Riviera Reveries

For Albert Fouquet, Antibes was heaven. In this charming village on the Riviera, Albert enjoyed long holidays that extended from spring until the last days of summer. At that time, only a few were privileged enough to enjoy the elegant and ?discreet luxury' of the French Riviera. Sailing in the Grande Bleue, golden sunsets enjoyed from the gardens of Eden Roc, and balmy evenings enlivened with charming parties: Albert dreamt about these summers during the cold Parisian winters. Like any artist who strives for perfection, he spent many weeks delicately crafting a fragrance that captured the essence of his memories of those summer days.The result is Cap d'Antibes. Made for the exclusive enjoyment of its creator, it became a favourite in his private collection. Bittersweet and dense, this fragrance starts off with an herbal kick. Mint is a cool spice while violet is a seething, green-grey-purple power that is luminous yet gritty. Birch is a taut presence, a rod of precision and whip-like freshness. Cinnamon provides a floral-woody warmth that momentarily revs up our engines but almost immediately the confounding, complexity of moss enters into our consciousness and along with other green notes situates us in the heart of a photosynthetic machinations. Cedar, incense and vanilla waft in at the tail end of this scent like faint rejoinders from a more human, civilised world. Like lying on one's side in lush, verdant grass, Cap d'Antibes is at once a microscopically detailed examination of natural beauty set amidst the macro of ?civilized' society. Contemplative, exultant and unusual, this spicy green evokes the sweetness of escaping urban obligations. (mint, violet leaf, birch, cinnamon, moss, green notes, cedar, incense and vanilla)