Eau d Italie’s luscious Jardin du Poete

 

 

 

 

 

Every now and then you are blessed with the gift of a perfume that is so truly wonderful that you feel that you could never live without it. For me, Eau d Italie’s luscious Jardin du Poete or The Poets Garden is that precious scent touching a very deep nerve and igniting my passions and my way too vivid imagination! 

 

Jardin du Poete is a 2011 release by Eau d Italie that has been created for us by the absolutely brilliant Bertrand Duchaufour; a perfume so sumptuous, fresh and imaginative that from the moment I opened the bottle I had the feeling that I had been stolen from my life and dropped into the middle of a feisty historical romance.

 

I know that you know the type; a gorgeous and  gossamer tale that is spun in the 17th century with a beautiful terraced garden and a wonderful heroine who dresses clothing made of finely spun silk and softened hemp; a women blessed with a mysterious duality born of royal blood but thoroughly modern for her day, rebellious to be sure but with quite a bit of a past. Her breasts are scented by the precious sprigs of sweet lavender, rose and helichrysum that she wears tucked within the folds of her gown and her breath is perfumed provocatively with the sweet smell of candied angelica root. To me she looks to be something created by the pre Raphaelites, beautiful and heavy lidded with soft full lips, a wild mane of hair and a bent towards a full throated laughter that is refreshing and more than a little bit bawdy .

 

When I first experienced Jardin du Poete, I shut my eyes and tried to take a long walk around the exquisite  gardens that were instantly conjured up in my imagination and I quickly found myself standing in a walled garden overlooking a ledge somewhere near Mediterranean sea.  Rows of herbs and dancing flowers, vegetables (I saw artichokes!) and espaliered fruit trees filled my mind and the salty sea scent of fresh basil with a blast of sweet grapefruit, spicy pink pepper and bitter orange was present in a very sensual and unexpected way.  This is a perfume that I can taste as well as smell and I love that.

 

Many of you know of my love for cooking and my passion for perfume is always inextricably tied up with my passions for fabulous food.  I would love to be sitting with my husband in this Poets Garden that I have seen in my dreams. We would be enjoying a decadent meal of Muscata and fresh figs, peeled oranges and creamy smooth burrata  all spread onto thick slices of grilled crusty bread  and drizzled with wild sage honey. That would be followed by a slowly roasted  rosemary infused lamb shank, fresh young peas and a simple side of garlicky potatoes with a dipping sauce made of thickened fresh yogurt scented  with lemon, sea salt and mint.

 

Of course this would all be eaten by candlelight by just the two of us wearing nothing but a soft cloud of this perfume,  the warm ocean breezes and listening only to the soft lashing of the ocean and the symphony produced by the buzz of the honeybees.

 

Jardin du Poete is a truly unusual citrus fragrance in that it lasts for hours on my skin. The initial kick of the grapefruit and orange is juicy and delicious but then Jardin du Poete moves swiftly into an herbalists grimoire of angelica, basil and pink pepper.  Vetiver, precious  musks and a sweetly smoky cypress give this perfume a smoldering, wet sensuality that is hard to achieve in something so very fresh and green.

 

I know that you’ll love it so give it a try! It is a surprising perfume that dances from dusk til dawn easily and with more than a bit raw sexuality, pure elegance and grace.

 

 

Jardin du Poete is available in the United States through Lafco, New York and can be found online at their website and is 140. dollars for a 100ml.  3.3 ounce bottle. 

 

 

Originally published on the Perfume Magazine