L'Envol
Parfum, Cartier (2019)

L'Envol Parfum by Cartier (2019) is a denser, slightly sweeter, muskier, and more ambery take on the original L'Envol Eau de Parfum by Cartier (2016), released as a limited edition. This is good, but it was a very short-lived limited edition very few people got, and it doesn't even turn up for sale on the gray market anywhere, for any price, so my review from a kindly-sent sample feels more like a eulogy. L'Envol's main structure is all about honey over amber, wood, and dry spice. The entire range got discontinued in favor of padding out the Pasha de Cartier (1992) range with a parfum flanker in 2020, which takes a similar direction to L'Envol, but drops some of the leathery nuances in favor of more gourmand woody tones.

It's precisely those leathery nuances, somewhat animalic in approach, that are increased in volume here with the Parfum of L'Envol. If you have smelled things like Hermès Bel Ami (1986) or Moschino pour Homme (1990), or even some of the discontinued Roja Dove leathers, you already know the vibe L'Envol Parfum takes, it just hides most of that under the honey and guaiac wood, with violet ionones that also somewhat recall things like Mancera Wind Wood (2014). This is nice, very refined, and if it had been a permanent entry in the range, it might have gotten more noses on it, grown in popularity, and kept the overall line in production; but as it stands, Cartier had already given up on L'Envol before releasing this, and likely wanted to cap off the range for its fans.

Resinous ambery-leathery perfumes are nothing new for collectors and enthusiasts who go deep-diving into niche brands or vintage, discontinued designers, but to heft something like this onto the market at the precipice of the COVID-19 Pandemic, then yank it away before anyone had a chance to smell it or figure out what it was. just felt like Cartier was writing something off for taxes or trying to create a unicorn deliberately to draw attention to itself online, which is where all the world was at that time once lockdowns began for many people across the globe. Either way, this is a wonder fragrance that I would buy if I could, but also wouldn't pay exorbitant sums for if it did appear for sale because Bel Ami and Moschino are still out there, the latter not so much anymore at good prices, but better than this would be. Thumbs up

One would think L'Envol couldn't get any thicker or denser.
Well, enter L'Envol Parfum. To me it is almost pointless considering the sheer strength of the EdT and EdP. But the beauty of this captivates. Easily a signature scent...2 sprays max and it becomes you.
Lovely.