Piment Brulant

Edited to Add: Scents generally have more ingredients than those listed. The L'A P website lists notes as: hot pepper (i.e., chili), clove, cocoa, tonka, vanilla. ----- The nose behind "Piment Brulant" was apparently inspired by the Aztec drink "cacahuatl" (from the Mayan, "xocoatl"), along with a recipe published in Spain in 1631 which blends the New World ingredients cocoa beans, chilies, vanilla and annatto (aka achiote) with Old World ingredients anise seed, cinnamon, almonds, hazelnuts, and white sugar. Besides, it is now fashionable to make chocolate bars and chocolate ice creams with chilis, vanilla, and spices, which i enjoy. Also, i often cook Medieval, Moroccan, Levantine, Persian, Indian, Thai, and Indonesian cuisines. So the collection of fragrance notes in "Piment Brulant" intrigued me. Still, i was surprised by this perfume. It was so rich and complex and sophisticated - more so than any of the other L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrances i've tried so far (and i've loved nearly all of them). The combination of aromas is astonishing, perhaps counter-intuitive, but it works beautifully! At first spray i smell citrus (apparently not in it - perhaps it was the raspberry listed on some fragrance blogs), vanilla, red bell pepper, and capsicum (chili). As the scent develops more fragrances emerge, although none stand out individually. A non-specific, non-girly floral. Intriguing spices (fragrantica lists cinnamon, some fragrance blogs list clove). A hint of chocolate, strengthening slightly during dry-down. And a slight warm animal undertone. But it is absolutely NOT "gourmand", thank goodness. I want to bury myself in this! Yet it isn't overpowering - somehow it remains light and gentle (and has the infamous L'Artisan Parfumeur short staying time). The only drawback is that i can "taste" it for a short while, although i only sprayed it on my arms. Certain scents have this effect on me, one reason i avoid lemon verbena - the flavor stays in my mouth for hours, even though i haven't ingested it. With "Piment Brulant" it isn't so unpleasant and only slightly distracting, and it diminishes over time. Given how wonderful this unlikely amalgam of fragrance notes is, that won't stop me from wearing this. As it dries down on me, the complexity remains, and fortunately neither the vanilla nor the musk becomes domineering. Assigning this to a time or a season based on conventional associations would point to nighttime or cold weather. But i love spicy food, which is typical of hot, even tropical, cultures, so i'll wear it anytime!

Piment brulant wasn't on my wishlist at all... after having tried Poivre piquant I felt pretty bored to go for another in the same series. So I just got here by chance as a friend blindbought it and wanted to immediately get rid of it. He was disgusted. In my case, I was instantly charmed! Not as in : wow, beautiful! but more in a different sort of feeling... I felt demanded. On the one hand, the strong smell of hot chili pepper after you open one with a knife and take your nose very close to the vegetable... that exact feeling is what is offered here. Does it sound a bit too plain? too weird? well... it does indeed but I still can't believe how l'Artisan managed to give it a very exotic, wearable and somehow sexy edge. Think of the chili in Dzongkha but without the metal part or the incense. They're twin scents to me... this is much simpler and less spectacular but still manages to outstand marvellosly. I can't sense the chocolate at all I'm afraid... On the other hand let me add I've been stopped by several people to ask what I'm wearing. No one said chili pepper or anything close... they mentioned "flowers", "wilderness" and "uniqueness". When I told them the piment part they all went: ohhhh true!!! So I suggest you try this without thinking of smelling like food since most people have a different take on smells according to where they get them from. I'm sure many women and men could stand out using this as a signature without a single person recognizing the obvious chili pepper... The same happens in Padparadscha where the chili is very strong. It simply gives you an alluring extra touch. Still... not the easiest scent to go around with... needs a try before buy. If you get stressed with weird scents, don't even spray. As for me: a great new addition! It lasts for ever and ever and works better in early spring and autumn... could be too much in summer and too faint in cold cold winter.

Ian Anderson could easily compose a followup to his Habanero Reel with this one. Perhaps it'd be called the Piment Brulant Jig. A bright fragrance, a dancing fragrance. One I'd regulated to summer use only, but today is in the 30's and a spritz of this dazzler is just what's needed to combat the cold; not even a bit out of place with my suede and jamawar. The pepper that is front and center here is not quite a bell - but it is spot on for the nearly inedible Aja Dulce - a pepper that looks just like a scotch bonnet, but is instead quite sweet, with zero heat. What the Aja Dulce does have in habanero-like proportions, is an overwhelmingly perfume-y flowery flavor that makes it useless for anything other than a novelty candy or perhaps an oddball canape. Piment Brulant is it's own novelty candy, and embodies this unique, standout individuality of the Aja Dulce perfectly. It also is one of those few fragrances that very noticeably morphs on my skin, becoming amplified, richer and deeper the longer I have it on, and noticeably different from it's aroma on inanimate cloth or paper. Short phrase - it works with my chemistry, everyone should test first. The chocolate does not come out for me. Instead, it is this amazing rare variety of capsicum, a hint of raspberry, a touch of 12-year old Scotch with all it's complexity and depth, and perhaps some unisex 'clean' notes... a few indescribable bits, and all around terrific. I definitely hope it's around for a long time, but these unique quirky jewels are not made for mass appeal. Another one to horde.

I've read reviews and have been led to believe that all L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrances are weak - too weak to justify the price. Well, maybe that's to be ignored. Today, I sampled Piment Brulant. I get the chili, but it's not alone. No one around is going to sneeze or wonder if you just finished cooking a spicy dish. On my skin, I DO get a hint of chocolate, which I don't believe was put there to be noticed. IMO, its job is to make sure that the chili doesn't overpower everything else in the fragrance. I can tell that this one wears close, as far as the nose is concerned. But this follows you around and others would notice this on you long after you've dismissed it as having worn off too soon. This would have significant lasting power on fabric and it's unique enough to justify a 100ml-bottle purchase. Personally, I love it! This may very well become my 2nd niche fragrance. UPDATE: it's 1:05 AM (4/29/2010) Uhm, this is still on my arm.. It's wearing very close at this point, but I can still smell it. When I went out earlier, it kept following me and I could smell it all around me.. Poor lasting power? I think NOT... It's on my want list..... UPDATE 2: (05/09/2010) After testing this more and more, I've had a few swings on the pendulum about this one. Sometimes, it can last forever and sometimes it fades too soon for my taste. But I've finally figured out the magic formula for me... Spray this one on the garment(s) and use The Body Shop's Vanilla on my skin. Voila!!! All possible doubts have been permanently laid to rest.

Piment Brulant lets me think I'm still a gardener. Haven't worked the soil for several years but still avidly peruse the seed catalogs every winter and stroll through the garden centers each spring. In my mind I'm growing several varieties of tomatoes and peppers which end up in glorious salads and delicious grilled summer meals. Piment Brulant is going outside to the garden early in the morning with a cup of coffee in hand and bending to pick the weeds that have popped up overnight. It's crushing the leaves of pepper and tomato between my fingers and inhaling the aromas of spring, summer, salad and the gods and goddesses of plenty. Don't expect "perfume" or you'll be disappointed, as many reviewers state they have been. Expect the fragrance of a sunny roadside market stall filled with the ripe goodness of a vegetable garden well-nurtured and Mother Nature's promise of colorful, tasty and nutritious salads enjoyed outdoors with loving friends and family. To my nose and to coworkers sniffing Piment Brulant on me, there's absolutely no chocolate, no cinnamon, no clove...nothing shown in the pyramid above but peppers. Chile peppers, green bell peppers, ripe red bell peppers, and a background scent of tomato. More like a Demeter experience than a L'Artisan creation, but a lovely surprise nonetheless. I love Piment Brulant and someday I will once again plant tomatoes and peppers.