Le Jasmin
Chantecaille (2004)

The perfect jasmin scent. When I first encountered Le Jasmin de Chantecaille I thought ' lovely, another jasmine fragrance. Probably murdered by synthetic jasmine notes' this was before I had sprayed the juice onto my wrists. Initially the mimosa and magnolia purrs around you, it left images in my head of sitting on the outskirts of a hay field drenched in sunlight. The sweet smell of mimosa echoing from behind me under their folded leaves induced by the heat. The magnolia really outperforms the other notes in this fragrance for some time. As it warms it takes on an almost banana like tonality thanks to the perfect tuberose and ylang notes, very exotic. This fragrance last for a loooooong time, only getting better within that time. As the base of amber and oakmoss eventually start to sing through, the entire timbre of the fragrance takes on a very cut hay like quality almost smokey. As the fragrance is named 'le jasmin' I was taken aback to discover on application that the jasmine note takes quite a while to start performing, a rather timid player in this wonderfully conducted orchestra. More shocking than the quite jasmine notes was finding out this fragrance was composed by Frank Voelkl. 'le jasmin' is a complete freak show fragrance to me, sweet white floral accords clash beautifully in a crescendo with the cigarette tones of the jasmine and the smokier accords of amber and oakmoss. The jasmine used is of the highest quality originating from Grasse in France. This is a must have fragrance for day time wear for anyone who likes interesting fragrance that the person next to you on the train will certainly not be wearing.

Lots of Jasmine! As the perfume's description provides it is made with the incredibly rare, night-blooming jasmine of Grasse, France, the most expensive floral perfume that exists as it uses 36,000 flowers per single ounce! But it is not why I like it. I love its rare and sophisticated blend of jasmine and mimosa, magnolia and tuberose, later ylang-ylang kicks in, and oakmoss and amber give you the aura in which you feel contented, sexy and unforgettable (as these are the compliments I get when I ware it.