French niche line Anatole Lebreton has added two new fragrances to the Artefacts collection this year, Duende and Rubaiyat.
Duende ~ “In Andalusia, el duende is an untranslatable notion, that refers to a trance-like state in which flamenco artists allow their darkest and most vulnerable side to express itself. It’s the pinnacle of expressiveness and resonance with the audience, of sincere creativity in all its quivering glory. Any art can embrace duende. In any art work, it consists of rejecting perfection of form, abandoning technique devoid of rough edges, to give free rein to an uncontrollable devastating, and authentic state of grace. It’s Oud, a dark, animalic raw material, that Anatole chooses to express the sacred fire of duende that overwhelms the artist. // A whiff of chili pepper and clove, fresh and camphorated, mingles with the darkness of cocoa. This full-bodied delight is soon joined by the bold oud with fruity nuances of davana. The ardent encounter gradually becomes languid, ending in an animalic amber drydown.” Additional notes for the woody amber include allspice, cypriol, civet and castoreum.
Rubaiyat ~ “Seljuk Persia, 11th century. Persian poet and scholar Omar Khayyam composed quatrains extolling the delights of wine and voluptuousness. Finding inspiration in episodes of ecstatic inebriation, Khayyam continually juggled tolerant spirituality with material exhilaration. Rubaiyat celebrates this moment of creative intoxication, when the conscience goes unhinged and the artist, liberated, looks at the world differently and becomes the bearer of a message he must convey through his art. // Under the petulant guise of cardamom and pepper, a rose is unveiled. Its glowing robe absorbs vapors of wine lees and raspberry, before extending into the meditative, blissful delights of myrrh, woods and resins.” Additional notes for the spicy floral include cashmeran and ethyl maltol.
Anatole Lebreton Duende and Rubaiyat are available now at Anatole Lebreton in France, in 30 ml Parfum, €130 each.