Escale en Indonésie Les Indémodables 2020

Few labels have captivated me in recent years regarding high-quality materials and perfume artistry as much as the small company "Les Indémodables" from the French Alpine town of Annecy.
How often do we witness the boasting about oh-so-noble ingredients that ultimately, due to a lack of skill - or will - only results in mediocrity? Here, however, one can, and above all: one wants to.

That Antoine Lie masters his craft is beyond question, and this also applies to the second house perfumer: Florence Fouillet. Her "Fougère Emeraude," her "Cuir de Chine," and "Chypre Azural" are all-around successful, stylish, and characterful contributions that a small label could only wish for.
From Antoine Lie's contributions to the portfolio, two creations stand out particularly: "Ambre Suprême" and this one: "Escale en Indonésie."
Both focus on a particular fragrance ingredient that enjoys an almost mythical reputation: Ambergris, or Ambre gris, or Gray Amber. A fragrance material with an exceedingly complex scent profile, distinguished by a peculiar characteristic: it makes a perfume, no matter how many notes may be involved, truly shine and imparts a creatureliness where there may have previously been a template-like flatness. These almost magical abilities, combined with the legendary origin from dark whale stomachs, establish the mysterious myth of "Gray Amber," which one rarely - oh, what am I saying, actually never! - experiences so prominently staged as here, with these two amber-centered fragrances (a third, "Mxxx" from Eris, is also by Lie). Typically, when amber is advertised as an ingredient, it does not refer to the natural product but rather one of its now numerous synthetic substitutes, all of which at best offer a glimpse of the kaleidoscopic natural scent profile, but never capture its full richness of facets.

To compensate for this shortcoming, Antoine Lie does not need to create an Ambergris accord like many other colleagues, which supplements the missing facets with additional notes; instead, he can showcase the natural product in all its chameleon-like transformative ability, as he is practically at the source thanks to his professional connection with Rémi Pulvérail, the owner of "L’Atelier Français Des Matières" and husband of Valérie Pulvérail, who is herself the owner of "Les Indémodables."

Here, he does not stage the amber in a gourmand-tinged oriental fragrance concept ("Mxxx," Eris), nor is it embedded in an aldehydic-spicy-floral Chypre construct ("Ambre Suprême"), but rather lets it shine in a classic, slender Cologne framework of bergamot, fresh citrus, a hint of jasmine and neroli, as well as a stabilizing base of subtle sandalwood and oakmoss.

Perhaps this classic Cologne structure is indeed the ideal setting for the complex scent cosmos of amber, because unlike the two other mentioned fragrances, I do not have to try to filter out certain scent components that obscure crucial areas of the amber canon (cocoa here, aldehydes there), but can enjoy the amber unfiltered and in full regalia, like an open book. The fresh and delicate Cologne components dance around it lightly, as if carrying it on their hands, forming a light-colored, watercolor-like scent background against which the amber seems to lounge comfortably like a many-armed octopus while simultaneously lifting off olfactorily.
Of course, the other two Ambergris fragrances by Antoine Lie pack more punch, are orchestrated more richly, and unfold a greater volume, but those who have sniffed around the perfume world for a while and have delighted in the densest extraits will come to appreciate the quieter, smaller format again - it doesn’t always have to be the symphonic orchestra at Mahler strength; sometimes, the more intimate chamber music performance can even overwhelm even more.

So it is here.

The few participants are perfectly coordinated and flawlessly balanced. Juicy, zesty, and wonderfully natural are the citrus notes, soft and friendly, without the slightest hint of indolic, the delicate floral heart, and in the base, a slender and elegant Chypre structure that gives the fragrance support and rounds it off.
The twist: an amber that arches over everything with its salty, mineral, ozonic, animalic, and warm nuances, which seem to emulsify seamlessly with the Cologne facets while simultaneously standing out distinctly. A play of contrasts that could not be more exciting and sets the entire richness of the amber scent cosmos into vibrations.

People, if you think Ambroxan, Orcanox, Ambrinol, or whatever the attempt at amber synthesis may be called, is a sufficient equivalent, then please smell this fragrance, or alternatively the other two: the difference is immense! Not that I want to speak ill of Ambroxan & Co., no, they absolutely have their right to exist (I believe that the Ambroxan devil we always like to paint on the wall is more of a Woody Amber devil, or at least one that reliably beds down with those damned synthetic ambers....), but once you have sniffed real Gray Amber, horizons open up that you could previously only vaguely sense: olfactory resonance spaces that you could have already stuck your nose into before, but which remained voids, olfactory black holes, so to speak, now filled to the brim.

But enough of the flattery - I am thrilled!

One small but not insignificant note: since the amber also possesses excellent fixative properties, it makes this Cologne, which also goes by 'Cologne Absolue' (the bottom of the box even states 'Eau de Parfum'), quite a lasting affair. Although the scent retreats to the skin fairly quickly in typical Cologne fashion, 'Escale en Indonésie' remains there for many hours as a complex and warm fragrance, enveloping the body of the wearer more like an aura than a scent armor.

That's how I like it.