Un Air de Bretagne L'Artisan Parfumeur 2017

People might have seen me adding and removing it from my wishlist for awhile. This is because I sprayed it on myself while visiting the newly opened Rennaï in Montreal and fell in love with the scent (or so I thought). Drowning in a sea of perfume with a saturated nose, I wasn't entirely sure it wasn't the FOMO speaking so I set out to find a decant of it to test it out before going for a bottle. Etiket finally got it in stock and that's how I managed to snag a decant so I could try it out during a normal day.

It finally won't be added as a full bottle in my collection. I usually stay far from "blue" (marine / freshies) type of perfumes because I usually associate them with masculine fragrances, but this one is a true unisex marine perfume. I was about to add it to my wishlist while sniffing my skin when I realised that although I do love it, it's not something I'd necessarily wear. Even though I'm trying to broaden my collection and own different scents from different families, I don't want to add a fragrance juste for the sake of adding one if I'm not gonna be wearing it. This is why I'm glad I got to sample it during the day. I might go for a travel size if I ever stumble accross one, but it won't be making it as a full bottle.

Moving on to the scent itself, it starts with a very fresh and light neroli. Doesn't take long before the marine accord comes up. Never gets fishy as there's also a mineral undertone. It really smells like the coast with the waves licking the rock's cliffs. I also end up getting a very lovely woody note that's also salty. It's got some spiciness to it, but nothing that makes me think of a man. I usually associate "blue" fragrances with men, but this one could be worn by anybody. Overall it's a very fresh, pleasant and light fragrances that's made for summer. If you love "blue" freshies and marine / mineral fragrances, this could be a good addition!

The centre accord of Un Air de Bretagne on my skin, is unquestionably a sea spray effect, and it's at the front right from the start. I usually struggle with salty, aquatic, calone-heavy fragrances, but this sea spray accord in Un Air de Bretagne is like a rejuvenated version of the popular 90s theme and surprisingly wearable to me.

It's salty, but I detect nothing fish-smelling. Instead, it smells like pebble stones, sand and iodine, and the inorganic feeling is further enhanced by the mineral aspect of ambroxan. It's fresh, but not really in an aquatic, watery way; rather, it's crystalline and airy, like the air by the sea.

This sea spray accord is mainly supported by bergamot and neroli on my skin. Their aromatic greenery adds sparkles in the opening, which is then replaced by a balsamic, almost caramelised but diaphanous amber sweetness in the dry down. The sillage is mostly close to skin during its 7-hour longevity on my skin.

The first time I tested Un Air de Bretagne, I thought it smelt very close to Hermès Eau des Merveilles Bleue, which was released in spring of the same year. After comparing them side by side, I find a few differences, but the overall crystalline, iodine sea mist evocation is very similar. Un Air de Bretagne features bergamot and neroli, while Hermès opted for lemon and a more prominent white musk, but the sea spray/pebble stone/sand accord is in the same vein.

Since its purchase by Puig and change of packaging, the fragrances that L'Artisan put out in their main line are all very straightforward in structure, but still retain an idyllic, naturalistic and poetic sensation. Un Air de Bretagne is no exception, like an olfactory haiku capturing the air of Brittany shore on a breezy sunny day (which is not very frequent...). Although I doubt it would completely reverse the aversion to marine fragrances, Un Air de Bretagne is worth a try if you're ready to take on the genre, or are currently looking for a fresh, crystalline, sea spray fragrance.

I do not see myself owning a full bottle (or paying full bottle price) for Un Air de Bretagne. It is a soft skin-scent that transforms over a course of 3 - 4 hours, and lasts a modest 5 on moisturized skin. From the very beginning, it sits close to the skin. It is sharp, slightly floral, and very mineral-heavy. Over time, it becomes reminiscent of a rocky shore-- salt in the air with a floral undertone and a nice ambergris base. It is incredibly pleasant, with nothing nauseating like calone or sickly artificial like plastic.

I cannot see me wearing this and being able to enjoy it, due to how soft it constantly is. The only times I could catch a whiff was when my arm was up to my nose. I would definitely get a travel size, just so I can keep smelling it.

I am completely blown away by this perfume.

It captures perfectly the smell of fresh summer air in a mediterranean wood (i know bretagne is on the atlantic side) with cipresses, pines, and the fresh salty air coming from the sea. The iodine note here is absolutely mouthwatering!

I haven’t smelled such a natural smell in ages. There are also some citruses in there but maybe is the cipress itself that can be lemony if it makes sense.

I’ve come across 3 bottles and i have to say that the freshier the batch is, the best performance it will have. I now own a Dec21 bottle and performance is waaaay better than 2017-2018 bottles, if it can help. This usually applies to a lot of perfumes, i always buy recent batches and i have no problems with their performance :-)

Probably in my Top 3 of L’Artisan

As someone who grew up near the Atlantic but now lives far inland, I love the salt-and-sand genre of perfumes and have tried many of them. When done well, they are a vacation in a bottle. Sadly, few of them reach that level. Un Air de Bretagne unfortunately does not smell realistic at all. It reminds me of a cheap body spray that I bought many years ago and wound up using as a bathroom spray. A much better Atlantic scent, to my nose, is Miller Harris Sel de Vetiver. I used to be such a fan of L'Artisan Parfumeur, but it has been a long time now since they have put out anything I find full-bottle worthy.