More Miller et Bertaux — yea or nay?

After my recent write-up of the wonderful Green, Green, Green, I ordered some more Miller et Bertaux samples from Surrender to Chance. As I settled in for a sniff, it occurred to me: I’m way overdue for some fangirling over this old-school niche perfume house, like we had 20 years (!) ago when I was first writing for the Posse. The brand got into perfume ca. 2006 and I’m thrilled they’re still with us.

There were far fewer houses and releases back in those days, and I miss that – we were often discovering things at the same time, and we’d all be writing about the newest L’Artisan or Guerlain release and comparing notes. I’m pretty sure the first Miller et Bertaux scent I fell for was Spiritus / Land, and the brand has gotten any number of mentions on the Posse over the years.

I don’t know the gentlemen behind the brand, have never met them, and they’ve never sent me a thing. Why do I love them? Let me count the ways:

• They have 20ish scents at this point but I don’t think (?) they’ve discontinued any of their earliest ones
• They are, by current fragrance standards, reasonably priced – 3.4oz for $150 – $180ish, and maybe half that if you get lucky at online discounters. I do wish they made travel sizes, I’d buy a whole set of them.
• I haven’t smelled the entire line, but I have smelled most of them, and there’s not a single one I’ve tried that felt like, ehhhhhhh, these guys really phoned it in with this one.
• They clearly have a point of view and a particular style – lots of woods, maybe some Indian spices, a quieter perspective with (mostly) good longevity. You may like their style, or you may not, but you won’t be baffled by some market-driven lack of cohesion.
• Speaking of cohesion, I think at least some of them work off the same base/concept, and they can be roughly grouped by inspiration (e.g., travel); chances are good that if one works on you, others will as well.

Anyhoo, here’s some thoughts. General disclaimer that the Miller et Bertaux website is in French, and the lists of notes/descriptions from various other sellers’ sites is kind of all over the place, so: insert Gallic shrug here, and off we go.

#1 Parfum Trouve (for you) Rosewood, ylang, iris, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, lily, sandalwood, cedar, patchouli, musk. “A burst of spicy chutney, a heart of rosewood and delicate florals…”. Ooooof. So, this is GORGEOUS. I don’t get “chutney” or anything edible so much as all those spices atop an airy, not-too-sweet, woody musk. I must have smelled it back in the day; I guess it wasn’t “me” at that time? Dunno, but I’m thinking I need more of this.

Like an Egyptian – “inspired by the Kyphi recipe, deciphered from a scrap of papyrus” and not that song by The Bangles, apparently. Italian lemon, juniper, black pepper, agarwood, cistus, amber, cardamom, cinnamon, Indian sandalwood, labdanum, amber, saffron, white musk, Indian vetiver, cumin.  A unisex leaning masculine, if I’m stereotyping. Sharp and spicy and peppery, then bitter as you’re getting poked with the oud. Interesting, complex, not my cup of tea.

Oh, ooOoh …oh. (Imagine someone asking you the name of that perfume you’re wearing?!?) This is their … mythical American West fragrance? That’s the inspiration, allegedly. Bitter orange, artemisia, cedarwood, redwood, herbs, labdanum, leather, moss, hemp. Huh. Well, I don’t understand the name, or its connection to the American West, but gosh is this pretty. I get way more of a spicy orange scent than that aromatic-masculine that list of notes might suggest. Carolyn described it as “the perfect summer scent” and also as their Green, Green, Green fragrance layered with something woodier. Side note: I bet a lot of their scents would work really well layered.

Indian Study / Santal. “A sensual interpretation with India accents … combines Mysore, one of the finest indian sandalwoods, and Amyris sandalwood … a milky touch of curry and cumin is added to this rich composition…” Notes: caraway, turmeric, amyris+ mysore sandalwood, ambrox, cedar, musk, smoke. Listed as a masculine, which nah. I’m not sandalwood’s biggest fan as the main event, so I lost interest after the spicy top faded. Carolyn (sandalwood lover) pronounced it a very nice sandalwood but “a bit one-note,” and it disappeared pretty quickly on both of us, in contrast to most of these which hang around in the nicest way.

Have you tried Miller et Bertaux? Any favorites, or favorite combinations? If any of these sound good, and you haven’t tried the line, you are possibly missing out on some things you’ll love.

cover image via Pexels; bottle image via website