Price range: £5.00 through £169.00
I am a firm believer that smelling nice is one of life’s great pleasures, and the French, as you might expect, have been taking this sort of thing very seriously for centuries. Perhaps nobody more so than L.T. Piver, a Parisian perfume house founded in 1774, when Louis XVI was King of France, Napoleon was still a little boy and nobody had yet thought to invent the guillotine as a popular means of changing government.
L.T. Piver is one of the oldest perfume houses in France, and its list of former customers reads like a who’s who of European history. Kings, queens, emperors, aristocrats and all sorts of terribly important people have enjoyed its fragrances over the last 250 years. One of its most celebrated creations is Eau des Princes, a fragrance with a particularly interesting history.
The original Eau des Princes dates back to the 19th century and has long been associated with Napoleon Bonaparte, who, according to legend, was rather fond of soaking his handkerchiefs in the stuff. Quite why he needed so much fragrance is anyone’s guess, but I imagine conquering Europe was fairly sweaty work. By 1850, Eau des Princes had become a favourite of the English royal court, too. Not bad going for a bottle of cologne.
Now, the version we have here is something rather special. L.T. Piver has taken its historic Eau des Princes and reimagined it as a proper Eau de Parfum, retaining the character of the original but giving it greater depth, warmth and longevity.
And what does it smell like? Well, rather wonderful, actually.
Eau des Princes is a beautifully fresh, green and aromatic fragrance, built around not one, not two, but three varieties of mint. Spearmint provides a gentle, almost fruity freshness, peppermint gives it a wonderfully sharp, cooling character, and green mint adds a more herbal quality. These are joined by bright Italian bergamot, creating an opening that is wonderfully clean and refreshing without smelling like you’ve fallen headfirst into a packet of chewing gum.
As the fragrance develops, lavender and sage begin to come through, giving it that unmistakably traditional, slightly old-fashioned French barbershop character. There’s something rather lovely about this combination. It feels smart, grown-up and reassuringly masculine, but not in that overpowering, nightclub-aftershave sort of way.
Finally, musk and patchouli form the base, accompanied by ambrox and cashmeran, two ingredients that give the fragrance its modern woody depth and a lovely soft warmth as it settles on the skin.
What I particularly like about Eau des Princes is that it manages to feel both historic and contemporary. You can easily imagine a beautifully dressed French gentleman wearing something similar 150 years ago, but it feels every bit as appropriate today with a good Oxford shirt, a nice bit of knitwear and a pair of wallabees.
And then there’s the way it’s made. L.T. Piver still produces its fragrances in France, using a rather wonderful traditional process in which the perfume is allowed to mature for three to four months before bottling. The ingredients are sourced primarily from Grasse and Italy, and the whole operation is a lovely reminder that some things really are worth doing properly.
Not sure if this is the fragrance for you? You can purchase a 2ml sample and give it a proper try. If you love it and decide to buy a full 100ml bottle, we’ll give you the cost of your sample back as credit towards your purchase. We’ll send you a unique discount code to use against a full-sized bottle of the same fragrance, with no expiry date. So there’s no rush, and no need to take a gamble on something you haven’t smelled before.
Presented in a beautiful 100ml bottle and box, Eau des Princes is a proper piece of French perfumery history, brought into the modern world.
A fragrance fit for an emperor, a prince or, considerably more importantly, you.
Fragrance notes:
100ml Eau de Parfum.
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Find Out MoreAll orders are packed by us in house and sent from our HQ here in Accrington. If you spend £75 or more then, postage is on us, because we like you. Next Working Day is Monday - Friday only. If your order is placed after 12PM on a Friday or over the weekend this will be dispatched on the next working day and due for the delivery the following working day after that.
Customers have 14 days from the day they receive their parcel to return it back to us. To be refundable, all products must be completely unworn and unwashed, and must be returned in their original condition. All international orders are final, no refunds, exchanges or credit notes.
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