New Perfume Review Monsillage Pays Dogon- Green Stone

There are some independent perfumers working in places where the nearest colleague is far away. I have written that having a supportive community of other independent perfumers can be beneficial. While I believe that; there are a group of these same perfumers who being in isolation leads to unique beauty. One of those is Montreal Canada-based Isabelle Michaud.

Mme Michaud’s brand is called Monsillage. I was introduced to the brand in 2011 when a reader at CaFleureBon, where I was Managing Editor, sent me samples of her first four releases. What immediately grabbed me was Mme Michaud’s ability to successfully tweak traditional perfume architectures. Aviation Club was my favorite of those early releases which reminded me of 1960’s powerhouse masculine leather colognes. Her next release Vol 870 YUL-CDG showed she can take off on her own, creating her own style. It took a few years but in 2015 she continued to impress with Eau de Celeri which won last year’s Art & Olfaction Award in the Artisan Category. When she contacted me after the New Year to let me know a new release was on its way I was ready for the next evolution of Mme Michaud.

Isabelle Michaud

That new perfume is called Pays Dogon. Mme Michaud was inspired by a visit to the Bandiagara cliffs in Mali, Africa. The people who live there are called the Dogon and the area around Bandiagara is called “Pays Dogon” (Dogon Country). What allows the Dogon to thrive in their dwellings built into the sandstone cliffs is the microclimate which allows vegetation to thrive on the surrounding plain. It provides a transitional zone of green and mineral. That dichotomy is what Mme Michaud is inspired by for Pays Dogon.

Mme Michaud begins on the plain as green dominates the early moments. A vegetal green accord she calls “green oasis” is an evocation of dense jungle canopy, slightly humid, along with the leafiness. Threaded throughout are notes of pepper, baie rose, and ginger. The ginger works especially well in the early moments as it adds a sizzle to the early moments. To make the transition to the cliff dwellings Mme Michaud uses the hibiscus as this note; it carries a subtle muskiness along with a green floralcy. It is now that she composes a mineralic accord. Using, cypriol, vetiver, patchouli, guaic and sandalwood it coalesces into a sun-warmed stony accord. As this accord forms, there are elements of the green from the top still around as the breeze perhaps brings those scents up from the plain.

Pays Dogon has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.

Pays Dogon is Mme Michaud’s most unique composition to date. She is becoming a more assured perfumer by taking her time up there in her Montreal atelier. The compounding of green and stone in Pays Dogon exemplifies why this is the right way for her.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Monsillage.

–Mark Behnke