Papier . Orpheon. Baie.
Names that have become legendary in their own right, but only to a discerning circle. After all, the world of Diptyque has been anything but archetypal. Founded by three friends Christiane Gautrot, Desmond Knox-Leet and Yves Coueslant who were inquisitive collectors, what started out as a humble concept store is now a distinguished perfume house.
63 years on, 123 stores later, the spirit of its intrepid founders lives on in Diptyque’s olfactory playground; with a name that incites wonder, whimsy and endless intrigue. One only needs to look at its arsenal of scents to recognise the French perfumery’s idiosyncrasies, traversing the formulaic and reaching for permutations that are unique to the maison’s history and storytelling. A relentless, inquisitive spirit that’s always seeking and endeavouring, which has led the French perfumery to a new chapter in its book—with the debut of a new fragrance line and its very first maison in Paris.
The latter will mark the start of more to come, with a second address opened in London earlier this June. In Paris, I’m eager to catch a whiff of Diptyque’s new olfactory realm; one that sits on its own, yet still binded by curiosity, obscurity and the brand’s fervent love for nature. The eau de parfums in Les Essence de Diptyque, are driven by a peculiar brief: to create scents from things that in reality, have no corresponding smell.
All of them being natural treasures, namely coral, mother of pearl, bark.