Why are sunsets, and sunrises, so compelling? Over my lifetime, if I am able, I pause to watch the sunset. This is especially true when I am on vacation. When I am in a new place I want to end my day of sightseeing by watching the sunset; usually from a vantage point with height. I know I’m not alone in this because I have never been alone while watching the sun disappear below the horizon.
As my interest in fragrance has deepened over the years there has always been a scent to each sunset. Particularly the summer versions as it is generally the warmest part of the day. The sun on its path across the sky has warmed and released the natural scent of the world. There are many fragrances which are wonderful scent memories of my travels. It would seem perfumer Marie Salamagne also enjoys sunsets in foreign climes. Unlike me she can bottle her memory. She has composed L’Artisan Parfumeur Histoire D’Orangers to capture a specific sunset in Morocco.
Marie Salamagne (Photo:Jerome Bonnet)
On Mme Salamagne’s visit to Morocco she headed to the city of Taroudant. If you travel, from there, through the Souss Valley you end up in the surfer’s town of Taghazout. Sunset happened at some point along her journey and she paused to take it in. The light infused the valley with a warm glow while the smell of orange tree flower water was around her. For Histoires D’Orangers she wanted to snare that moment in a perfume. To do that she uses a few very expansive materials to capture that wide-open spaces feel along with the orange flower memory.
It opens with a particularly green neroli. To add that glow underneath, white tea adds lift. Orange blossom comes along to overwhelm the green and intensify the orange flower accord the two notes form. Helevetolide is one of those very expansive synthetic musks it is like the warm air of the valley floor rising with the orange flower riding on top. It forms a transparent version of the early moments. To bring us back down she uses an overdose of Ambrox leavened with tonka bean.
Histoire D’Orangers has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.
Histoire D’Orangers is a fantastic warm weather fragrance. Mme Salamagne has translated her memory of Morocco into a modern take on the classic orange flower water. Her memory of the Souss Valley is worth sharing.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by L’Artisan Parfumeur.
–Mark Behnke
