La Chasse aux Papillons Extreme

Guess what? I REALLY like this. It also brought me to an epiphany about niche fragrances, with an emphasis on L`Artisan Parfumeur. But later for that. This showcases 3 of my favorite notes: jasmine, tuberose and orange blossom. I must state, for the record, that these 3 notes are done with class. Subtle is the key word. The sillage is close and the longevity is deceptive, in typical L`Artisan fashion. After this is considered as having faded away, it pops back up every time the body heats up so that the development always comes as a surprise. One minute, this is all jasmine. Later on, you can detect the tuberose. Other times, the orange blossom takes center stage. At certain points in the development, all three of these notes are very active. The honey in the base is also very much "there" on my skin. I love how L`Artisan fragrances "play with the nose". I also love how my body chemistry reacts to these notes. It's pretty, but not prissy. A man can easily pull this off. I'd prefer to wear this with white. A crisp white shirt with pearl cuff links comes to mind when I take whiffs of this. Here's a point to be made about florals and men: florals are SUPPOSED to wear close to us. This leads to my epiphany: Niche = special occasions. Special occasions = closed distances during social interaction. Surely, your impression on the senses of sight and smell have been made before the fragrance seems to fade away. By then, you should be relying on your appeal to the sense of sound (your conversation) to extend your power of attraction. When this "epiphany" is taken into consideration, L`Artisan Parfumeur fragrances are completely justified. La Chasse Aux Papillons Extreme is no exception. Update: two sprays on fabric have reached a longevity of 28 hours now. Longevity is of no issue with this fragrance. I must note that I have dry skin. Still, I get 4 solid hours of this beautiful fragrance before it begins to fade in and out.

I can't believe that I forgot to review this one! This is my first L'Artisan Perfumeur. I bought a 100ml bottle for a half of its usual retail price: the perfume boutique where I'm a frequent customer was selling off the last remaining bottles of LAP fragrances, because they will no longer stock this brand. Anyway, this is soooo beautiful. I'm not the world's biggest fan of tuberose; I used to find many tuberose-centred scents too sweet, heavy and cloying. However, recently I discovered some tuberose fragrances that are great for everyday wear: be it light pastel-coloured tuberose such as in Gucci Bloom, or a quirky fresh tuberose as in Hermes Twilly. La Chasse aux Papillons Extreme falls somewhere between Bloom and Twilly: the tuberose is soft and not too sweet, and the addition of citric notes keeps it fresh and uplifting. Fortunately I don't get too many of the fruity notes, because I often find them offputting; instead, my trusty old sniffer detects tuberose, pink pepper, saffron, citruses and linden blossom. The addition of honey also brings to mind Zoologist Hummingbird, however La Chasse aux Papillons is a much lighter scent, even in this 'Extreme' version. I hate to slap fragrances with gender tags, but La Chasse aux Papillons is undoubtedly very feminine; it surely ranks among the top 3 most feminine scents that I own. The lasting power is not too bad on me, however, the sillage is soft, thus it's incapable of offending anyone even when oversprayed. All in all this is a very nice addition to my ever growing collection; it smells like a very expensive shampoo or bubble bath, and keeps me feeling fresh throughout the day.

This has almost the same beautiful scent as my beloved Aqua Allegoria Flora Nymphea by Guerlain. The first thing I noticed was the thick honey and mimosa notes that aren't listed. It has a magnetic fairy-tale feel. It can really transport you to a spring day, draped on a lounge chair, your hand swishing the grasses and cloudless skies with a hint of rainbows after the rain fades into the sun. I honestly feel like a fairy or princess when wearing it. It is so magical! It lingers for days if sprayed on clothing in the most appealing way and the scent comes and goes throughout the day and night. I would love to have it be more long lasting and cannot understand how anyone with a love of perfume could not appreciate this beautiful scent as it is one of the most complex and alluring I have ever tried. I love the scent beyond words. One spray and springtime bathes you in its warmth even on the coldest autumn day. It has a very comforting sweetness that just envelops. French Fairy-tales in every bottle!

Like others, I find the pepper quite strong. At first I didn't like that, but I've found it does a nice job of anchoring the florals. Without it, the perfume would be too light. I don't discern specific flowers, but I like that. CaP is a very nicely blended scent. I also like the fact that it doesn't linger - I can start the day with it, but end with something else. It also means that if I re-apply during the day it's unlikely to be overwhelming to others. Excellent work perfume. CaP is also wearable during migraines which is fabulous. I already feel lousy enough when I've got one; having to go without perfume too is insult to injury. It's a really lovely scent. One of my favorites. I don't see an entry for the EDT, so I'm adding that here. I often layer the EDT with the Extreme. I'm more likely to wear the Extreme alone though. The EDT is too sweet on its own and doesn't have enough pepper to anchor the floral part.

I love it. This scent made tuberose amazing in my eyes again. I hated this flower with passion for ages, then sort of stopped caring. When I first tried this scent a few years back, I did not care much. But now, now it is a completely different story. La Chasse aux Papillons Extreme is like a watercolour painting. The perfumer caught perfectly the fleeting feeling one gets when observing butterflies, so beautiful, in constant move, you blink and you risk to miss them. La Chasse is a wild butterfly dance, a spectacle of light, flowery and airy notes of a lovely, creamy tuberose, jasmine and linden blossom. The drydown offers a lovely honeyed ylang-ylang note as well. It's such a perfect scent for a summer day. It's quite hot outside at the moment, but I have an impression to be outside on a field full of summer flowers. One me both the lasting power and the sillage are very good.