Diptyque adds new fragrance franchise, Les Essences de Diptyque

Diptyque is entering "a new olfactory chapter" with the launch of Les Essences de Diptyque – a new fragrance franchise featuring five eaux de perfums inspired by natural treasures. 

The Parisian luxury house challenged its perfumers to take the almost imperceptible scents of coral, mother of pearl, bark, water lily and the crystal formations known as desert rose and create the new line, which draw on theemotions and sensations stirred when contemplating these treasures.

Diptyque called upon five of its long-term collaborators Fabrice Pellegrin, Alexandra Carlin, Nathalie Cetto and Olivier Pescheux and gave them each carte blanche to imagine their take on each of the treasures, while using the highest quality natural raw materials.

Irish artist Nigel Peake was called upon to interpret the fragrances in the form of the artwork that adorns the packaging and while a new archetypal bottle was created, inspired by the 60-year-old perfumer's original bottle.

The bottle features Diptyques signature oval on the front, which acts as a "window" to Peake's designs which are featured on the back. It is capped with a spherical aluminium stopper.

The bottle is endlessly refillable, and produced using recyclable materials; the box is lightweight, and each perfume comes with a coloured pouch for users to keep and carry wherever they go.

Each Essence is priced at £255 for 100ml and for a limited time only a discovery set of five 10ml fragrances is available for £165.

LES ESSENCES:

CORAIL OSCURO, by Alexandra Carlin
Olfactory family: FLORAL, MINERAL

Inspired by the red coral of the Venetian lagoons, this fragrance, blends rose bourbon absolute with the crystalline sparkle of mandarin, elevated by a warm, salty mineral accord to capture the very essence of this marine creature.

“I wanted my work to suggest salinity, and the fiery red colour of a coral garden. Plus the undulations of a stony mineral flower suspended between sunlit skies and the darkness of the sea,” said Carlin.

LUNAMARIS, by Fabrice Pellegrin
Olfactory family: AMBER, SPICY

This fragrance, imagined by perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin, blends the luminous gentleness of rockrose with the spicy accents of pink peppercorn, like colours dancing upon an iridescent surface. Understated incense notes evoke both a mineral freshness and an enveloping warmth to create a perfume that is potent, yet subtle.

“I wanted to interpret in a perfume the iridescent nuances of mother of pearl. The signature comprises a blend of raw materials selected to render this visual effect in olfactory terms. In this fragrance, each ingredient has its proper place, creating a radiant signature with silky subtleties. Pink peppercorn with its vibrant effects and spicy colours, the pure, resinous note of incense and the amber warmth of rockrose,” said Pellegrin.

BOIS CORSÉ, by Nathalie Cetto and Olivier Pescheux
Olfactory family: WOODY, AMBER

Combining the enveloping softness of tonka bean with the milky fluidity of sandalwood essence, this woody scent harbours unrivalled depths. The composition is rounded out with notes of black coffee – a bitter quality sheathed in smoothness, reflecting the feel of a living bark.

“For Bois Corsé, I drew inspiration from the beauty of nature at its most unvarnished. I played on the texture of wood, and in particular the roughness of bark, so pleasant to the touch despite its irregularities and randomness,” said Cetto.

LILYPHÉA, by Nathalie Cetto and Olivier Pescheux
Olfactory family: AMBER, GREEN

Inspired by Claude Monet’s majestic Water Lilies series, and also by the name “waterlily”, this perfume evokes their graceful, floating ballet upon the glittering waters. Developed by perfumers Nathalie Cetto and Olivier Pescheux, the composition subtly blends the lively freshness of cardamom – accompanied by violet leaves – with the luminous softness of Madagascan vanilla.

“In Lilyphéa, I played on the leaf of the water lily. The green of these leaves is at once crisp, lively and smooth and also mellow, fleshy, brimming with sap. To keep the energy of this green scent while also introducing a relaxing feel, I contrasted the heady aspect of essence of galbanum with the sap-like qualities of violet leaf, then blended in the gentle warmth of Madagascan vanilla absolute,” said Cetto.

ROSE ROCHE, by Fabrice Pellegrin
Olfactory family: FLORAL, CITRUS

With aromas redolent of the Middle-East, this intriguing fragrance offers a unique interpretation of the rose
– ethereal, as though shaped by the wind. Radiant, finely honed notes of lemon illuminate the petals of the centifolia rose, while mineral patchouli adds a mesmerising depth that creates an endless sillage, like traces blowing in the wind as it sweeps across the dunes.

“This creation was inspired by the winds that shape the desert sands with surprising precision over the course of time. My aim was to evoke the elemental heat of the desert winds through a perfume crafted to recall the warm, mineral feel of grains of sand. I sculpted this floral rose fragrance entirely out of contrasts, between the bright, luminous qualities of citrus fruits and the deep, textured notes of patchouli,” said Pellegrin.