Un Air d’Apogée

Fragrance Review: Maison Violet - Un Air D'Apogée (2018) Perfumer: Nathalie Lorson Top: Anise and Sage Heart: Honey, Mimosa and Cedar Base: Balkan Tobacco, Leather, Cistus Labdanum and Ambroxan ••••• Returning once more to this amazing french house, today with one of my favourites from their exquisite lineup: Un Air D'Apogée! 🤩 When you first spray this scent, you get a slightly spicy and almost aromatic vibe. Shortly thereafter, rich honey and smooth mimosa notes elegantly take center stage... You can perceive a certain woodiness, but it's mostly an accent. The main players are definitely the honey and mimosa! As time passes, a soft tobacco note infuses itself into the blend, sidelined by a touch of leather and cistus, that gives a warmer and slightly resinous aura... Ambroxan is credited, but I imagine it's there as a performance enhancer only. The wearing experience is just sublime... ✨ The honey and mimosa dance in the light, swirving, interlacing and gently tugging at your imagination! They are peaceful and ferocious in unison! The tobacco reinforces their sunny and warm demeanor, with a resinous touch that adds mystical sparkle! It's a supple experience, as intoxicating as it is captivating... This scent constantly urges you to feel its candour, its honest and crystalline refraction of the real world! Makes me close my eyes and drift away in its embrace... Golden refuge and sweet rapture... Works wonders in colder weather, but it's still magical with warmer temperatures too. Quite versatile, if you are comfortable with the notes. Good performance, with good sillage. I absolutely recommend this fragrance! It's exquisite and brilliant in its use of honey, mimosa and tobacco! Another gem from master Nathalie Lorson! An aureate stunner! 😍 ••• IG with additional fragrance reviews at @fragrance_panther 🤗

This is it. I have found her! My favorite, my signature. There is no better fragrance than this. How does one describe perfection? She is a honeyed leather musk. Powdery and soft and balanced. Not too sweet. Just right. Oh Un Air d'Apogee, how I love thee. I am so incredibly infatuated by this gorgeous scent from Maison Violet! Immediately upon first spritz of this I am engulfed in a cloud of warm sweet leather followed closely by a smooth accord of honey blended with hay. A bit of powder follows - some gentle whiffs of iris and mimosa join the honey and hay as the leather takes a backseat to the suede and softer notes in the middle. It all sits snugly in a base of tobacco, cedarwood and ambroxan. I don't really detect the anise and sage in the opening; for my nose the leather is clearly front and center in the beginning of this fragrance. I have never smelled anything quite like this before. Initially I was taken aback by how utterly different this was than any olfactory experience I've ever had, and I wasn't entirely certain what I thought of it. All I knew was that I couldn't stop sniffing my arm. Unlike most of the fragrances I love, which tend to grow in me gradually over the course of a week or so of wear, I was absolutely smitten by this within mere hours and I knew I'd have to buy a full bottle. LOVE this. Love it! I think Un Air d'Apogee is extremely underrated and am happy to call it my signature scent. I should also mention that it leans very feminine on my skin, but if a man wore this I think he would also get many compliments. Bravo, Nathalie Lorson, bravo.

I've had dozens of fragrance crushes but this is the one right now, and it would be the one I kept if I had to pick only one to have, because it feels like more than one perfume. The way it wafts around, it sparkles. It smells almost salty at first spray, and later, spiky and herbal and sweet like Lolita Lempicka Minuit. It reminds me of childhood in a wonderful way. Like the best sunlit moments, like meadows. I would guess that it projects decently well, because it's one of the few I have that I notice on myself. But also I'm a one-spray person and the sprayer on my older bottle is very generous, so that could be part of it. Beyond the very opening, I don't find anything harsh or sharp. So many fragrances just hurt my nose, but whatever is in here, I'm not overly sensitive to it. That said, I was surprised to read comparisons to Chergui, which I also have. It didn't remind me of it at all. I find Chergui more syrupy, deep, spicy, mellow. This one is bright and floral/herbal, more feminine, reminds me of spring and fall and Chergui definitely more winter. But I can also see the similarities, like how the herbal facets of each one could read a little masculine, and both being somewhat sticky-sweet, smelling like honey. Un Air d'Apogee was the only Madison Violet scent that I would even test a third time (always have to try a second time, just in case.) The others hit me so wrong. But I'd try any newer releases, since this one is so magical to me.

The loudest perfume is seldom the most interesting. Un Air d’Apogée belongs to the quieter company. As I write, it surrounds my study not as a fragrance, but as an atmosphere. Fresh tobacco rests upon honeyed hay still warm from the afternoon sun, while mimosa drifts through the room with the soft, golden sweetness of pollen carried upon an invisible breeze. It is less the scent of flowers than the memory of light itself. Then comes the most gracious surprise. Supple suede and softly worn leather mingle with an iris of exquisite refinement, creating neither ornament nor excess, but comfort—like slipping into a well-loved armchair beside a quiet fire. Every note appears exactly where it ought to be, each lending its voice without ever raising it. This is not a perfume that seeks admiration from across the room. It rewards companionship instead. It asks only that one live with it for an afternoon, perhaps while reading, writing, or watching the light move slowly across a window. There are fragrances one wears for the world. There are others one wears for oneself. Un Air d’Apogée belongs firmly to the latter, and I suspect that is precisely why those nearest to us often love it most. I find myself already considering a larger bottle, which, in matters of genuine affection, is perhaps the most sincere compliment one can offer. 🎩

Un Air d'Apogee is one of my all time favorite scents. She's really somewhat of an anomaly because she smells so clean & ethereal despite having a prominent tobacco accord. In the frag community we typically don't associate tobacco scents with being ethereal, so I surely appreciate how Ms. Lorson was capable of pushing boundaries outside of what we'd typically consider being the norm in fragcomm. I once wore this to the grocery store and had a woman follow me to the self check out where she went to the kiosk next to me just to tell me how good I smelled. She even said she was following me around the store a little because I smelled so good hahaha (I didn't notice her while I was shopping lol). She mentioned how she really liked how clean it smells, but also super unique, she never smelled something like this before. I've had people rant and rave about how I smell before, but never to this extent hah. I keep mentioning how clean this smells. Even though its 'clean' I really don't think of this being a laundry scent. The iris and hay give it some depth and punch. This is nothing like Lazy Sunday Morning or Blanche. It's so unique I can't even compare it to anything. But its something special and I highly recommend it to anyone, especially if you're an iris lover like me!

I agree with those saying something about this perfume is nostalgic. I think it's beautiful and unlike anything else in my collection. I plan to get a full bottle toward the end of the summer, as it will really shine then through early autumn. It's definitely unisex, but it leans slightly masculine. It's a smell that makes me incredibly happy. I didn't think I'd like the tobacco, but it isn't ashy or too smokey. Instead, it's fresh and sweet. This opens on my skin with a very strong, delicious honey note. The hay and tobacco come after, and leather appears in the dry down. I wouldn't call this too animalic, though. I was wearing this the other day while reading Anna Karenina. I'll always think of Levin when I smell this perfume, particularly Levin working in the fields on his farm and cutting his hay. There's something about that section of the book that really goes with this scent. Silage is moderate and longevity is moderate to long-lasting. I'm not sure if I'd wear it to the office; I think it is better suited for leisure and spending time outdoors.

A very delicious sweet tobacco and vanilla scent (well, that's how it starts). It's quite potent. The hay adds a dry quality and the mimosa opens up the scent. It could easily get quite heavy with all the leather and suede. I can't say the leather and suede make much of an impact apart from the opening. It settles down to tobacco, mimosa and hay. Soft and almost fruity. There is definitely a fruity sweetness. I love the smell of sage but it's way at the back on my skin at the start but slowly it comes more to the fore. The ambroxan is present and works it's magic regarding the large sillage. I've got to say the sweetness makes it more of a feminine scent. It is really lovely. It finally finishes as a dryish, airy, soft, fruity sweet tobacco scent with a touch of the herbal sage. It certainly takes you on quite a journey. It reminds me a lot of my Grandads Gold Block tobacco. I did love that smell. This has to be the most potent of the four I've tried.

Beautiful. To wear this is to be sitting on a balcony somewhere in a busy village in the south of France, eating honey off the spoon while the handsome boys smoke tobacco down below. It wafts up towards you, you're still clean from your shower but you breathe in the smoke. The boys look up at you every now and then, squinting from the sun in their eyes. No one speaks. You go inside and they go away and you are each thinking of each other the rest of the day. I don't agree with most of these reviews - this is one of the most beautiful, story-full perfumes I have smelled in a while. Honey is strong, tobacco is there but warm and gives body, the "powdery" scent is light but enough to keep it more feminine than masculine. Bought the bottle and have been wearing for a week now and I'm in love. It's day and night for me, but I do signature scents.

What can’t Nathalie Lorson do? This scent is pure art. It’s so beautifully complex and took me on quite the journey. I first had the chance to smell this at scented mahjong (as fun as it sounds) and on paper (tile?) it was lovely, soft, and sweet but not too sweet. At first on skin, all I got was hay almost to the point of being overpowering. As it started to dry down, all of the complexities and notes started to come through beautifully and once completely settled, it turned into the gorgeous scent I first sniffed off skin. It really does remind me of riding my childhood horse in my parents’ field during sunset in the country. Don’t let the opening strong (and I mean STRONG) hay scent put you off on this. Give it a little time and you are in for a treat.

This is simply gorgeous.... Not the sorts of notes I would usually go, for - and yet, blended together as they are, they form something special. It soothes and seduces.... - Hazy memories from the bottom of a dusty childhood drawer - Lying between long grasses in midsummer - Billows from fresh linen drying in sunshine This scent can, I think evoke all this. The tobacco does not overpower - aromatic not ashy. Coming together so well with hay. The mimosa lifts and the iris softens. It is a gentle yet generous scent - wafts up with persistence. Like a familiar friend that taps you on the shoulder and greets you. (This goes on a good six hours). Un air d'apogee is really easy to wear. I think it would be enjoyable at any time of year. Simply genius, Nathalie!

I think I love this. It has a very cool, confident vibe. Really reminds me an effortless fall evening. For me, leads with the tobacco and hay, not sure if I get a ton of the leather. I like that there’s so little sweetness here, or the sweetness only hits in the back of the throat. I sprayed it on a piece of paper first and I kept going back for more. I was testing some other tobacco and leather scents and this was the one I kept wanting to return to. I've also just really been having ahankering for the hay note, so this sort of hit what I was craving. I grew up going to Austria and making hay in the summers, so this really impresses me -- it feels cosmopolitan and chic, but also it has an effortless farmer smoking a cig aura about it. Very Bushwick lol.

I’ve been wearing Un Air d’Apogée for the past three days, and my taste for this perfume went from a firm like to love, but not head over heels. I understand the comparison to Erawan, but Un Air d’Apogée is more masculine on my skin. Although the sweet tobacco note firmly places this fresh leather scent into the unisex category. This an easy to wear pretty leather and tobacco scent (and both are often trouble notes for me). There’s nothing unnatural or difficult in the mix. I think that the leather note makes it different enough from Erawan—owning both is not redundant. Un Air d’Apogée. It’s a wonderful thing.

Maison Violet’s Un Air d’Apogée is one of the most beautiful honeyed Tobacco fragrances I've ever experienced. Along with the entire cast of notes it feels like a moving, living essence that goes through the most exquisite metamorphosis from start to finish. It's ambience is so soft & comforting and oh so relaxing to wear as I read, study and write through out the day. Beautifully unisex, and great for cooler weather seasons. Going to upgrade from 5 ml to Full bottle for sure. Only downside is that it’s shorter lived on me than I'd like it to be so I spray skin and fabric to help it stay with me longer. ⁝

This is another fragrance I wore multiple days before reviewing. This house is truly creating some unique fragrances, when they heard the term 'niche' they understood the assignment. I like Un Air. It opens with a lovely citrus note (mimosa, most likely) but then quiets down to something soft, brown and comforting. I detect the hay before tobacco, which tips this more towards a 'dry' scent. For some reason, I imagine wearing this to an all day business meeting; one of those meetings where the doors are kept shut and all chairs are filled. It has that sense of 'I'm here to compromise but not back down'

Folks have called this "Chergui lite," and I definitely agree with the comparisons. I also get some of the wheatiness and dried foliage of Parfumerie Generale's Bois Blonds. While they are very much different fragrances, Un Air d'Apogee feels as if someone took the candied hay accord from Chergui and stripped it of its ostentatious spices and "grand perfumery." Stripped down, it feels more like sweet tobacco and greenery, and I don't miss the iris, woods, spices that Chergui has. It's a different, but not inferior mood utilizing a similar central focus on honeyed coumarin.

Fruit leather, clouds of powdery mimosa, and sweetly spicy tobacco make up the top and heart of this gorgeous fragrance. It dries down to a coumarin, immortelle type of warm hay after 3-4 hours on the skin. It’s beautiful. It has a noticeable sweetness, which may not work for everyone, but its a very natural sweetness not a cloying heaping spoonful of saccharine. The fragrance feels all of a piece, the transitions are seamless, the experience of wearing it is calming and uplifting and extremely pleasurable. Lasts about 8-9 hours on skin with an arms length sillage.

This scent is comforting, soothing, warm, the feel of safe, recognizable, childhood, happy and peaceful. These are a few of the feelings I receive when smelling it on me. I think it reminds med of a warm cup of black tea sitting on the sofa and just having a cozy moment an an oversized sweatshirt. Looking at the notes this would never in a million be a scent I’d like to smell, or try on, but I did end up smelling it without knowing them and it was love at first sight. This to me, is a perfect warm hug from someone when you need it at most. Please just try it out.

This is such a nostalgic smell to me, flashback to late 90’s when designer fragrances like Carolina Herrera for men and Versace’s The Dreamer were all the rage. This is in that same ballpark, probably due to the tobacco and suede notes. Aromatic accords used here do a good job at lifting the fragrance so that it doesn’t feel heavy but rather modern, green and airy. Few fragrances captivate me the way this one did. A wonderful offering and a must try for sure. Thank you aunt Nathalie! Edit: this one leans masculine, maybe that’s why it’s not popular among women.

I've finally realized why I love this one so much... it reminds me of my childhood; carefree, playing in recently fallen leaves during the most beautiful autumn weather. Though I must admit Un Air d’Apogée is not something I would wear to feel sexy or confident, rather, it is an easy reach for when I crave a comforting, feel-good aromatic scent. In terms of like-ability, my general experience is that this one is hit or miss. For example, My husband hates it, but a dear friend of mine immediately purchased a bottle after I gifted her a sample.

Such a beautiful smell it literally makes my eyes roll back with pleasure. I love the combination of hay with the sweetest honeycomb nectar mimosa, rock roses, cut tobacco leaves, powdery iris, and rich cedars and leathers. It's an immaculately kept saddle storage area, under a hay loft constructed out of cedarwood, in field of wildflowers teeming with bees with pollen-covered knees, in midsummer. A romantic fragrance for a beautiful girl who keeps horses, or if you just wish to be said beautiful girl. Masterpiece territory!

I tried this perfume at a scent store and it came up the most interesting. It feels like you're breathing the air the the mountain top. Very fresh, mysterious floral and intimate/musky scent. It's more of clean floral, not dirly musk. Sometimes it smells like buzzing bugs in the forest as well. My impression also changes each times I put it on. Overall, it's a nice and very unique scent, very autumnal and intimate scent. Projection is good, 4-5+ hours. Do not blind buy as I feel it need a quite mature nose to appreciate it.

This is addictive. The initial spray is this blast of sweet hay, then quickly transition into mimosa and honey. The tobacco creeps through in time, ultimately settling into a spicy, resinous scent. It’s also a scent that will fare well in colder climates, it doesn’t last long on me, but it fills up a room while it’s here. It’s not really like anything else in my collection - and a little variety makes for a well rounded, curated experience. I’ll toy w it a little more before committing to a FB.

I picked this scent up while in Paris and wore it in the waning days of Summer and transitioning into first week September. So I found it performed well in hot temperatures and even in colder ones. It's classy and reminds me of nougat with tones of honey. It's a bit sweet, but I wouldn't consider it a gourmand. It strikes a balance with the tobacco and leather notes, so it's a crowd pleaser. I can see it being worn as a signature-scent year round.

It's have the situation that i have to blind buy this fragrance within 10 minutes time to make descision and really surprise that this fragrance make me very appriciate. it's open with dry, woody by hay, tobacco and boozy hint of cashmeran but after 30-40 minutes it's turn into really yummy Honey that not too sweet by aromatic hint. very very good fragrance drydown is fantastic. the most successful blind buy of me in this year.

When I first smelt this, it took me several sprays to understand it, and now I do and love. Although unisex, if you've ever watched the movie 'The Age Of Adaline', this would be her scent. This scent is for someone who is surrounded by youth but has an old soul. A person who has lived through the best and worst of life, but still manages to charm those around them with a single smile. Indeed, a very beautiful scent.

An intriguing scent - equal parts mysterious and comforting. It has the fluffiness of the Maison Violet line, but in an earthy way because of the hay note. Typically hay is too harsh of a note for me, but this is so smoothly blended that the hay doesn't stand out on its own (like it typically does). Definitely unisex - a daytime scent I'd say. Suitable for any iris-lover who wants a little something different.

This is my third day in a row wearing this, and it's won me over completely. This is a sweet fragrance I can get behind; the sweetness isn't syrupy but dry, cut by the herbal notes. It brings to mind a hayloft stacked high with hay bales. Underneath that dry hay, I get a sweetness that reminds me of fallen apples underneath a tree. Slanting golden sunlight. I could see this being just gorgeous in the fall.

Hazy, dappled sunlight beaming over a bed of dry hay. Reminds me of late summer sunsets where the warmth meets the first chilly fall night. Grassy, but dry and golden, not green. Hay that smells slightly toasted and nutty. Powdery mimosa flower is fuzzy and rounds it all out with a subtle sweetness. Everything is anchored by a slightly herbaceous honey and a moist tobacco note. Beautiful scent.

Wonderfully delicious! This is Essential Parfums Divine Vanille minus the cinnamon. It’s sweet and so beautifully blended I could barely make it out. I thought...suede and apple pie! Not a combination I would normally think of but it’s just marvelous. A real stunner unlike anything I’ve ever smelled, yet somehow familiar. Definitely going on my wishlist!

I will modify or add a longer review later, but tl;dr: this is a masterpiece and a massive compliment-puller. It's a tremendous value for the price, an absolute steal within the niche space. It's different, so I wouldn't recommend a blind buy, but get your nose on it as soon as you can (note: you need to wear it, not just smell it on paper).

Dry, sweet tobacco and honeyed florals over hay. Powdery suede. An evocative and nostalgic scent that doesn’t read “candle”. Completely unisex. I’m extremely sensitive to super ambers and synthetic cashmere and I’m not picking up any in this fragrance. I own the old bottle though, so perhaps it was reformulated and juiced up?

On my skin, it is like a blend of tobacco vanille TF with sourness of Los Cherry and hay/honey combo. Some leather aspects are in the background, making up a raw aspect. I find it very alluring. The juice should have a dark color since there is nothing innocent about this one for sure!

A clean horse eating fresh hay after a long ride. Sunlight fading through the barn doors. A leather saddle freshly conditioned with beeswax and oil. Golden dust in the air. Warm wood, sweet hay, polished tack, and the quiet comfort of the last ride before sunset.

@Lirim review is SPOT ON!!! This to me smells like entering a pony stable, I smell ponies, hay and leather saddles. For some reason I’m addicted to it, but I’m not brave enough to wear it! Lol Completely different on a paper strip, wow!

I'd quite like to smell the tobacco and hay notes, but all I get is sweet aniseed - which admittedly is lovely, and the note I was really looking for. Low-key but quite persistent, best in cold/mild rather than hot weather.

ボタニカルな知性みたいな立ち上がりが優秀。セージも薬草っぽくて、「甘いだけじゃない」っていう牽制。いきなり媚びない感じが最高にクール。 ミモザの粉っぽい金色みたいな甘さとハニーのウォーミングで、肌の体温で溶けるような感じがアニマリックではないのに官能的、みたいな絶妙なライン。 アンブロキサンとラブダナムを組み合わせたのが神。揮発性が極端に低いから肌膜になって香りを外から纏うんじゃなくて内側から滲む感じ。 時間が経てば経つほど深くなる。

Wow. This is a very realistic hay. The leather and tobacco are beautiful with it. This makes me nostalgic for my youth which was spent in horse barns. It feels so comfortable and cozy, friendly, safe. I adore this.

A surprisingly powerful scent. To avoid the sweet aniseed taking over I now layer this with dry woods, e.g. cedar or sandalwood, which helps bring out the tobacco and hay notes - really beautiful.

Wedding scent. Truly beautiful powdery scent of mimosa, iris, hay and tobacco. I also feel the leather/suede but so smooth combined with the rest of the notes. Wow. Perfect for autumn. 10/10.

I have no words to express how much I adore this smell. I feel like there's a beeswax note ... and honey? Yes! It's not sweet, but there's something sweet about it, if you know what I mean.

To me this smells so quintessentially autumnal. Warm sweaters, waxy crayons, suede gloves, rainy glades with faint yellow flowers and fresh (not burnt) pipe tobacco. Pure and utter love!

This perfume doesn’t remind me of anything is Unique so don’t listen to what they write try to go and smell it , it will surprise you is a compliment getter and is lovely

This is a lovely floral fragrance that's grounded by the tobacco and leather notes. It smells more feminine to me, but it's totally unisex.

P. S. Anthony, one of the Maison Violet co-owners confirmed this scent (like pour rever and sketch) are cruelty free as well as vegan 💚

A sweet herbal musk that keeps coming back as whiffs after hours. Adorable... Sparkling.

The blend is spectacular. The moisture of the tobacco is prevalent. Very unique.

One word it’s so nice smooth rich tobacco👏 Best line of Maison Violet 🎯

Absolutely stunning. Love from the first sniff

Un Air d'Apogée was originally created in 1932. The new version was completed in 2017 and brought the signature of the perfumer Nathalie Lorson. The creative concept is beautiful because it states that the desired effect with the fragrance is to hold on the person who wears it and to submit the one who smells it. Its official composition lists head notes of sage and mimosa; body notes of Balkan tobacco absolute, leather and orris root; base notes of Atlas cedar, labdanum absolute and ambroxan. Un Air d'Apogée brings a new interpretation to fragrances of the leather family. However, on the skin, the result not only represents a leathery facet, because this perfume develops in diverse stages and olfactory families, bringing since floral nuances to spices nuances. The fragrance also carries some common chemical compounds, such as geraniol, limonene, coumarin, etc. and features nuances that resemble suede and honey during evolution. This honey smell is not completely innovative and when it appears, it reminds me of a well-known fragrance of the mass market. Still, it is not the part that prevails, and incredible as it may seem, the notes keep coming and going, leaving an unstable smell on the skin, sometimes warm and sweet, other times aromatic and more versatile. On my skin, the notes of mimosa, labdanum, and tobacco are the most dominant. In a way, my interpretation tends more towards a lewd, sensual and even sexual leather, than for a leather used for clothing items such as gloves, boots or jackets. And perhaps this is the context of submission quoted before. Unlike the retro aura of Pourpre d'Automne, Un Air d'Apogée is more modern and fits into the current industry profile, especially with regard to Niche Perfumery. It has good projection and great lasting and combines better with mild temperatures. As they say in Maison Violet, this perfume does not seek to embellish the person who owns it, it completes it.

It’s a shame the notes on here are incorrect because they’re missing the most prominent note- honey. The mimosa and honey notes create a pretty evocative wildflower honey accord. To me, this fragrance smells mostly like a freshly opened jar from a local apiary. The aniseed (also not mentioned) wafts in gently alongside breezy tobacco and leather. I get a little bit of hay in the dry down, but not much. The leather and sage really pop after the first few hours. The honey note also lingers throughout most of the scent’s life. I am historically not a fan of gourmand fragrances. Although this is certainly not one, it leans in that general direction, which is usually enough to turn me off from a scent. However, the leathery and herbal facets really cut through the sweetness of the honey and make this SO perfectly balanced. Really a masterpiece, it’s already become a quintessential autumn/winter scent for me. This projects quite strongly for the first hour or two of the wear; after that, it continues to project more moderately for another few hours. Overall, good performance. Can’t recommend this one enough!