Le Régent is not merely a fragrance: it is a founding act. The First Tome of the “Jewels of the Crown” collection, it explores the 18th-century archives of the Maison, when it was still known as “Parfumerie Oriza de Fargeon-Aîné” and kept shop within the precinct of the Cour Carrée of the Louvre, mere steps from the royal apartments.
The name is that of France’s most famous diamond: 140.5 carats of a purity called “first water,” purchased in 1717 by Philippe d’Orléans from Governor Thomas Pitt. It would successively adorn the crown of Louis XV at his coronation in Reims, the sword of First Consul Bonaparte, then the diadem of Empress Eugénie, before joining the Galerie d’Apollon at the Louvre, where it rests today behind armoured glass.
This fragrance is its olfactory equivalent: a precious stone wrought from resin and light. From the very first notes, benzoin unfolds its powdery, vanilla veil, magnified by Tolu balsam — creamy, unctuous — and Peru balsam, darker and more balsamic. The heart is a marvel of gentleness: Bourbon vanilla entwines with benzoin in an accord of absolute roundness, traversed by the saline brightness of ambergris. The base provides the depth that prevents this sweetness from becoming cloying: opoponax deploys its warm resin, guaiac wood its elegant dryness, and a suave leather — round, never aggressive — closes the composition with discreet authority.
Tears of benzoin, flecks of ambergris, a vanilla pod at the heart of a soft, oriental leather: Le Régent is a jewel worn upon the skin.