Hello Fellow Fume Heads,

Sometimes I read other people’s reviews and I am swept away by their incredible love, moment, articulateness or sheer joy at a perfume. It’s like the love is transferred by osmosis through their excitement. Safran Troublant is a case in point, I read a terrific post and could almost smell the fragrance while reading, at that same time I was ordering some splits from my favourite split enabler, Ruth K on FFF, and wondered if she had a bottle lying around that she would like to share 5ml of. Oh yes she did, in its old packaging and everything. YIPPEE!

Fragrantica has Bertrand Duchaufour and BaseNotes has Olivia Giacobetti responsible for creating Safran Troublant. Mystery!!

Safran Troublant by L’Artisan Parfumeur 2002

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords in one line:
Passion flower, sandalwood, red rose, vanilla, saffron, sugar and ginger.

What a terrific scent. It is so calm, collected and unpushy. When I wear Safran Troublant it encases me is a glorious and interesting magic that is sweet and delicious without being particularly edible, though foody it is. Does that make sense? The spicy rose, ginger and vanilla are what I smell most through the whole life of the fragrance but I think the saffron is just not a note I’m familiar enough with to really understand how it fits here. Sometimes people mention that there is a clean plastic-ish smell to it, well I often find that in roses too, are they the same? Is it a particular molecule that gives me this reaction? Dunno gang but I love it.

Photo Stolen EdibleCrafts

Some of the bloggers have called this a comfort scent, a warm blanket to wrap yourself in on a cool day but I find it much more aloof than that. It’s a cool Autumn day filled with rain here in Sydney and I am not feeling the warm wrap effect at all. Sweet, yes, warm, no. Rather a cool sweetness, a green sweetness, Safran Troublant feels like an expensive sweetness that relies on sophistication and prior knowledge to enjoy it fully. Like Bach, so pretty and intricate to listen to but when you start to study him it becomes a math equation, a geometric vision in sound. L’Artisan is often like that for me. Very pretty and wearable by almost everyone till you start to try and dissect what it is you love and it is so far out of my knowledge realms that all I can do is go back to, “I really enjoy how I feel when I wear it.” Curiously, I smell it for hours and hours but the people around me say it’s too faint to discern, interesting huh?

Photo Stolen LayoutSparks

You will not skunk your colleagues or dinner guests even if you, like me, spritz with abandon. Safran Troublant is an introverted perfumistas scent, not that you are unsmellable but it flies under the radar.

Further reading GrainDeMusc and the reason I got my hands on some Safran Troublant was the recent post at Kafkaesque
L’Artisan Parfumeur has 100ml/$145
Libertine Perfumes in Australia has 100ml/$169 including postage in Australia. Good deal!
SurrenderToChance starts at $4/ml

Has it ever happened for you? Read a review and can’t help but buy the fragrance? Which fragrances have you done it for and are you happy with your purchase?
Till tomorrow we wish you only good,
Portia xx