Le Jardin Retrouvé

As usual I am not that good in french, but I think Le Jardin Retrouvé means The Recovered Garden. The name is strangely appropriate and even a little far-sighted. First I read about Le Jardin Retrouvé at Divina´s blog: http://fragrancebouquet.blogspot.com/ and shortly speaking, Le Jardin Retrouvé was created during the 70'ies by Yuri Gutsatz and now, his son Deniz wants to bring back his fathers work and and the knowledge about him. You can read more about the background at Divina´s blog or stop by at Le Jardin Retrouvé and read about a lot of interesting happenings besides perfume. http://www.lejardinretrouve.com/
http://www.lejardinretrouve.com/forums/index.php?act=idx



As you know I love to discover and perfumes and perfume lines that not everybody else already have tried, so you can imagine how happy I was to get a mail from Deniz shortly after I´ve read about Le Jardin Retrouvé at Fragrance Bouquet. And now I´m even happier since I´ve got the possibilty to try the perfumes from Le Jardin Retrouvé myself.


Now I have only see pictures of the original bottles, but everything that surrounds Le Jardin Retrouvé have the feeling of a lost time, there is bright, happy colours and a 70'ies spirit. To try the perfumes is like doing a time travel, even tough some of the perfumes seem to have later origin, in the 80'ies.


I´ve recently talked about classic perfumes here, but Le Jardin Retrouvé is to unknown to be classics. They have more of a retro feel, but a genuin retro feeling that is.


Actually a lot of the perfumes from Le Jardin Retrouvé are filled with memories. And I didn´t know that when I´ve started to test them. Yes, I was a kid then, I was 3 years old when the 70'ies started and I was barely a teenager when the 70'ies ended. And I couldn´t dream of that I´ve had so many almost lost fragrance memories from that time.


When putting on some drops of perfume from Le Jardin Retrouvé I start to think about early James Bond-movies, tv-series from the time, my young aunts in long skirts, jump rope, sticky pantyhose (even boys had them) and a lot of other typically 70'ies things. I realise that people around me must have used more perfume than I thought. I guess I have olfactory memories from the perfume counters even if I hardly can remember paying any attention to them at the time.


Many of Le Jardin Retrouvé´s perfumes is the smell of the happy, bright and colourful 70'ies. I am so grateful to have tried them, I wonder if my mother or some of my aunts would think they remind of perfumes they used during that time.


Generally Le Jardin Retrouvé´s perfumes are light, floral, bright and happy. They are also rather green florals, in differ from todays florals that often are more of fruity (sweet) florals, and I really prefer the green variety. Many of the perfumes have names after a flower, like Lys (lily), Jasmin, Chevrefuille (Honeysuckle), Tubereuse, but they aren´t only soliflors. They are more of interpretions, quite natural but also romantic.


My favourites are, Lys, Jasmin, Rose Opéra and Citron Poivré.


Lys is a warm, spicy, green and elegant version of lily. The spicy and green in it are very soft, the floral notes has the biggest part. Lys is also one of the perfumes in the line that feel most modern, or rather timeless. Thanks to the warmth in it, I think it is nice for autumn and winter. Most perfumes from Le Jardin Retrouvé are more of summer perfumes in my opinion. The lily in Lys is a bright coral lily.


Jasmin surprises me with notes of leather. This make the scent to avoid being to cloying sweet, like some jasmine scents can be. Despite of the leather, Jasmin develops to a very natural, genuin scent of jasmine. I can smell some similarites to Parfumerie Generale´s Drama Nuui, this is kind of woody, dark but still light jasmine. The leather tones down and the jasmine is warm and easy. Really beautiful.


Rose Opéra is a pretty, sweet and enjoyable rose scent. Just enough red and sweet, one of the sweetest in the line. Also in Rose Opéra there is a prominent warmth. I guess it´s the warmth in this three making me like them so much this time of year.


The top note in Citron Poivré is so perfect, it´s almost like biting in a lemon and feel the fresh, aromatic taste in my moutn. Soon, spicy and intersting notes of pepper and clove joins. Citron Poivré warms up to a mild, spicy and very comfy perfume. It would be perfect on both men and women. This is gorgeus.


You can order samples of 3 of the perfumes at Le Jardin Retrouvé for only 2 euros. A really good offer I think. http://www.lejardinretrouve.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=33


As a perfume lover I think it has been very fun and interesting to try Le Jardin Retrouvés perfumes. They make me remember things I didn´t know that I remember. They take me back in time in a very enjoyable and fun way. Most of the perfumes are, after so many years, still interesting and well worth trying and I would really want more of Citron Poivré. I think that what Le Jardin Retrouvé offers is really hard to find somewhere else, because it´s like Yuri Gutsatz perfumes have being kept in a little time pocket. But, that is also the fact making it hard for me to belive that they will reach a bigger audience. They aren´t, and shouldn´t be, modern perfumes.

Pic: Beverly A Mitchell, glow of pink