Persolaise Review: Autoportrait from Olfactive Studio (Nathalie Lorson; 2011)

Most of the scents in the photography-inspired Olfactive Studio range possess an ingenuous, translucent signature which failed to seize my interest, but Nathalie Lorson‘s Autoportrait is an exception. Even though it’s essentially a sleek vetivert, there’s something about the way it combines the note with cedar, pepper and a surprisingly convincing aqueous facet which conveys a tremendous sense of nostalgia. Introspective, silent and filled with deep longing, it may not draw much attention to itself, but it never let’s you forget that it’s around… like the ghost of some long-buried memory, always flitting out of reach. Quietly haunting work.