Sunday, March 11, 2007

Fragrance Review: Éclat d'Arpège

Éclat d'Arpège
Beautiful, limited-edition bottle of Éclat d'Arpège

image source: Nordstrom



On this misty, nearly-end-of-winter day, I felt drawn to spritz on one of my favorite springtime scents: Éclat d'Arpège. From the elegant house of Lanvin, Éclat d'Arpège was created by perfumer Karine Dubreuil and released in 2003.

This is a light, musky floral fragrance that starts off with a crisp, green lemony top note. It maintains a certain tartness as it evolves into the sweet, peachy floral center. The red peony and Chinese osmanthus give it a beautiful heart, which rests lightly on an ambery and musk base. This fragrance always reminds me of a beautiful summer day in London, which is where I first purchased it while on vacation in June of 2003. I remember with fondness carefully examining all of the new fragrances at Selfridges and selecting this as "the one" to bring back to the States with me. It has proven to be a wonderful, popular choice -- one that I have received many favorable comments on.

It contains the following notes (from Lanvin):

Top Notes: Sicilian Lemon Leaves, Green Lilac

Heart Notes: Wisteria blossom, Green Tea Leaves, Peach Blossom, Red Peony, Chinese Osmanthus

Base Notes: White Cedar of Lebanon, Sweet Musk, Precious Amber

The Art-Deco bottle was designed in 1927 for one of the earliest Lanvin fragrances, Arpège. That fragrance was designed by Jeanne Lanvin for her daughter, Marguerite as a tribute to a mother's love for her child.

This maternal love is represented by the perfume's emblem, unique in its kind: a woman and child, reresenting Jeanne Lanvin and her daughter, in an attitude of loving tenderness. This emblem later became the symbol of Lanvin.

This is one of my favorite bottles, and everytime I look at the image of the little girl playfully swinging from her mother's outstretched hands, I am touched by its tender poignancy.

Cost: 1.7-oz spray limited-edition bottle, $70. Available at Nordstrom.com. The entire collection is available at The Perfume House.

image source: Nordstrom

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I know just what you mean-- about finding this scent, and it being "the one"-- just what you mean. I had never even heard of it before, and it totally and instantly wowed me.