Maître Parfumer et Gantier Jardin Blanc Eau de Toilette

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I went on a buying spree, spending money to save money. The lure of generous discounts was too great. One of my online stops was at New London Pharmacy in New York City, where I found Maître Parfumer et Gantier Jardin Blanc Eau de Toilette ($110).

If you've been reading Best Things in Beauty for any length of time, you know that I'm a white flower fanatic. Imagine how quickly (New York minute?) I popped this one into my shopping cart as I read the description and notes.

This exciting bouquet of white flowers harmoniously blends jasmine, seringa flower, honeysuckle, tuberose, and ylang ylang.

I was thrilled when it arrived. I wore it every day that week - possibly a fragrance record at my house. I like to mix it up. I have no "signature scent," other than a strong preference for florals. I call that a preference because I can be just as happy in fruity and aquatic scents. Give me white flowers, though, and I swoon. This one sticks around all day, even though it's an eau de toilette. On my skin, it's intoxicating (I know that word is overused, but what else to call it?).

Maître Parfumeur et Gantier created Jardin Blanc in memory of a walk in a moonlighted Mediterranean garden. It belongs to the Les Fleurs Divines collection. For some reason, Jardin Blanc isn't widely available, even at fragrance sites that offer many Maître Parfumeur et Gantier fragrances.

Jean-François Laporte revived a historical concept of perfumery by creating the fragrance house Maître Parfumeur et Gantier. Using only the rarest raw materials, Laporte developed a luxurious perfume line based on traditional recipes of the 17^th century. He has recounted, "The memory of my first olfactory sensations date back to when I was a four-year-old child. My paternal grandmother, deeply interested in botany, taught me how to evaluate flower, leaf, and fruit odors. This awareness has never left me since. This first impression of my childhood was always the catalyst for my studies and training to become a perfumer." He set out - successfully, I think, to create a fragrance concept that married respect for the tradition of quality French perfumery with modern innovation and originality. He loves gardens, as I do, and he has created many fragrances with notes from the garden.

I learned at Basenotes that Jean-François Laporte founded L'Artisan Parfumeur (I hadn't known that) and Maître Parfumeur et Gantier. He founded L'Artisan in 1976, soon after his 1972 founding of Sisley, a fragrance line that aspired to be entirely plant-based. He founded Maître Parfumeur et Gantier in 1989, after he had been forced to sell L'Artisan in 1982. You can read much more at the Basenotes link.

The more I explore fragrances, the more intrigued I have become with their creators. I sense a new hobby blossoming within me! Where, though, am I going to store all my new treasures? I am slowly eating away at the guest room, which is Savannah's room. The bureau in my bedroom is full. I've looked at the list of Maître Parfumer et Gantier's introductions (some of which were created by Jean-Paul Millet Lage) and must have - simply must have - more of them. There isn't one in Les Fleurs Divine that I wouldn't like to inhale. I think my next purchase will be Secrete Datura, with notes of leafy green, orange blossom, heliotrope, neroli, jasmine, hyacinth, ambergris, musk, vetiver, and cedar.

New London Pharmacy carries some of the Maître Parfumer et Gantier fragrances, as does LuckyScent, but only New London offers this one. My thanks to Abby at New London! I adore Jardin Blanc, and I am so glad she carries hard-to-find fragrances from niche houses.

I mentioned that I got a discount when I shopped, so check for online sales if you're interested in Jardin Blanc. Today, it's available at New London, Overstock.com (for $94.33, but things change quickly at Overstock), and LusciousCargo ($120, so not a good price). If you are interested in Maître Parfumer et Gantier, the company's Web site is available in English and French. I had to read the French version because I couldn't get the English version to load.

Photos courtesy of New London Pharmacy and brianpink.tripod.com