French Defense

Top

Cherry opens on a stone fruit, with that almond nuance readily attributed to the flesh near the pit. Violet joins it with a slightly waxy powderiness, crossed with greenness, while chamomile brings green stems and a dry hay smell.

Heart

Geranium offers a soft flower with rosy accents. Rose here takes on a warm, honeyed turn, with a waxy finish. Mimosa extends this warmth with its powderiness and honey, recalling the small yellow balls of the acacia it comes from.

Base

Cedar brings a dry wood reminiscent of pencil lead, heightened with a resinous touch. Alongside it, a note simply listed as “wood” rounds out the base with a smooth, creamy material of an almost velvety texture.

A fruity family

The fruity character of French Defense owes to cherry, whose stone fruit flesh and almond set the tone from the opening. Around it, violet, geranium, rose and mimosa pull the accord toward powdery, honeyed flowers, while cedar anchors this fruit in wood.

What the label declares

The list declares vanillin, a vanilla molecule, and coumarin, a hay scent that echoes the chamomile. Citronellol, a constituent of rose and geranium essences, points back to the heart; patchouli oil, the amber woody molecule tetramethyl acetyloctahydronaphthalenes, and a polycyclic musk, hexamethylindanopyran, accompany the woods.

Other declared components

Linalool, present in many flowers and in lavender, and hydroxycitronellal, a molecule associated with lily of the valley, carry a fresh floral facet. Benzyl salicylate brings a discreet, balsamic floral note, and limonene, a terpene found in citrus peels, also appears among the declared components.