Séville à l’Aube is the latest from French niche line L’Artisan Parfumeur. Over the years, I’ve reviewed a fair number of their fragrances — yes, I’m a fan. This, however, is not a proper review. I’ve never met blogger Denyse Beaulieu of Grain de Musc, who worked with perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour to develop Séville à l’Aube (and who wrote a book about the process: The Perfume Lover). But I’ve corresponded with her, and I utterly fail the test for any sort of objective review: would I be completely honest if I thought it was dreck? No, I really wouldn’t. I’m quite sure I would just keep my mouth shut and review something else. As it happens, I love Séville à l’Aube, enough so that I want to say something about it. So, consider this a review with a major disclaimer.

The scent’s inspiration and development was detailed in Denyse’s book, and has been repeated elsewhere, so I’ll just quote her own quick summary from Grain de Musc:

[Séville à l’aube] was inspired by one of the most beautiful nights in my life, in Seville during the Holy Week under an orange tree in full blossom, wrapped in incense smoke and the arms of a Spanish boy…

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