Mont de Narcisse

my long searched for white whale. i had heard about its mystic allure for so long. This perfume had been on my list for YEARS. I happened to be in paris in 2022 just after it had been discontinued, and managed to get the last bottle on the shelf at printemps !!! i bought it without even a test and it was well worth it. It is a very unique scent— to me it smells like rotting meat and recycled aluminum cans, with dashes of formaldehyde and sickening sweetness of the white flower. it’s so indescribable and obscure but also completely on the nose. It is definitely a nighttime scent, to be paired with lots of hairspray, heavy eyeliner, and sips of absinthe. Wearing it makes me feel like frankensteins bride wearing electric green silk charmeuse slip and rolls of acid bathed lace. it is powerful and polarizing but definitely a hill i will die on.

Does it smell like narcissus? Well, no, not particularly, which perhaps means they didn't choose the best name. But! I love this fragrance anyway. For me, it does what L'Artisan does best: conjures a whole charismatic setting, a mini travel experience, rather than just something that smells nice. The setting (in my imagination anyway) is a French countryside in the summer, golden light and sunny hay meadows and a hill with a rustic but tasteful old stone house on top of it, with comfortable leather furniture and a cottage garden. The smooth leather is probably the main note, and does remind me of Cuir d'Ange, as others have said. But Mont de Narcisse is more open-air: Cuir d'Ange taken outside into the sun and hay. It feels more natural, and I love it. Putting it on my list of scents to get more of.

Smells like the Kyiv metro, like Zhytomyrska station on my skin, when it opens up slightly, mysterious, making me press my nose close to my wrist to feel the skin. Someone wrote that this is how Nosferatu would smell - and I think I agree with that. Yesterday I realized that this perfume actually smells more like prunes. Home-smoked, over firewood, sealed somewhere in a bag, which you then open, and it hits your nose with this preserved impression of an orchard... Narcissus isn't the main note here at all, but it's so beautiful together, so delicate, that now I want a full bottle, even though I already have too many perfumes. But I'm still thinking about whether I'll buy it.

As you can tell by my username.. I adore this scent. It was the first perfume that got me into scents. I saw it on tiktok in a video prompted "Want to smell like Nosferatu?" and I've been obsessed ever since. This smell makes me feel like I'm in an old church.. Or my grandfathers shed, smelling of smoke, leather, dampness.. It works really well on my skin and is sexy, comforting, mysterious. I can't get enough. Because I'm not familiar with narcissus, I can't really speak on whether or not the name is false advertising. Regardless, this scent can do no wrong in my eyes and makes me feel like an alluring old vampire 💋

This just goes to show you have to make your own opinions and judgements on fragrance. I see so far on Fragrantica this scent has not received much love, but when I was in New York this past weekend and went to the new Saks Fifth Avenue 2nd floor Cosmetic Department, this was one of 2 or 3 fragrances that really stood out to me as unique and different from others. And it is MY type of fragrance: peppery-woody-green-leather. I really LOVE it! The other new one that I liked there was La Commedia by Salvatore Ferragamo.

An absolutely gorgeous, unique, and comforting scent. It takes me to a little cedar cabin on a Pacific Northwest island I visit, very still inside with a view of the sea, jars of dried flower petals and herbs, and collections of sun bleached driftwood and salty beach agates. The seagrass, pines, and native roses smell sweet year-round in the dry wind. This is a pale, soft leather, weathered over seasons, suspended in time between winter and spring, when narcissus bulbs begin to emerge from their dreams.

Ok I’m getting anxious to find another bottle of this, so if you are someone who wasn’t impressed please consider reaching out to me. I have a variety of extra L’Artisan’s I could trade for it so if there is something you’ve been looking for maybe we can swap? Or I also have a Bottega Veneta edp if you are looking for that.

I was looking for a smoky/woody/leathery unisex perfume and Mont de Narcisse absolutely delivers. Doesn't give me a headache even though I tend to get some with lavender, but here the lavender is barely there and disappears after a few minutes. Stays on my skin as warm woody leather a long time. My new favorite perfume.

Don’t listen to the review graph here. Most people here are just upset it doesn’t have any clear narcissus. This should be renamed: please try this perfume out if you want the smell of a deep red velvet wood.

Great leather fragrance. It has the leather from Dzing! but toned down and somehow diluted in almost bitter smell of narcissus. Absolutely love it.

When I wear it, my wife tells me I smell "dangerous". In a good way of course.

Mont de Narcisse opens with refreshing bergamot and transparent woody pepper, but soon turns darker with the addition of sweet tart, softly boozy and fleshly plums, and slightly smoky, phenolic birch. These two opposite aspects are then quickly reconciled thanks to the appearance of the leather. Here, it's slightly rubbery, exhibits a hay-like nuance and a subtle saffron hint as well, but at same time evokes a supple, velvety texture, much like suede. The plum and birch feel like natural complements to the suede. Not only do their olfactory profile overlap, the contrast between the lusciousness of plum and the austere, dry, phenolic aspect of birch enriches the whole suede/leather effect. The fragrance turns slightly more resinous and more suave in the dry down, thanks to the immortelle rounding it off with its adorable honeyed warmth and smokiness. The sillage is rather close, while the longevity is around 8 hours. Throughout its development, Mont de Narcisse reminds me of Hermès Cuir d'Ange and Givenchy Cuir Blanc. The former, because the suede note in both fragrances are quite similar, but the suede in Mont de Narcisse is not seen through an ethereal veil of heliotrope nor is it adorned by flickers of cumin like in Cuir d'Ange. Instead, it feels darker and more lavish. Meanwhile, my reminder of Cuir Blanc is mostly due to that both open with lightweight pepper and fresh bergamot, then focus on a suede note. But again, Mont de Narcisse appears richer in layers thanks to the supporting trio of plum, birch and immortelle, while Cuir Blanc chooses white musk to create a cleaner, more luminous effect. However, as much as I enjoy the overall suede fragrance that is Mont de Narcisse, I can't help but ask: Where is the narcissus? Sure, the narcissus might have played a role in summoning a hay-like aspect to the suede note, but it doesn't appear as a clearly defined note any time during the entirety of its development on my skin, at least not in a way that I'm more familiar with, of the enticing juxtaposition of horse, barnyard, hay, green sap and white flowers. Instead, Mont de Narcisse is a suede fragrance through and through. A very lovely one for sure, but for a fragrance whose name literally translates to "hill/mountain of narcissus", I feel a prominent suede fragrance is not what I signed up for. As a result, I'd refrain from recommending Mont de Narcisse as a narcissus fragrance, but rather a slightly balsamic and suave modern fruity suede fragrance.

Spicy green and smoky. The mental image for me is a mountaintop battlefield just post action, air filled with smoke, green pasture stomped and turned. Maybe there are narcissus amongst the dead people, sure. Agree with the church like notions, there's a hint of incense. The opening is much greener and intense than the rest of the wear, the first 15 minutes or so are intense, peppery spicy. Strong projection then. It will last long, but after the opening it settles very very close to the skin/clothes. I don't really wear perfume for other people to smell it, just for me, the issue is that I can't even smell it myself if I don't press my sleeve to my nose. It does not fade, it's very much there, but you have to bring it to your face, so it's not duration but sillage that's dispointing to me. I'll get whiffs now and then from moving my arms close to my face, fixing my hair, etc. but I put it on my neck and shirt collar and I don't get it from there. Leather smokeshow, peppery, green. C-A-M-P-H-O-R-O-U-S Narcissus is not really a main-main player, but being such an esoteric-y flower I get why they could not resist putting it in the name. It is a bit ghostly. I feel like the opening in particular is what my beloved Lancome Poeme would smell like if it was designed "for men". Cool stuff, these are only first impressions. I'll see if I can put it on somewhere where I can appreciate it more, cause that's what drags it down for me.

Nice, worn, a bit sweetened by osmanthus, leather all the way. Short-lived green freshness accompanied by narcissus at the start. Then barely ripe plums and apricots step into the game, joined by warm immortelle (no curry facet, thankfully:). In the base - non-offensive, pleasant leather with a fruity hint and birch tar. To me, Mont de Narcisse is more of a vintage fragrance, maybe it is the way the perfumers put the notes together idk.

This smells very elegant and rich yet airy and prairie-like at the same time. It’s very well blended and there are so many notes in it I honestly can’t discern them. Point is, I wore it for a while but at some point it started giving me a headache (not sure if I over sprayed or not). So im currently using it as a house scent and I honestly feel like I appreciate it much more and it works much much better for me as a house scent .

It opens like the smell of a dusty piece of old leather bag that has been kept next to a bouquet of dried white flowers. Its boozy accord from the dried plums and vanilla works well with the dusty leather and there is a mentholated aroma from the lavender. The dry down doesn't change that much, it's the same dusty leather with fruity plums and osmanthus sweeten by vanilla. It reminds me of Gold Leather by Atelier Cologne. 6/10

A bittersweet floral scent that is meditative and calming. A reflection of a garden with pebbles and a pond, over a slightly cloudy overcast. Petrichor that comes before rain, a pile of flowers that lost their lustre in a puddle of rainwater with a greyish hue of leather. Natural, laid-back but sullen and complex that paints a reverie to be visited alone. 7/10

A misleading name. I was dismissive of this one at the beginning, but now I have come to appreciate it more, if I disregard the name. I still think it has nothing to do with narcissus. Where’s that hay-like barnyard-ish vegetal medicinal green smell of narcissus? Worth Je Reviens, Parfum d'Empire Tabou Tabac, Nicolaï Le Temps d'une Fête, The Zoo Everlasting, these are all great examples of the use of narcissus absolute in perfumes, with such a characteristic smell of this amazing ingredient. Real narcissus absolute (from Laboratoire Monique Rémy) is probably too expensive for the budget L'Artisan Parfumeur has given Anne Flipo. So this one is just not it. Instead Anne Flipo made a sketch of certain aspects of narcissus: dry, spicy, leathery. But without the distinctive hay-like medicinal smell of the real deal. The end result is a smoky musky suede very much reminiscent of Hermès’ Cuir d’Ange. It smells nice. I do like it, but I feel I've been cheated by the name.

I just get strong burned wood smoke from this one... and then something powdery behind it. No leather whatsoever. Kind of an interesting proposition but not crazy about it. Where is the leather?

Well..it’s not my favourite. I sprayed and sprayed to get any grip of this fragrance at all. It is kind of as if it is having an identity crisis - its not really floral, its not really leathery, its not really spicy. I wouldn’t be as cruel as to call it non-descript but it is veering towards that direction. To put it simply - it lacks character. Or maybe its just incompatible with my body chemistry which eats up fragrance, I don’t know. Either way, it’s a pass. The little that is left on my skin of this one smells too synthetic. And it does not smell of narcissus.

I can only smell the leather, birch and imortelle, with a tiny bit of plum. It somehow gives the feel of a fur coat.

Good narcissus but with a leather/rubber/slightly burned tire note very strong, it last at least 15h on my skin

1/5 Very light, airy, and dusty. It’s mostly a dry dusty leather note that’s reminiscent of paint thinner. Little to no narcissus. Within 30 minutes it’s imperceptible in and only detectable when you put your nose to the spayed area. Kinda just smells like an odd blend of chemicals, not sure why anyone would want to smell like this, but if you did it’s still far to faint to even smell.

This scent is an imagination Auvergne’s highlands as background. The perfumer wanted to recreate the olfactory landscape of Narcissus by the fireside & indeed we get smoky notes coming through from the very opening of this green, herbal & floral creation. . Immortelle Herbal tobacco-like touch complete the Narcissus green floral vibe. black pepper illuminate it with its spicy freshness while birch & osmantus accompanying make the leathery facte very well. The idea is portrayed perfectly in this delicate & sensitively balanced composition. . Because of its floral-leather composition it particularly reminds me of Cuir d’Ange by Hermes.

I just got a sample of this beautiful, lost scent. WHY, WHY is it discontinued?!?! I love narcissus. OK, true, that material does not seem to be upfront here. It seems to me that the sensual flower is more the framework of this perfume, holding all the other notes together. At first, it is more a delicately smoked suede leather, modulated by osmanthus (and maybe orris?), that I detect. But it is so perfectly balanced, that I am in bliss. And in a deep state of melancholy, as I know I will never be able to have a bottle of this precious nectar. Sophisticated, elegant, sensuous, perfect. BUT WHY?!?!?

no jokes this reminds me of a cured meat called 'soppressata' which is salty/smoky and with an intense flavor that makes you salivate even just thinking of it. after the soppressata opening (with a slight smokyness of dried fish??) more aromatic green notes prevail and I am walking in a green damp forest with wild animals peeking through the trees. I can smell their fur and I can smell the fogginess , but still taste that soppressata cured meat somehow now mixed with heavy yellow florals. A bit too much for me to wear but definitely a unique and original scent.

Delicate, fragile, powdered leather. As if it was the shadow of the animalic initial smell. The herbal aura is a little bit sweet, feminine, seductive. This is a inviting whisper, discreetly hypnotic. Snakes’s sin, but you won’t notice the trick until you’re addict to the suave skin of the one who’s wearing it. I am blown away by a work that doesn’t care about being trendy, to touch directly the heart and the senses.