Marc Atlan launched his first fragrance in a limited edition of 100. Check it out below for details.
Inspired directly by the only bodily fluid secreted solely through desire and brain chemistry, Petite Mort™ (Parfum d’une Femme) embodies the elusive substance that is created by a woman when she is about to climax.
Petite mort, little death, total release; beyond a scent, more like a convulsion of the senses, like a hot, gasping breath that penetrates your memories and alters your subconscious. An insidiously attractive, sharp redolence, on the fine line between repulsion and addiction, Petite Mort™ insinuates itself into your veins and your mind. This fragrance is not really a classic scent. It is more the representation of a spiritual state, based on the paradox of an impossible ephemerality. It is perfume as art, the olfactory preservation of a moment, so that it may live forever.
Humanly produced but cerebrally conceived, how can one capture the idea of the emotion of the sensation of a bodily function? How does one collect a substance whose production can only be stimulated from within? Modesty prevents us from unveiling the methods used to obtain a sample of this elusive fluid, but we strove for absolute integrity.
Bertrand Duchaufour (in collaboration with Art et Parfum) is the “nose” whose talent was able to distill this ultimate human extract into a scent. His alchemy blends the raw components that trigger our most primal reactions. Petite Mort’s fragrance exudes an animal carnality with salty hints of sweat and urea.
Amongst other ingredients, Duchaufour incorporated Sulfurol which evokes warm milk, a scent that is interpreted by the human brain as the closest thing to the smell of skin. According to the perfumer, certain subtle ingredients in the perfume are discriminatory, and these notes will not be perceived by everyone. He also describes Petite Mort as “aphrodisiacally compelling”.
As uncompromising as the project itself, the fragrance is explosively intense. Each bottle holds only 10 ml of dark, viscous, pure perfume with a flash of amethyst. The strongest perfume extracts typically contain between 10% and 40% of aromatic compounds. Petite Mort™ contains 100%. Its dosage is a single drop.
The fragrance has been produced in an extremely limited edition of only 100 bottles and 15 Artist Proofs, each with its own signed and numbered certificate of authenticity. The bottle is an archetypal flask with an unorthodox twist. A cube of classic proportions, its neck is tied with a black band. The stopper is adorned by a polished cast metal plaque, engraved with each bottle’s edition number. A deceptively simple fabric pouch holds and protects the perfume.
The glass bottle is made by Verreries Pochet, one of the oldest French luxury glassmakers, founded in 1623. Their first designer perfume bottle was commissioned by the Empress Eugénie in 1858. Pochet famously created the “Eau de Cologne Impériale” bottle for Guerlain. They were also instrumental in reviving the famous Lalique crystal company.
