Catherine Fructus started Auguste in 1994 to bring back some of the old beverages, medical remedies, and beauty concoctions of her native Provence. Her website calls Auguste a “bienêtrerie”, or, as my lame French would translate it, a made-up word for a “place you go for things relating to well being”. At Auguste, well being includes private label pastis, soap, folk aphrodisiacs, manicure kits, and cherries in eau de vie. It also includes three parfums: Esprit de Chine, Esprit de Cuir, and Esprit de Chypre.
According to Luckyscent, the perfumes were copied from formulae found in handwritten perfume recipe books that Grasse's perfumers wrote between 1905 and 1920. Auguste used old methods to make the perfumes, too, so that they would be more faithful to the original scents. Although each scent is distinct — a floral oriental, a leather, and a floral chypre — they share a feeling of music played on old instruments and heard at the end of a hall…
A few nights ago I had a few friends over for dinner and we ate duck breast rubbed with fresh mint, ground coriander seeds, and pepper, with an olive and vermouth pan sauce. One of my friends brought field greens, complete with strands of chickweed and wild violets. We drank single-vineyard Oregon pinot noir and were on top of the world. On the other hand, tonight it's raining and work was a drag. I'm home alone and craving a box of macaroni and cheese. For me, this dichotomy applies to perfume, too. Sometimes I want something that is well crafted. Other times I want something, well, Kraft-ed.
