Initial idea: “A contrast between a dark vanilla and a white Palo Santo wood”
Main ingredient: Vanilla Absolute Madagascar (Fair for Life agricultural programme)
Creative approach: Palo Santo Oil Ecuador brings structure and verticality. The addictive character of Vanilla is reinforced by Coconut powder. White Musks envelop the Vanilla and powders for a contemporary, luminous perfume.
NOTES
Top: Coconut Powder
Middle: Vanilla absolute, Palo Santo Oil
Base: White Musk
PERFUMER
Aurélien Guichard
HOW IT WEARS
Vanilla Powder opens fluffy and airy, like icing sugar being dusted over a cake. As it develops, the pure vanilla intensifies, revealing all its facets. These accented perfectly by the warmth of Palo Santo, which is like the vanilla’s backup singer in this scent – not too strong, amplifying the complexity of the vanilla without detracting from it. The base of white musk and what we guess might be ambroxan adds a salty muskiness to the fragrance, rendering its dry-down completely addictive. This fragrance has great sillage without being too overwhelming and lasts on the skin for hours and hours – 8 to 10 easily!
LORE LOVES
This quite truly is a vanilla fragrance unlike any other. It’s not what you think it will be – on paper you might assume this would be a beachy, sweet vanilla, but it’s anything but that. The coconut powder adds an earthy creaminess to the scent, but it’s unsweetened, almost woody. The Palo Santo also adds woodiness of course, but also a kind of warm, smoky spiciness. The musk amplifies the whole composition and adds an overall luminosity to the fragrance. Vanilla Powder is totally carnal and intoxicating, the kind of fragrance that will have everyone asking what you’re wearing.
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.
