Petite Histoire is a natural fragrance brand that focuses on quality. This is your indie niche brand which is my favorite kind for fragrance. I'm not into too many commercial scents and brands. They are based in NY, made in small batches, vegan, cruelty free and just launched this spring. These are oil based natural scents, the base is coconut oil. There are currently four scents that come as a 11 ml roller balls.
Patchouli roars atop a smoldering bed of rose and black pepper, remnants of a sizzling night, echoes of the fires that blazed in old New York. Vetiver and vanilla blend, silk on skin, the moment when late nights beckon early mornings.
Fields of New Amsterdam is your slightly smoky, rich scent perfect for winter. This is the one you want to wear when you cozy up to the fireplace or go out for the night. It's warm and earthy with vanilla, vetiver and patchouli. All of these add an earthy feel to the smoke and the vanilla gives it enough sweetness to not be harsh or dry feeling. I love that this smoky scent doesn't contain oud. Too many do and this one is perfectly rounded and warm without it.
Powdery orris is bliss on skin, while gentle rose dances in soft rain. Delicate violets glisten like new discoveries in the quiet, cool whisper of Paris.
Envie Desoir is the light and feminine scent of the four. It's also got a sweetness to it. It's a bit too light floral for me. These scents aren't my favorites or typical scents. I think if you like a light, floral, sweet and a more powdery iris based scent then this is for you. It definitely leans more sweet floral than aquatic rain which happens to be my preference.
Cedarwood and labdanum create a leathery rush of excitement, while vanilla seduces from behind. Ylang ylang and sandalwood caress like fateful temptation.
Coup de Courage is like the lighter sister of Fields of New Amsterdam. It warm with vanilla but has a more musky leather feel to it versus deep smoke like Field of New Amsterdam. It's a bit lighter and more feminine. I love that the ylang ylang, sandalwood & jasmine don't overpower the scent and make it too floral. It feels balanced by the warm vanilla and leathery labdanum. This one is sweeter as well form the vanilla.
Elemi blends with smooth patchouli and rich vanilla bourbon to capture the warmth of the sun drenched Hollywood Hills. A floral bouquet of ylang ylang, lavender, and rose de mai make this a modern Old Hollywood legend.
Hollywoodland has a perfect warm floral feel. I adore neroli it's one of my favorite scents. The rose, ylang ylang and lavender give this a nice floral bouquet without being powdery, too sweet or feminine. I can't do strong floral scents and I love this one. The vanilla bourbon and patchouli really warm this one up and give it an earthy edge. This is the warm earthy floral of the bunch.
Overall I think it's a nice fragrance line. They're more complex than a lot of natural scents tend to be. They don't have the best longevity on me. I find I have to reapply every two hours or so. Since they're portable roller balls it's not a trauma. The silage is good. To be fair I literally burn through oils on my skin so this happens to me with every natural scent. My body just burns oils off so quickly. This is why I can't wear a facial oil on top of a cream it has to go under. That's a whole other story though. In general I'm just one of those odd people that oils just fade and evaporate from my body so quickly. You can make a fragrance last a bit longer by applying it to freshly lotioned skin, it keeps it from evaporating as quickly.
Jeff Smith the founder of Petite Histoire worked with Mathieu Nardin in creating scents. There's no wonder why I like this range better than other natural lines as I adore Miller Harris (one of the brands Mathieu Nardin worked for). Think of Fields of New Amsterdam as the deep smoky warm fireplace scent, Envie Desoir as the feminine light floral, Coup de Courage as the warm light vanilla leather musk and Hollywoodland as the warm earthy green floral. I loved all of these minus Envie Desoir. It nice just not my type of scent. That's why there's so many different scents and choices. Minus Envie Desoir these all are very warm which tends to be my preference over a cooler scent. Which is probably why I didn't like that one as much either. I couldn't pick one favorite but Fields of New Amsterdam and Hollywoodland would be my top two. Those two also had the best longevity for me out of the bunch. Have you tried Petite Histoire yet?
