Stéphane Humbert Lucas
Stéphane Humbert Lucas
314 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The chamomile arrives first, its herbal bitterness laced with honey and crushed apple stems, immediately complicated by osmanthus's suede-apricot richness. Italian lemon provides a fleeting citric brightness that emphasises rather than lightens, like sunlight through amber glass, whilst the spice accord begins its slow simmer beneath the florals.
Iris takes centre stage with its earthy, almost dusty quality—think freshly unearthed bulbs and the mineral coolness of stones. The amber swells and warms, but it's tempered by those persistent earthy notes, creating a golden haze that feels sandy and resinous rather than sweet, whilst the osmanthus's leather facets start their conversation with the animalic Russian leather accord.
Orris butter's waxy, carrot-seed texture melds with Bourbon vanilla that's been thoroughly tanned by leather, creating a skin-like warmth that's somehow both sweet and savagely refined. The amber remains, but it's now inseparable from the leather's smoky bite, leaving a trail that's more Second Empire boudoir than modern mall counter.
Soleil de Jeddah is Stéphane Humbert Lucas's meditation on the golden hour in the Saudi Arabian desert, where chamomile's apple-like sweetness collides with osmanthus's apricot leather facets in the opening breath. This isn't a polite floral amber—it's a study in contrasts, where the bitter green stems of chamomile and the tart brightness of Italian lemon slice through what could easily become cloying territory. The iris here plays a crucial role, its rooty, earthy character grounding the composition and preventing the amber from dominating too early. As Florentine orris butter emerges, it brings that distinctive carrot-seed earthiness and waxy texture that transforms the vanilla from mere sweetness into something more complex and shadowed. The Russian leather accord—all birch tar smoke and animal warmth—provides an unexpected backbone, giving the fragrance a vintage parfumerie feel that recalls the grand amber orientals of another era, yet the osmanthus keeps it firmly planted in contemporary niche territory. This is for those who find most amber fragrances too linear, too safe. It wants skin that will heat the spices and draw out the leather's animalic whisper. Wear it when you're dressed in natural fabrics and silver jewellery, when you want to smell like someone who collects antique perfume bottles and knows the difference between grades of orris. It's a sunset fragrance, made for the transition between day and night.
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Fragonard
3.7/5 (90)