Bohèmien Arte Profumi 2013

What puzzlement greets me in the opening of Bohemien. I am looking for artemisia, but instead, I am pounded with a lawnmower's razzberry of grass penetrating me, followed by chopped basil and mint. But the artemisia? The mugwort, where is it? Well, it comes in, rather feebly, following this cavalcade of piercing green that would make Nuit de Bakelite blush.

I came for the artemisia, and I was left with a real head-scratcher. This is far more mentholic than thujonic. It feels a bit too abrasive even for a green fiend like me, and then it peters out in some vague vetiver and timber ether that is shrug-worthy.

I ordered a sample of Bohèmien for two reasons: on one hand, because I found another scent from Arte Profumi - Ecclesiæ - to be truly "classy," and on the other hand, because I wanted to test an absinthe scent. On the morning of a congress day, craving a fragrance for freshness and concentration, I tried it on for the first time and - was blown away! The whole day long! This "love at first sniff" has lasted until today.

Which Artemisia is meant is not revealed by the fragrance pyramid. Besides common wormwood, tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) and southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum) also belong to the Artemisia family. The spicy-citrusy-balsamic scent of the pretty dark green finely-leaved southernwood in my garden comes quite close to our Bohèmien here…

However, the effective and fragrant Artemisia in the Bohèmien we are discussing is likely Artemisia absinthium - the true wormwood and namesake component of absinthe - the "green fairy," the mythical alcoholic drink of workers and bohemians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries: Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Arthur Rimbaud, Charles Baudelaire, Ernest Hemingway… have all endorsed it. Due to alleged health hazards of its ingredients (thujone), absinthe was banned in the 1920s. It is now available again - I tried it a year ago in a jazz cellar in Copenhagen.

Our Bohèmien here smells - exactly! - of Artemisia and absinthe: fresh, minty, balsamic, and herbal - with an elegant, natural, dry woody base. This fine, distinctive, and well-perceivable (sillage) fragrance structure changes little over time and lasts wonderfully on my skin and for my nose for hours - surprisingly even the fresh, green, minty notes!

Bohemians - they were painters, writers, intellectuals, but in any case: anti-bourgeois! So it’s no wonder that our Bohèmien here is a bit of a quirky fellow, not a mainstream crowd-pleaser. The herbal element can remind one of herbal tea (true, Fefaminz), but for me, it’s inspiring and healing. The noble and dignified cedar and the understated vetiver represent the elegance, style, and aesthetics of the bohemian lifestyle. Did the bohemians living in the big cities like Paris or Berlin occasionally long for nature with its herbs and trees - and did absinthe give them a taste of that? Our Bohèmien here certainly smells of nature, of balsamic-minty herbs and noble wood!

What else? I find the minty freshness of Bohèmien not sharp and spearminty, but soft and much milder than, for example, in Mente Fraîche by Heeley. Fresh mild-minty herbaceousness and warm, refined wood create for me a rugged, clear, pleasant scent that I enjoy wearing very much. I doubt that everyone would appreciate it on me, so I prefer not to ask and dose sparingly. The scent is quite distinctive - just a Bohèmien!

P.S.: The advertising texts from and about Arte Profumi talk about "passion for modern art, for the world of fragrances, and the need to combine the two" (aLzD). Whatever this may mean: The angular clarity of a Vincent van Gogh or the harmonious aesthetics of a Paul Gauguin (see above) certainly fits this fragrance.....

"Bohèmien" is a term used for people who are unconventional and live a bit crazily dressed. They also do not behave like the petty bourgeois. But the fact that the Bohemians have to bear this and that other ethnic groups are equated with them are distressing facts, prejudices that are still virulent, more than ever.
What could this have to do with this fragrance? Perhaps a counterpoint?
Because "Bohèmien" is, for me, the clearest and most beautiful of the "Arte Profumi" scents I have tested so far.
"Bohèmien" starts sharp and green. Shortly thereafter, a beautiful fresh sharp mint note develops. Just like I smelled this morning from the first leaves of mint in our herb containers when I removed the very quick little snail shells from them.
When I touched the mint leaves, this sharp mint scent came to me. And just as this fresh mint scent gives me a sharp and cleansing feeling in my nose and eyes, so it is now with "Bohèmien". Especially when I prepare the mint for dishes, e.g. salad, or cut it to make tea from the fresh leaves.
That's how it feels right now. I find it astonishing.
The thought and feeling of fresh gum with spearmint and without sugar also comes to my mind.
After another half hour, "Bohèmien" becomes a bit more bitter due to the artemisia note, a plant group that includes wormwood and mugwort. Mugwort is currently being heavily fought as an allergen. We can be glad because we know and/or can assume that this fragrance contains only chemical components of it, hopefully without allergens. I personally have no problem with that.
As it progresses, "Bohèmien" becomes a bit milder, as if I had mixed thyme to soften it into the tea. Nevertheless, the sharp mint note always remains.
I like the scent because, despite the small transformations I described, it smells like strong peppermint tea made from fresh mint. I can imagine wearing it in summer. In heat, because peppermint has a cooling effect.
However, to smell like this is, when I think about it, very unconventional. So indeed "Bohèmien"! The longevity and sillage are very good. And I have not yet smelled a fragrance that truly smelled like peppermint or mint. If so, they were all just fleeting hints woven into other fragrance notes.
This is how mint tea is supposed to taste in the oriental countries, according to the descriptions I have heard. Although it is also served very sweetened. "Bohèmien" is not sweet at all.
I definitely classify "Bohèmien" as unisex.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:
"Already in ancient times, species of Artemisia were known as medicinal and spice plants.
Almost all species of the genus contain a lot of bitter substances and essential oils. They are primarily cultivated for their decorative, often fragrant, and sometimes insect-repelling foliage.
Annual wormwood is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a malaria remedy. The currently WHO-recommended therapy against malaria is based on extracts from annual wormwood."

The first impression of Bohemien is extremely fresh. Mint and cedar are clearly noticeable, like mouthwash under the Christmas tree, nothing is sweet, nothing is pleasing. This is certainly not a bad thing; sometimes I find angular scents very interesting, but then Artemisia makes its appearance! It becomes incredibly bitter, herbal, as if I had rubbed my arm with this essential bitter substance. I immediately have my favorite chest cough tea in my nose! Of course, without sugar or honey! Please, I don’t want to smell like this!

I should have read the Wikipedia article beforehand!

Postscript: I just discovered the price for this "herbal tea" - phew, for that I could bathe in tea for weeks!!!