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Mythique is indeed the newest fragrance to join Parfums Del Rae, created by young perfumer Yann Vasnier in collaboration with Roth DelRae and the first to be composed by anyone other than Michel Roudnitska. The whole DelRae line is simply fabulous in quality and myself I had been quite ecstatic in my review of the delicate sylphid that is the lily-of-the-valley-laden Debut, so my anticipation is high!The inspiration of the newest fragrance, which is described by Roth as a diaphanous and elegant floral is historically inspired by a most celebrated personage:
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the famous courtesan Diane de Poitiers, an important figure for king Francis I and the 20 years senior lover of French king Henri II ~consequently the arch-rival of both Anne de Pisseleu, Francis's favourite, and Caterina de Medici, Henri's legal wife (and incidentally the woman who brought fine perfumery in France).Roth was impressed by this very charismatic woman, Diane ~her beauty, her intelligence, her political astuteness and her strong character that was also compassionate inspired her to envision a feminine fragrance that would stand for those qualities.
The basic accord of Parfums DelRae Mythique is based on precious Florentine orris butter coupled with flowers found in the garden of the beautiful Château de Chenonceau, the truly spectacular castle on the Loire River valley that was offered to Diane by Henri II and remained her home until the king's death.
Mythique begins on fresh notes of Italian bergamot, mandarin and ivy while in the heart accords of jasmine Sambac, peony and Florentine iris conspire for a softened, sfumato effect. The base is played on sensuous notes of sandalwood, Indian patchouli and ambrette seeds.
Launching this coming April.
Painting Diane of Poitiers by Francois Clouet via wikipedia. Pic of bottle through Extrait.
This sounds very promising; it will be fun to see what Vasnier has up his sleeve.
ReplyDeleteWhy the change from Roudnitska, I wonder ?
Diane has always been fascinating to me.
Kisses to you, dearest E !
It will be fun, indeed, dear I.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't want to make assumptions on the second issue, as the last one he made is being promoted as we speak. (perhaps it was a matter of not enough time for two compositions?)
Diane is certainly a fascinating, admirable woman. All that intense (and dangerous) plotting she had to wade through speaks of some fortitude of character.
Hugs!!
What lovely news! And how interesting. I admire the 4 current Delrae's and love one of them (Bois de Paradis) and am keeping an open mind about Emotionelle despite the "m" note. Was Diane de Poiters the one who wore black in winter and white in the summer? Can never remember which french royal mistress that was but I have always admired the style :-) That painting is fascinating with its layers and depth. Diane has quite a modern face there. Although diaphanous (love that word) florals aren't my thing I will look forward to sniffing this anyway. donanicola
ReplyDeleteIt is, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI think Diane's look was black rimmed with white, which Henri copied.
Love the painting as well!
We'll see about the fragrance I guess.
Ad the painting: she, with her tiny virginal breast, seems to have escaped the "burdens of motherhood", which we see depicted in the background as the full breasted, rather ugly, wet nurse..
ReplyDeleteThe painting is, although, beautiful, I think!
(reminds me of a book I have, and read years ago: History of the Female Breast. another one in the same genre, that I also recommend is History of the penis. Amazon will give you the references :)
ps: The cultural History of the Penis, is the correct title!
ReplyDeleteI am always prepared for disappointment when approaching 21st century "diaphanous florals," but the DelRae line is awfully good, and the promise of orris butter is alluring. I'm anxious to sniff this one.
ReplyDeleteStella P, I have a friend who is working on a book project about breasts. I don't know if she's aware of that book, but I've found it on Amazon and will send her the link. Thanks for the info! (BTW, I like the painting, too. Her tapered hands are as pretty as her breasts.)
S,
ReplyDeleteI just about choked on the recommendations which of course sound mighty interesting (I bet the second one is full of classical exempla of which I could cite several myself).
How very insightful of you to notice and comment in such a way.
I believe -judging by historical knowledge and not aesthetic perceptions- that the time frame idealised "conical" breasts as the ideal of a woman who not belonging to the lower classes did not have several children to make those breasts work full-time all the time. It's interesting to note that there is a harkening back to classical antiquity where breasts were also depicted rather conical and small, but not too small like in Byzantine paintings and mosaics (where they're plastered down ~like flappers plastered them~ to allude at an otherwordly, non sensuous nature.
However, I don't think there is anything more tender than the image of breast- feeding. The completion of nature's task for those -otherwise beautifully ornamental- orbs.
M,
ReplyDeleteyes, the Del Rae line is surprisingly good: I have one of them in bottle form, another in decant and a third on wishlist. Therefore this one sounds like an intriguing proposition and who can say no to an iris floral? (not me, apparently).
The perspective on that painting is wonderful and if you see the background and the inward "window" behind the curtain (and another one in the further background) it's easy to see how this optical exercise later culminated in Las Meninas.
Fascinating stuff!
What amazing news, E!
ReplyDeleteI think this line represents the best in niche perfumery. I have used up my bottles of Amoureuse (my favorite...so far!) and BdP. I have a smidgen of Debut left in the bottle.
I am willing to bet that these two new fragrances are beautiful. I can't wait to try them.
Hugs!
(ad the penis-book: The full title is A Mind of its Own. A Cultural History of the Penis, by Davis Friedman. I read about it on the book review pages of the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Journal, there it was strongly recommended! :)
ReplyDeleteps: I write the DelRae's on the list of perfumes to try.
Hello dear R!
ReplyDeleteDelRae is a quality line all the way. I was very happy when they were "acknowledged" in the guide supplement back in autumn.
Amoureuse is my favourite as well (and I haven't reviewed it yet, shame!)
They are promising new comers for sure. Mythique perhaps even more ;-)
S,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the additional info. If it was highly rec'ed there, I bet it's a serious volume.
Hugs to you!