Histoires des Parfums 1804 - George Sand

From the Histoires de Parfums site: “Each Eau de Parfum is a voyage back in time to the origin of traditional fine French perfume making. In homage to the Master Perfumers of the 19th century, we use the finest ingredients and intricate formulations for our five original prestige Eaux de Parfums. And each one has a story behind its composition. You'll notice that we have given our Eaux de Parfums numbers rather than names. Each number is a date that corresponds with the birth year of a notable historic figure. Each perfume is named for someone who has shaped the world with their endeavors. We like to think we've captured and bottled their romantic essence. Inspired by adventures and vital personalities of the past and created to be worn by their modern counterparts our Eaux de Parfums are...memory etched in scent.”

There’s no doubt that Histoires de Parfums uses fine ingredients and intricate formulations – one sniff is all one needs to detect the high quality of this line. And their gimmick of naming their fragrances is pretty clever – if only the scents matched the personalities. At least, they don’t in my mind. But that’s certainly not a crime, and this line is certainly worth exploring.

Available at Mio Mia, https://www.shopmiomia.com/

1804 - George Sand

Notes: apricot, Corsican peach, Hawaiïan pineapple, banana, clove, nutmeg. Indian jasmine, French lily of the Valley, Moroccan rose, lilac, sandalwood, patchouli, benzoin, vanilla, white musk 

The convention-defying female author George Sand was the inspiration for this scent.  Her propensity to dress in masculine guise in order to guarantee that her work would be taken seriously would seem reason to fill this fragrance with more masculine notes like rich tobaccos or leather.  But no, Histoires de Parfums George Sand is a fruity floral of the highest order.  Let me assure you, however, that this is not one of those insipid department store scents marketed to the under-25 crowd.  Feminine, but not girly, there’s no mistaking the opening note of tangy pineapple; paired with the peach and apricot it gives the aura of an even more exotic fruit, the guava.  Under this tropical umbrella lurks a very powdery rose and sandalwood combination accented with faint spices and sweetened with vanilla.  It’s almost as if a traditional, somewhat old-fashioned rose perfume decided to take an island vacation and came back festooned in flora evoking the trip.

A shame Gauguin did not have a daughter by his Tahitian mistress Tehura, for that woman would be the right mix of French sensibility and tropical romanticism to have been represented by this scent.