In times of a very cold winter with snow and ice, the memory of summer becomes extra sweet. “Oriental Enigma” is the perfect tool for getting images of green meadows full of trees laden with ripe fruit into your head. Trees with pears, some of the fruits so ripe that they have fallen to the ground already, to be eaten by animals and insects. Pears full of sugary juice, soft to bite in.
Tonka bean, dates, saffron are scent notes that mix perfectly well with the fruits to create that sweet summer fantasy.
Now to be honest, reading the official description of the perfume on the Alexandre.J website, nothing could be further from the pictures that came up in my head. Of course, both stories are true – fragrances go straight to the brain of a human being and conjure up very different images.
The scent notes of “Oriental Enigma” according to the website of Alexandre.J are hibiscus, hazelnut, date, tonka bean, everlasting flower, orris, rum, saffron, cedarwood, and vanilla.
Probably the hibiscus brings the pear association to me. The rum is also there. Some of the notes I cannot distinguish at all – hazelnut I love, but smell no trace. Noses are indeed different.
What stays is a very gentle and elegant fragrance that creates a positive energy and warmth. Actually, even gaiety and cheerfulness are words coming to mind when smelling the perfume.
The colour of “Oriental Enigma” is a light golden yellow.
The durability of the perfume is very good on clothes.
All Alexandre.J perfumes come in striking bottles, especially those of the ‘Art Nouveau’ collection. They are made of glass and images are incorporated in sculptural relief-like manner. Not so easy to photograph, but very beautiful to behold. The bottles themselves come in embroidered cases, bigger than those of the Sasva perfumes, but they make also nice presents for young girls to play with. Without the perfume, of course – the prices of the ‘Art Nouveau’ collection forbid this, even in case a young girl would like the perfumes.
Alexandre.J is active in perfumes since 2012, when French designer and art collector Alexandre.J founded his brand in Dubai. There is a longer article about the brand on the FRAGRANTICA platform which I can recommend. The “Art Nouveau” collection was created together with the famous British department store Harrods. Alexandre.J often drew on architectural inspiration and on inspiration from art periods long gone. In the “Art Nouveau” collection the names of the perfumes and the sculptural forms on the bottles are drawn from motives in use during the Art Nouveau period. Peacocks, Enigmas, Beetles are all motives popular during that time.
I own a few perfumes by the Alexandre.J brand and there is none that I do not like – but the ‘Art Nouveau’ are a class to themselves. Indeed Alexandre.J stayed a niche brand; a niche brand that is quite famous after almost 15 years in business and gets copied a lot. Alexandre.J perfumes are distributed by now to 85 countries and there are some flagship stores in Europe and elsewhere.
“Oriental Enigma” was created by perfumers Amélie Bourgeois and Anne-Sophie Behaghel who work together in the Studio Flair in Paris. Amelie Bourgeois founded the studio, whilst Anne-Sophie Behaghel only joined later after a long career with the big perfume companies like Symrise. Both are in their mid-40s now and at the height of their creative powers – they worked on quite some perfumes for Alexandre.J, but also for many other brands. It is to appreciate that Alexandre.J names the perfumers of his brand; this is always a sign of somebody with style and attention to other people’s part in the process.
By now the brand sells also scented candles and watches (the elegant watches are in a fair price range – something to remember). The artist Alexandre.J stays in the shadow – apart from a few pictures there is no information where he started his career etc. As usual, that is fine (who are we to be curious?). If the perfumes are wonderful and the brand continues to thrive, us customers are alright. Luckily there is no sign that the brand Alexandre.J will slow down or get sold.
The company is run as a family-owned business since its inception in 2012. Quite a few of the employees from the very beginning are still with the brand. All that are good signs for the future. Stay true to your roots and never compromise on quality – two fundamental truths that are always helpful at work.