The Vagabond Prince Enchanted Forest (2012)

Perfumer: Bertrand Duchaufour

Thank you for the generous samples, Fragrantica, and Vagabond Prince!

Enchanted Forest is a masterfully executed complex fragrance, where the complexity resides in the subtlety of the composition.

This fragrance opens with JUICE: a tart and sweet combination of what seems like true to life summer fruits: I get a fresh, ripe nectarine as well as a hint of citrus, and finally the bitter black current skin and juice with the sweetness of an aperitif. The colors that come to mind here are a warm, vibrant orange as well as a deep clear crimson/purple.

From this opening, the fragrance then takes a complete and unexpected turn, and quickly retreats from the daylight into an increasingly dense forest. Even though it’s called Enchanted Forest, I still wasn’t expecting the woods to creep up on me.

The distinct scent of coniferous woods rises into the foreground as if out of nowhere, and as the summer fruits linger, they fall back behind the woods, combining with hints of herbs and vetiver, creating a very sensual effect.

At the very opening, I felt there was something girly happening with the juicy freshness of the fruits, but within a few minutes that completely changed and I realized that this would smell extremely seductive on a man.

At a certain point in the development on my skin, the woods take over and I watch them carefully to see if they will overpower me. As anyone who has walked deep in the forest knows, this is no playground. It would be a disappointment if the woods trampled the other notes and restricted my movements, leaving me trapped.

However, at this very point, I arrive at a clearing in the trees and the woods become softened with the appearance of tiny, delicate flowers growing all over the forest floor. Their presence in this fragrance enables the black current/coniferous woods, now at an interesting crossroads, to find assurance in these tiny flowers, a reminder that the woods are magical though dark and ominous.

In the dry down there is another distinct transition, revealing the supreme delicacy of a light, vanilla-warmed amber and soft sweet musk with traces of flowers and bitter black currant occasionally floating past and then suddenly dissipating (behind the still prominent resinous woods). A hint of patchouli adds earthy dimension to the vanilla/musk in this honeyed phase.

Longevity is excellent, though projection seems to reduce to a skin scent after a few hours, which is very pleasant to revisit throughout the day.

Enchanted Forest is an ideal metaphor for an enchanted forest: It is a journey that can not be replicated. Beginning with sweet anticipation, it is a flowing progression through a forest with occasional sudden turns, and pauses for wondering at the unexpected.

It is filled with hidden alcoves containing both living and decaying things, a darkness in certain places that is almost arresting, and ultimately the sense that both the wearer and the Enchanted Forest are simpatico, as the result of an omnipotent natural force.