, ylang, and bit back of dry bitter fennel with a calming woody note & i believe it's Hinoki wood. I can't deny that i didn't like it when i first sprays it.. but damn... after few minutes in the show begins! This b lend is smart and Christèle is not another perfumer! I don't know her but this lady is a real artist and i hope the rest of the line is as impressive & shocking as this blend. Beautiful. Btw, the photos that she took herself that she translated them into this blend is EXACTLY what i smell in this blend specially the stairs photo. Mesmerizing.

Subtly sweet cinnamon shisha, with soft herbal undertones. The fennel definitely makes sense here, but until I looked at the notes I wouldn't have described it as fennel more of a soft hay, adding an herbal woodsy touch. Tobacco here is definitely similar to the shisha bars of the East. Very enjoyable! ** 5 ml available for swap and about another 200 samples - check my customs, get in touch, 10+ bundles UK only!**

This fragrance is a strange sort of gourmand. It has notes of caramel and then the fennel/hinoki accord gives it a curry-like vibe. This one is not for me although there is a beauty to it..

A perfectly mixed fresh yet warm, mostly natural perfume. I like CJ’s line a lot, they are all very unusual and beautifully blended. Caramel-y, ylang forward, warm and spicy. It’s nice.