Initial idea: “A dark ambery wood”
Main ingredient: Guaiac Wood Oil Paraguay
Creative approach: Strengthen the wood density of Guaiac with Patchouli Oil Indonesia and Cypriol Oil India. The ambery facet is accentuated by the addition of Cabreuva Oil Brazil.
NOTES
Top: Juniper Berries
Middle: Guaiac Wood
Base: Cypriol Oil, Patchouli
PERFUMER
Aurélien Guichard
HOW IT WEARS
Bois d’Ebene opens with juniper, as if you have just opened a bottle of the highest quality gin. After a moment a blast of dry, creamy guaiac wood comes through, almost powdery but not quite. After it has settled, it becomes a clean, woody musk with a hint of earthy moss. The projection is incredible, its longevity about 8-10 hours on the skin, and almost eternal on the clothes.
LORE LOVES
We love how Bois d’Ebene is simple yet complex, traditional yet modern, dirty yet clean. The juniper gives it a cool brightness on the top which somehow works perfectly with the warmer, dryer woody tones underneath. It feels refined and sophisticated, like an Oxford scholar’s office filled with books, but is also evocative of a walk in the forest – a marriage of the natural and the man-made.
ABOUT THE BRAND
Debuted in 2019, Matiere Premiere (or “Raw Materials” in French) is the work of renowned nose and master perfumer, Aurélien Guichard.
The core objective of the Matiere Premiere range is to put a spotlight on some of the most precious fragrance materials from around the world, and to hero the beauty and elegance of a single note fragrance.
A 7th generation perfumer born in Grasse (arguably the perfume capital of the world), Aurélien Guichard has a passion for fragrance running through his veins. He has been the nose behind nearly one hundred fragrances and has worked with brands such as Givenchy, Narcisco Rodriguez, Gucci and Commes de Garcons.
Guichard is also the owner of an organic farm where he produces Rose Centifolia and Tuberose, some of which is used in the Matiere Premiere line, making it one of the only brands in the world to own and produce some of the raw materials used in their fragrances.
“Growing our own rose is a way to reconnect with the essence of the work of a perfumer – creating the fragrance itself, but also supervising the quality and production methods of the raw material” – Aurélien Guichard.
Matiere Premiere is all about honouring the beauty and sophistication that lies in simplicity – one raw material can contain a plethora of olfactory facets ripe for exploration and interpretation.
