I have to admit that L’Artisan is a house that I am, well, just not that into. I can appreciate it; a lot of the scents are really wonderful and I can’t fault the artistry. I just usually have the reaction that I like it, but “X” does this in a way that I like a lot better. I just haven’t found one that really rocked me back. Mon Numéro 10 isn’t rocking me back.
Oh, it’s perfectly nice mind you. It’s a lovely blend of spices and leather. Angela at NST wrote of it as “leather cola“. She quotes the PR: “This last act will be explosive. After our travels, secret tributes and other sensual pleasures, this perfume is an explosion of warm, enveloping notes. Quite simply addictive. A heady, memorable ode to a highly sought-after note of oriental perfumes. Mon Numéro 10, with its eccentric, piercing mood, is like an evening gown that turns heads all on its own.”
Unlike Angela, I didn’t get much of an explosion. Nothing piercing or eccentric. I might have been more likely to part with my $200 if I had. She got Joan Crawford circa 1940. I got a nice cola-spicy leather that on me was quite demure. If it showed up on my birthday I wouldn’t be giving it a polite smile while wondering how liberal the return policy at Barneys is, but I also have Bandit, Knize Ten and Cumming covering this territory, and I know I didn’t pay for those three nearly what this retails for.
$200 for 100ML, exclusively at Barney’s where I asked for and received the sample
Image: Barneys.com
I really must try Bandit and Knize (considering that my tastes are pretty similar to yours usually- I don’t feel compelled to try Mon Numero..It is not that I don’t like L’Artisan- I remember liking voleur d’Roses and Mechant loup very much, but never felt compelled to buy a bottle).
i meant Knize Ten
That reminds me-I havent been using the Cumming I snagged on ebay, must spray.
I choked on my yogurt when I saw “travels, secret tributes and other sensual pleasures” in the official description. Is that some sort of code for “having an orgy in a pre-Revolutionary Chinese opium den whilst stoned”? If it’s not, it should be, otherwise someone is trying too hard to win the Prix Eau Faux ;)
NP
Woot! Woot! There’s been so much real PR in the past year that outdoes the Prix Eau Faux, and makes me choke on my morning coffee, that I’m wondering if for the actual contest this spring, I should do a write up like, “Contains laboratory-made aromachemicals worth $2.50 in an alcohol base.” !
L’Artisian and I don’t exactly get along. While I enjoy Havanna Vanille’s staying power and scent, I’m just not into L’Artisian. I have very dry skin and even with a thick lotion, an EDT gets eaten within 3 hours. I guess, it’s great for my credit card. No, not really because I just bought a few decants.
L’Artisan is one of the many French houses whose scents all seem too light and airy to me.
In my mind, I think of them as lacking richness, depth and complexity, but that isn’t right, either…I can tell many of their fragrances are very complex. I get the same effect from Annick Goutals, Kilians, Rosines, Divine, and Chanel as well. It’s almost like I get all top notes; no basenotes whatsoever. Again, I know that’s not true, but I don’t know how else to describe it.
And it’s not like it only happens with airier perfumes….the Agent Provocateurs are loud and proud, but I get the same feeling….it all hits on the lighter, airier register for me, even though those are some mighty screechy ‘fumes.
And whatever it is that I identify as rich and complex is what I love about vintage. There is just a gorgeous depth and velvety feeling/scent I get from them that is lacking in most of what I smell these days.
I like my music heavy on the bass and minor chords, so maybe my perfume tastes echo my musical preferences.
I do love me some L’Artisan, but I haven’t smelled this one yet. I find I either adore or completely dislike their scents. All or nothing.
Well then I hope you like this!
Me too! I want to fall in love!
I like a lot of the L’Artisans – Safran Troublant and Poivre Piquant are two that work really well for me – and I appreciate the note combinations. Dzing is also fantastic.
It does, seem, though, as if I might need to get a second job to finance my perfume habit.
I hear you on that. I think I need a third sometimes..
Safran and Poive are nice, but not on me. Dzing! I like (and own) but my skin eats it. :((
I hear ya, Tom. I have yet to find a L’Artisan that I want to wear. They all sound so interesting and have notes that I adore but when I get samples and put them on…big FLOP! Oh well, money saved, I guess (well actually, to be spent on other smells). :-) TGIF!
that’s kind of how I feel..
I’m a L’Artisan fan and something about my skin chemistry must allow their frags to last longer than on other people. The prices though…has the perfume industry gone to the 1%? Occupy Barney’s, (Or Nordstrom, Saks, Etc)…and beg for perfume samples because, that’s the only way I’ll be able to wear this stuff.
=))
I’m so glad I was not drinking coffee! The vision of Occupy Barneys!
It has gotten a bit crazy, though. Heck. It’s gotten a LOT crazy! Good thing I’m broke, else I would be wailing right alongside you. As it is, my perfume budget is going for dog food right now. /:)
xo >-)
Mine too. :( Between my two dogs I could buy a bottle of L’Artisan a month with what I spend on dog food. Sadly I’ll just have to use what is probably enough perfume to last a lifetime, sitting in my closet instead of buying more for a while.
I’m definitely in the 99% and I am not buying anything that expensive..
Sample surfing I will continue however..
I get that some of the materials used to make fragrances have gone up in price but…there are perfumers, small perfumers without large merchandising bases, who are giving us excellent and affordable scents. And as much as I really do love some of L’Artisans’s scents it irritates me that they only offer the smaller bottle in certain fragrances. I adore Safran Troublant and wear it often and I haven’t even used 1/2 of that 100ml bottle I bought over a year ago. It’s really made me think about the bigger bottle not always being better.
Neil Morris just began offering scents in 1oz EDP for $48. Just when I thought I couldn’t love Neil Morris more! By the way, I’m not sure who sent me that sample of Le Parfum D’Odette from Neil Morris in the swap but it stole my heart as soon as I spritzed. What a gem.
Wow, are L’artisans up to $200 already? I bought a L’art et la Matiere recently (the new myrrh one, beautiful but very shy and shortly lived) and the price has gone up $15 in just a matter of months. Maybe this is some sort of limited ed., this number series? How is the longevity on this one? I guess that’s the other thing that kinda irks me; I feel after spending that kind of money the perfume should at least last thru the day.
This one’s pricier for some reason. Longevity is L’Artisan like, which means not great..
I just got to try this a week ago, and it was too heavy on the wax and horse liniment for me to wear. So I tried it on a guy. Better, but I much prefer Lonestar Memories for the cowboy kick. And Liz Zorn’s Riverwalk (similar theme) has more leathery twists and turns for a much better price. How did 10 compare/contrast with Sartorial to you? Some people have said they’re similar, but I’ve never tried Sartorial.
I haven’t tried Sartorial either that I can remember.