Seville a l'Aube

I dismissed Seville a l'Aube pretty quickly when it was first released about 10 years ago. I wasn't a huge fan of Denyse the writer/blogger and am also not a huge fan of Bertrand Duchaufour. There was something too personal about the story of this fragrance, that I didn't care to know. So I got a decant, pretty much willed myself to dislike it, and therefore I decided I didn't like it. About 3 years ago I smelled it again while I was out shopping. Just wearing it for an afternoon without my preexisting "decision to dislike it," made me realize I absolutely love it. I virtually always love orange blossom in most fragrances and this orange blossom with slight green/herbal undertones and beeswax, honey and benzoin in the far dry down is simply divine. I don't find Seville to be spicy or particularly aromatic or even incense-y. I do wonder a bit about some of the other reviews before mine because it seems like we're smelling vastly different fragrances (maybe there was a bad batch, or maybe mislabeled samples?). On me, Seville is a airy naturalistic orange blossom that starts off very green-petitgrain-cologne-y but evolves to be more interesting towards the dry down with some sweetness mostly from a beeswax/honey/benzoin vibe. It's not uber-sweet and definitely not spicy and I think it's solidly unisex. As an orange blossom & honey fanatic myself, I think Seville is an exceptional fragrance. Feeling like I might need a back-up or 2 just in case. Longevity and sillage are moderate on me (3-5 hours presence). UPDATE: coming back to say that I love this more and more every time I wear it. I've realized I'm a lover of mostly natural/realistic type scents. I have a few synthetic bombs I adore but for the most part my favorite scents smell like true things in nature. Seville a l'Aube smells natural and true but also somehow blended to become a proper perfume. This is an absolutely stunning 'Sweet Herbal Orange Blossom' scent. I definitely need a back-up bottle. NOTE: if you want to smell like you've died and gone to heaven layer Seville a l'Aube with Hiram Green Slowdive. OMG so good. Update 3/17/21: yet another back-up has been purchased. Oh, and the black bottles are crap (thinner, less longevity). Only the original clear glass with orange label & gold cap are worthy of the original Seville. This is a MASTERPIECE of natural evocative perfumery.

I've never been to Seville, but my God, how I want to, after smelling this perfume! Seville a l'Aube awakened a deep wanderlust inside me. It reminds me so, so much of the lovely (and sadly discontinued) Ostara from Penhaglion's, but I think I like this one better. They share the same herbal-verging-on-bitter smell and the same beeswax undertone - but Ostara is more delicate, more floral, while Seville a l'Aube has more warmth to it - a warmth that reminds me of the smell of skin drenched in the drops of a hot summer rain. I think the resemblance stems from the fact that the same genius nose created both fragrances: Bertrand Duchaufour. It opens up really fresh and bitter, with petitgrain and orange blossom. The beeswax shows up soon after, joining the party and offering a lovely depth to the whole mix. The other notes blend so well with each other, that I can't really detect them individually. I am thankful that I don't really get the tobacco note, a note that usually makes a perfume a big no-no for me. This lasts for hours on my skin and has more than decent sillage. I only have a sample right now (but I want to buy a full bottle soon), so I only use one spray at a time. However, that one spray is really potent and creates a beautiful cloud around me. I think this perfume is ideal for summer - for the hottest days, when you feel like you could melt. While my love for this perfume came quite naturally, reading the story behind it after testing it amplified my love. Now I can't help but think of Spanish summer nights, large crowds, ceremonious chapels, love and lust each time I am wearing Seville a l'Aube. If I close my eyes, I am already there, in the streets of Seville, surrounded by people, orange trees and olive oil vendors. It just goes to show how important it is to have a back-story for your fragrance, as the story adds new layers to an otherwise amazing fragrance. Edit: I bought the full bottle and I am just as in love with this! I wore this during my trip to Athens, in the middle of a heat wave. It was divine! Well, my boyfriend told me I smell like vodka, but that didn't stop me from doing my thing.

It was 2011 when L'Artisan Parfumeur launched his "Seville at dawn" created by the legendary Bertrand Duchaufour who, inspired by Denyse Beaulieu's book The Perfume Lover, decided to transform the writer's love history in a perfume that is considered by many people a masterpiece, and that will always stay in the olfactive memory of all the niche perfumery enthusiasts. Denyse writes from her viewpoint about the most important night of the Sevillan holy week, the "madrugá": in Ramón's arms, who had probably just known, under a blooming orange tree she watches how the penitents walk through the andalusian capital city, moving their incense burners and launching waffs that cut through the waxy smell of the burning candles. Since the beginning it's quite evocative. One of the most realistics petit grains (orange flower leaf) you could ever smell melts with a strong orange flower scent, and they immediatly transport you to its streets at spring. Until the real protagonist of this beautiful fragrance pops up: the beeswax. Supported by a benzoin base which also reminds of Seville and its pastries with its sweet and spicy aspects, the beeswax emulates the penitents' candles which melt on the streets and which you can smell the morning after when the sun comes up and it warms up the city, the floor and the orange trees. I just regret about one thing. The lack of incense. I would have given it a nice presence, as it fullfills the streets during the Lent. But we can close an eye, because when you smell such a wonderful composition it's really hard to make room for criticism. A composition where he express some art we are quite missing lately: put histories in a bottle and give us art in liquid form, in a very creative, original and ground breaking way. Actually what niche perfumery should be all about, right? We don't know why the brand decided to discontinue this beauty, but whatever the reasons should be, it's hard to understand it. Gracias, Bertrand, to pay tribute to one of the most beautiful cities in the world 🕯️🍯💃

Ever-changing and deceptive, this one - a medieval city full of twists and turns, forever surprising you with the unexpected. Also provides utterly different experiences on different days, different skins or different weather. Its orange blossom is classic and beautiful; I went into it expecting much zingier, juicier orange, with loads of peel and zest, and at first was disappointed not to find them - it's all blossom and even drier, bark-like petitgrain. But this is on its own sort of journey - to dry, almost dusty, almost ambery sweetness for hours and hours and HOURS. So it's absolutely not another vanishing citrus-cologne or limp L'Artisan on the longevity front. The biggest surprise of all on me is the HUGE presence of beeswax - on my skin this melds with the incense to become almost overwhelming in some moments, very definitely the smell of a church processional with great flaming old-fashioned braziers and candles all ablaze. Great pulses of sweetness, too, oddly not honey (despite all the honeycomb all around) but a little drier and lighter than that, so it must be the benzoin, I guess. While the beginning reminds me a little of a much-less-spicy and patchouli-less Monegal Entre Naranjos, the great long stretch of dry powdery amberesque stuff later reminded me oddly of that great dry down of Guerlain Neroli Outrenoir. But that unapologetic waxiness makes it smell, most of all, to me like a giant organic candle shop - so it just depends if that's somewhere you will feel comfortable. It all gets incredibly heady and very sweet - almost too much so - but it's never less than charming and lasts aaaaages. Gets compliments. Not shy, but extraordinary value for money if you get a good deal on it... and for those who can keep up the pace, this is a long parade that's really worth joining. Ole, Sevilla!

In this part of the world, in the month of October, when temperature gradually starts cooling, after the long summers and monsoons, when the sky becomes cloudless, when the dew starts falling over the monsoon fed green grasses, we use to have Durga Pujas. The much awaited festival here. We all, in new dresses, go out with friends at night for Pandal hopping. After a whole night tour, tired we return to our home, at dawn. At this time the Osmanthus trees in this city are in full bloom. The smell of the Osmanthus, mixed with camphor,the incense, the flowers used in the puja, is intoxicating. Those dawns have special impact on us. Dawn itself has a freshness, but at the same time we feel tire, after a whole sleepless night, though well spent. Seville a l'Aube, exactly makes me feel the same, it's absolutely a dawn after a sleepless night, change the Osmanthus with Orange blossom, and u nail it.It's more than a perfume, it's a feeling a very well crafted one, I must say. The Orange blossom is wrapped under the arms of green and dewy leaves, exactly what you get from these flowers when they are still on trees. The Beeswax and Benzoin layers it well and creates a sensuous (not sexy) feel. I have never been in Spain, but I can relate this smell with every word of the story. It is absolutely something to try. Sillage: Soft to Moderate Longevity on my skin: Easily 8+ hours Longevity on cloth: Here is something to get amazed. It stays more on my skin than on fabric. On Fabric it is approximately 6+ Hours. Occasion: It's a mood lifter, you can wear it anywhere. It's gorgeous. It's inclined more toward feminine zone, but men also can easily wear it, more for daytime casual occasions. It's not girlish sweet. Rating: 9.5/10

Initially something a little corn chippy hits the olfactory bulb, and I can't pretend as if it doesn't. But I'm grateful that it doesn't stay like that for long, this settles fairly rapidly into a gorgeously heady, golden, sun-warmed melody of notes that feels exceptionally artful. Honey, in all of it's glossy glory, is present from beginning to end with this one. It's extremely soft, waxy and narcotic. I worried that the honey might possibly be too urinous, but it isn't at all, it's sweet and impossibly beautiful alongside the orange blossom, which is 80% of this fragrance to my nose. I used to have an olive scented shampoo from The Body Shop, and I was hoping this fragrance would incorporate the same green, almost savory-ness...and it DOES. Once you know that note (if you love it), you'll want to find it in other fragrances, and that was a draw for me as much as the honey. I don't get a lot of the limey wood of petitgrain, but that olive note is quite present. Makes me happy! This wears into a beautifully smooth drydown, where the resins really mesh and melt into the honey, and it's blended into an inseparable warm marriage of basenotes. I mean, my Lord, this is *perfumery*. It truly is. This perfume transports me into warm Italian villas and gardenscapes that I've never seen, and in complete truthfulness, ignited my appetite for honey, because this is so realistic, I went and had a spoonful (I don't know how you could sit with this on you and not). I would recommend this to anyone who maybe relates to me in that they love interesting (stuff with interesting facets) gourmonds, but wishes to try something a little more elevated and artfully crafted. This is truly inspiring 🍯🏵🫒

I bought Seville a l’ Aube (Seville) when it launched. It was around the time I discovered Grain de Musc and Denyse was commenting on her upcoming release of the Perfume Lover and the scent. The storytelling got me hooked; if anyone has visited Seville in Easter/early spring, there’s an unmistakable orange blossom (azahar) smell that permeates the entire city, becoming intoxicating at night when the heat surfaces from the streets. And make no mistake, Seville captures not only that smell, but also the smoke from the cathedrals and the sweat of bodies as they touch. This is a highly charged orange blossom, that retains a certain cologne freshness, so loved in the hot Spanish summer with the use of petit grain and lavender. What starts as a morning stroll around the city, ends in a random encounter with a beautiful stranger and a hot one night stand. The beeswax, the jasmine, the resins, all add up to the carnal and slightly animalic base that ends up smelling narcotic and highly sensual. Orange blossom has many facets; fresh, clean, honeyed, dirty; Seville slowly showcases all of them, ending at an orange grove at night, where the blossoms are in full bloom, accompanied by the smell of incense burning, all the while retaining an amazing sparkling freshness till the end. Sillage and longevity are amazing, and the juice as it ages becomes a deep amber color, gaining more sensuality. Stains light colored clothes so take that into account. Denyse has captured the feel of the city and the passion of the book in the fragrance, making one feel like the Perfume Lover. Excellent, especially on men as it gains an even darker quality!

Sprayed this in the morning a few hours ago. I got a really acute note of orange blossom, vanilla, benzoin, and honey, it was quite beautiful. It's unusual, yet so addictive. It almost smells a bit like Bond No 9 Chinatown, but this has more citrus and a more refined vibe to me. To me, Seville a l'Aube is really feminine, but lack the flirty vibe of feminine citrus scents- this is more deep and very sensual. 5min- The orange blossom and citrus from the petigrain remains prominent, but the gourmand qualities are beginning to seep through. 1hr- The vanilla is now more prominent with the honey, but the spiciness from the benzoin and the citrus qualities from the petigrain makes the vanilla more interesting and unique. 3hrs- The scent still remains strong on my skin. the vanilla is now prominent but the citrus and benzoin still provides it an edgy quality. This is now beautiful to me. Unlike most citrus scents that have a room cleaner quality. This is warm, cozy, and inviting from it's gourmand notes. 5hrs- The scent had died to a skin scent, and is now very vanillic with that orange blossom, petigrain note in the background. 7hrs- Completely disappeared from skin and clothes. Scent: 7/10 Sillage: 9.5/10 Longevity: 6/10 (compared to my other scents, this doesn't last very long on me) Conclusion: This is an incredibly beautiful and sensual scent to me. It's very gourmand and creamy, but also floral with that incense and citrus smell. I wish it lasted longer, because I would love to be enveloped in this for a whole day. Update: I had two males claim I smell like classic men's cologne when I had this perfume on.

I bought Seville a l’Aube when it was first released, and I loved it then, but I had a stable full of LAP and didn’t wear it as often as I should have. A few years later I was having all sorts of health problems and I *gasp* gave away my entire perfume collection. Call me an idiot, I don’t mind. Late 2023 I repurchased Tea For Two, and then a couple of months ago I started to rebuild my collection. I finally lucked into a bottle of Seville a l’Aube, which arrived yesterday, and I am once again in love. It’s the old clear bottle, with a luscious, deep orange perfume inside. It goes on beautifully from the outset, reminding me of standing near our old orange tree, a graft with blossoms and fruit at the same time. The honey and beeswax are gorgeous. To me it is far less green than Histoire de Orangers. Unlike my newer LAP fragrances, this one lasts most of the day (and indeed my watch strap still smells amazing more than 24 hours later), and has good spillage. While I love Tea For Two and Premier Figuier, Seville a l’Aube is my holy grail and would be my signature if they hadn’t discontinued the original lovely formulation (I wouldn’t trust a newer smoke bottle, they have all been less wonderful than my clear bottles from ore than a decade ago). Histoire de Orangers just doesn’t have the same magic, it’s soapier, weaker, and more mundane.

Wow! I love this fragrance. It is supposed to tell a story but honestly I just don't care about that type of artistry. The nose wants want the nose wants. I love orange blossom fragrances but this is not an orange blossom soliflore. The orange blossom is smooth without a trace of the sharp soapy character of so many orange blossom fragrances. It is almost candied but not so much as to make it a feminine scent. I also detect the scent of the orange oil from the orange peel. I would not call this unisex either or even masculine. Perhaps an assexual chameleon? I think it is very much a scent that will adapt to your body chemistry to suit a man or a woman equally well. On a woman it lacks the sharp notes to smell like a man's citrus cologne, on a man it finds an ideal balance of sweetness like a musk can (it's not a musk) that can sweeten the scent of a man without feminizing him. I detect a very subtle hint of incense. The vanilla is obviously there but I did not note it until I read the notes. It enhances rather then overpowers. What jumps to the forefront is the gorgeous gourmand-ish beeswax. Seriously I want to eat that note even though I know from experience that eating the beeswax from the honey jar is not actually pleasant. That smell is what beeswax should taste like. Take a note honey bees.

Growing up in Florida, I have a bit of a soft spot for orange blossom. During the right time of year one is bound to stumble across some orange trees giving off the scent so I have a lot of childhood associations and thusly nostalgia. Sevilla A Laube does a good job at conjuring up that nostalgia in a way thats not overly feminine or bland. It opens up sunny and sweet with a nice orange blossom and honey combo that smells like high class gourmet froot loops. The texture is very thick and balmy, borderline unctuous. This top is very friendly and almost effeminate in it's agreeableness. Underneath all of this is a dark, deep, smoky incense/lavender combination that starts as a whisper and grows in volume as the fragrance dries down. Eventually most of the sweetness fades away and the drydown is a pleasant combination of beezwax, incense, and a very soft lavender. Theres still quite a big dose of orange blossom from the opening but it's strange how the other notes sort of hollow-out the floral aspect from the inside out. I wear this very rarely and I don't see any need to get a full bottle but I have a decent sized sample and I enjoy sniffing it and wearing it around the house when I feel like thinking about Florida stuff. It performs nicely and is, in my opinion fairly unisex. 7/10

Crikey! Now this IS a perfume. I discovered it at a perfume and poetry event held in a huge Victorian glasshouse at Edinburgh's Botanic Gardens. There was an entire table-full of high-end beautiful perfumes, music playing people chatting, foliage all around like a Rousseau painting of a wild jungle.. And amongst all the hustle and bustle and distraction, my immediate impression of this was nature in the rough, a multi-dimensional feel that made me want to sniff more and more. Eventually I had my arm sprayed liberally and five hours later I'm still being transported every time it wafts past my nose. Where to I'm not sure - not necessarily to Seville under an orange blossom tree with a Spanish lover, but there's no denying I'm uplifted. This is orange blossom - but enriched, drawn out, given leaves, trees, soil, bees, bark and somewhere amongst it a kind of nostalgia that makes me smile while my eyes water (in a good way!) at the same time. Very, very authentic orange blossom - beyond any natural essence or luxury orange blossom I've sniffed before, tangy, creamy, expansive, rounded. I lived in Greece many years ago, and I'd sometimes ride my horse up the valleys which were full of olive trees and flowers, maybe that's it.. This is beautiful. Now have full bottle

This is a perfume which emphasizes the sweet side of orange blossom aroma. After an ethereal petitgrain opening, the orange blossom surrounds you quickly, with a touch of lavender or maybe some other aromatic smell. In later phases, there is a sizable amount of benzoin or maybe some other ambery resin adding to an already sweetish orange flower heart. I can also spot some beeswax in the drydown, but I feel like it is here for the atmosphere only, like a whisper behind the fragrance's heart. Seville stays strong on my skin for quite some time, 8-9 hours approx., with a solid, perceptible sillage and projection. I can say Duchaufour measured this one very well, but it shouldn't be overapplied under any circumstances - it is sweet and strong and can be cloying to you and those around you. This is a fragrance I feel both genders can use successfully. It can be worn in various occasions and seasons, but I don't think its sweetness goes well with the summer heat. This was my first orange blossom perfume and I loved it instantly back then. Nothing has changed since. I think of this one as of a successful creation of a marvelous perfumer. 9/10

This might sound strange, but I always think Seville a l'Aube is the niche version of Armani Code. While they officially only share two notes, orange blossom and jasmine, I find they are still similar, especially in the drydown. Both sweet honeyed orange blossom. They aren't twins though. Especially the first impression is different. Seville a l'Aube is a bit herbal at first, with lavender and some other fresh-spicy note mixing with the orange blossom. The beeswax/honey sweetness comes later. I'm surprised there is no vanilla in the notes, on my skin it smells a bit like vanilla. Maybe even a little like a floral orange creamsicle - but still not immaturely sweet. Overall it's less fruity-floral than Code, and a tad more masculine, even though still a very feminine fragrance and not really unisex for my taste. I bought Seville a l'Aube for 40 € at tkmaxx and haven't used it much, though I like it a lot. I think it's because it reads as summer scent for me, but is quite strong and the silage can be overwhelming in hot weather. So it might be best for summer evenings.

To be honest, the story behind this fragrance has not really captured my attention and to me is completely irrelevant- the story was very self-centred, and I prefer to connect with my perfume on a personal level, not through someone else's adventures and love affairs. I will review Seville a l'Aube for what it is- one of the most amazing summer scents. Duchaufour is a real artist- I have not tested a single perfume from him that I would not appreciate at least, and all his creations for Artisan have been nothing less than masterpieces. Seville is centred around petit grain, and it has been the type of petit grain scent I have been looking for a long time, not cologne-type masculine scent. It starts with a burst of petit grain and the most beautiful lavender, sweetened with honey and orange blossom. The dry down is gorgeous and I can't stop sniffing my wrist, it's so addictive. I would not recommend blind buying, as it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you like Duchaufour and Artisan's style, it would be really worth to give it a go.

Séville à l'Aube is such a beautiful name for a perfume that I think I would have been heartbroken if I turned out not to like it - I love titles that mention specific places or times, and everything just sounds more poetic in French, so idiotic as it may sound I was pretty near sold on this one before even trying it. Luckily, the scent itself matches the beauty of the name. It's a wonderful orange blossom fragrance - natural and creamy and little soapy at first, which is very nice, and even better later on as the honeyed beeswax note becomes more prominent and the sweetness of the blossoms more pronounced. It's on the feminine side of unisex, with perfect sillage for an hour or two before it retreats more closely to the skin. So I wasn't disappointed: if Sevilla really smells like this, at dawn or at any other time, I think I'll have to revise my travel plans for this year! And if I can't, I'll certainly go there often in my imagination with this teleportation device of a perfume as my guide...

It is impossibly hard to write this review, as the story behind the creation of Seville a l'aube is not a simple one. It’s more like disclosing the characters of two very passionate and talented people, like Denyse Beaulieu and well-loved by me Duchaufour, who’s minds gave a birth of this beautiful fragrance-child. All beautiful stories are dramatic, no matter how happy they are, and somewhat happening at dawn and... somewhat connected with certain ritual and ceremony – the light of the night, the mental excitement of the crowd, everyone’s ecstasy is absorbing you as whole gigantic body. Candles, burning incense on backstage, while you drunk from deep night blooming neroli and olive blossom with its slightly herbal licorice-ish aftertaste. Why I simply didn’t just write a word "WOW" a hundred times I don’t know. Seville is most lasting and projecting among my L’artisans as well, and yes, most unique. Creates irresistible impulse to fall in love though, so be careful...

Wow, this is beautiful! Creates a unique, sophisticated and almost ceremonial. The orange blossom dominate the parfum, set in Seville during Holy Week. This is a masterpiece, all the notes come together perfectly, evolving deliciously revealing his true essence. Complex parfum but that surely will love, may want to try .. you will not be disappointed by this, it's really well done. The master B.Duchaufour always surprises me, and here he created a masterpiece, a scent that captures you, transports you, and at the same time gives love and warmth. Imagine as if in Seville, incense give the city an atmosphere almost "spiritual" while orange flowers spread their delicate fragrance, joining the sweet smell of wax issued by candles used in the ceremony. This scent is all this for me is also a bit nostalgic ... really nice !. The sillage is moderate, good longevity. It will definitely be in my collection! Sillage: 6.5/10 Longevity: 7.5/10 Scent: 9/10 Overall: 9.5/10

For me this was a Luckyscent sample, and I wish I could afford a full bottle. I wear a lot of smokey masculine notes, and I've been looking for a floral perfume that doesn't smell like Grandma's house to layer under my favorites. I tend to hate rose and lavender, and this orange blossom forward scent seems interesting. This layers beautifully under Bois d'Ascese by Naomi Goodsir. It's feminine and light without feeling cloying or too sweet. I appreciate the benzoin and tobacco notes in this.... Hours into wearing it, the lingering notes seem to be honey, jasmine and tobacco on my skin, which is fine with me. That being said, I'm still looking for better florals to layer at a more reasonable price point. Update: Upon discovering that this perfume has been discontinued, I pinched some coins together and bought a bottle. That's it!! This perfume is just too beautiful to pass up!

This I love, not least because there's something ever so slightly unsettling about its sensuality; I guess I should say it challenges me a little. Quite sexy. For something inspired by Holy Week there's not much holy about it. Fleshy. Fecund. Seemingly feminine yet... something masculine lingers beneath? Delicious. I always get compliments from strangers, friends, males, & females alike. Rich. Satisfyingly strong yet elegant enough. Dare I say vintage-esque? Smells more early summer evening than spring to me despite, again, the dawn during Semana Santa storyline. But then, if this indeed is what Seville smells like during that week, I'm delighted to have such a potent postcard in the form of this appetitive piquing potion! Beautiful! Personally, I prefer the old packaging, labels, and golden caps but at least the lovely, heavy L'AP bottles remain. ★★★★☆