Mousse Arashiyama by Le Jardin Retrouve 2021

Hey Posse. Just before the holidays I was sent a sample of Mousse Arashiyama by Le Jardin Retrouvé. I put it on my desk and then lost it. A few times I made desultory searches for it and I told myself it must have been put somewhere else. This is quite a regular occurrence for me. put something somewhere and am onto the next thing and that seems to thoroughly wipe my memories of the last thing. For some reason I thought I was looking for white cardboard. Nope. Turns out the brown cardboard envelope I kept flicking past, in the place I knew I’d left it, was the envelope with my precious sample. Yeah, I know, happens to the best of us.

Also, it’s so personal when a perfume company goes to the trouble of hand writing a card. I’ve never dealt with this crew before and for them to have taken that extra trouble makes me want this perfume to be a big win. Let’s try Mousse Arashiyama together eh?

Mousse Arashiyama by Le Jardin Retrouve 2021

Mousse Arashiyama Le Jardin Retrouve

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mastic or Lentisque, Incense, Bergamot
Heart: Fig Leaf, Fig, Water Notes
Base: Moss, Vetiver, Cedar

Green! Cool, dry greenery, resins and a sweetness that I’m going to attribute to the bergamot. A perfectly serene opening that is then overrun by fig. Suddenly the sweetness is like a cooked fig yet still the dry greenery remains to keep the fragrance grounded. I like the way fig is represented here, without the usual lactic creaminess. Much closer to photo realistic but still a fig dream. A starker, more herbaceous look at fig but with a balsamic sweetness. WOW!  Still fig but new fig, new to me. If you are a fig fam then you really need to get your sniff on Mousse Arashiyama.

Not even 20 minutes in and already the dry-grassy oiliness of vetiver has moved in to give the fig some depth and not too far behind is a shady woodiness, like a woodmill late at night. In Mousse Arashiyama the fig shows remarkable tenacity into the dry down but eventually the sharp green woodiness prevails and takes us through to fade.

Below you’ll see the bottle. So cute. It looks like one of those kids perfumes Avon would have done in the 1970s or 80s. That green is one of my all time favourite colours too, reminds me of the kitchen formica in one of my friends houses growing up. Super cool.

Mousse Arashiyama Le Jardin Retrouve

I love the way Mousse Arashiyama shows fig. Unisex with a moderate to low sillage that has quite good longevity. Even in the humid heat of a wet Sydney summer it sticks around for a few hours.

Do you know Mousse Arashiyama or any of the Le Jardin Retrouvé oeuvre? Do you have a favourite?
Portia xx

  • Dina C. says:

    This sounds so good! Thanks Portia! xoxo

    • Portia says:

      Hi there DinaC,
      It IS good. I’m going to finish this sample in the next couple of days. I can easily see a bottle in my future.
      Portia xx

  • cinnamon says:

    This sounds very interesting and I’m not really a green fragrance person. But, I can’t find it here, so will have to wait till visiting EU.

  • VerbenaLuvvr says:

    I have tried many of their scents and own Verveine d’Ete and Eau des Delices. I must track down a sample of this one, it sounds mouthwatering. I am an uber fig fan. 🙂

  • Musette says:

    that bottle is ADORABLE without being ‘twee’. It’s reminiscent of early Coty, with the Deco incisions and the Bakelite cap.

    Fig. Huh. Do you know… that’s a note that isn’t hitting any neurons – not a single one. Hope it’s the note and not the neurons – I cannot afford to lose many more 😉

    xoxoxo

    • Portia says:

      HA! ComeOn! You’ve not got a favourite fig perfume Musette? L’Artisan? Neela Vermeire? Diptyque? They all have stellar figs too.
      Portia xx

  • filomena813 says:

    I was sent a sample of that as well and I need to revisit it. I also have the sample set and there are quite a few lovely perfumes in their collection. I do own a full bottle of their Cuir de Russie, which I love and it is in their former bigger bottle I do think their new bottles are really nice.

  • I am so thrilled to see this dear Portia! As you know I work for LJR and as a result I feel very protective about Mousse Arashiyama having watched it come to life behind the scenes. You have captured it so eloquently. I love that you noticed that the fig is a little bit different here. I find this one really peaceful, like having a water feature in the room. Mwah big kisses Sam xxx

    • Portia says:

      That is the PERFECT analogy Sam! Yes, very like having a large slow water feature in the room. Centering.
      Please tell the LJR peeps that I love this.
      Portia xx

  • Alityke says:

    Having been a long term reader if Sam Scriven Le Jardin Retrouve have been on my radar a while.
    I do love me some green & this does sound right up my strasse for spring. Not big on fig though. Womanity wrecked it for me. Maybe AM will be my fig.
    Portia you might just have been an enabler in me finally pulling the trigger on some samples from tge house

  • Tom says:

    I’ve never tried any of these, but I do love fig. Almost as much as I like the phrase “lactic creaminess..”

    • Portia says:

      HA! Is lactic creaminess tautology Tom? I like the feel of the words together in my brain as I say them inside my head.
      Portia xx