L ARTISAN PARFUMEUR FIG SKIN
I remember excitedly stepping out onto the King’s Road from the L’Artisan boutique (which felt so secret back then, tucked somewhere behind a little side street, veiled in black, a real showroom of unusual treasures for those in the know) where I had been instantly seduced by the gorgeously leafy beginning of this perfume (parasol lime, galbanum, fig leaf), but even more by the entwining, in the heart, of fig and woozy coconut (one of my very favourite notes in perfumery), a fusion that seemed to hover from my skin in a dream-like aura. I fell for this around 1993 as it seemed to represent a new beginning in my post-university life and was probably my first ever niche purchase. Premier Figuier is a milkier, more pregnant fig. I have the parfum solide, which is probably the most discreet and gentle scent I own in my collection. Philosokos is refreshing and headclearing, a ‘calm in the storm’ kind of fragrance that allows you to re-equilibrate yourself in hot situations.
A tiny hint of coconut adds a hint of sweetness, although this is soon undercut by a fresh (almost harsh), woody note of white cedar that lasts for hours on the skin. The Diptyque creation is the stricter fig of the two more spartan and verdant, the leaves of the tree forming the centre of the composition. Both of these scents capture the cool, lactic, dark-green essence of the tree’s lobed rough leaves. The pantheon of figs is dominated by two classic creations by Olivia Giacobetti – lover of the ficus carica and of transparent, fresh fragrances in general – and the very talented perfumer who did Premier Figuier ( ‘the first fig tree’) for L’Artisan Parfumeur in 1991 and Philosokos ( ‘fig lover’ inGreek) for Diptyque in 1996.
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