Every now and again, a beauty product lands on our desks at GLAMOUR HQ that sends the entire office into an excited frenzy – case in point: the latest viral lip liner, innovate lash serum and false lash effect mascara. But this time, it’s a newly-launched fragrance that, on first spritz, wafted around the office and caused a chorus of: “Oh my god, who just sprayed something and what is it?!”
Unusually, though, the perfume in question doesn’t fall into any of the ‘typical’ fragrance categories. This is not a fresh citrus scent, a delicate rose or even a sultry, earthy oud. Nope, the new perfume which has sent the whole GLAMOUR team into a tailspin and racing each other to the virtual checkout smells like… paper.
The latest perfume from Parisian fragrance house Diptyque, L’Eau Papier was inspired by the combination of paper and ink; the heady scent of opening up a new book or putting pen to fresh paper for the first time, full of possibilities and ideas. The official description reads: “As ink soaks into a sheet of white paper, shadows emerge. Worlds are invented. L’Eau Papier celebrates the power of the imagination – that moment, suspended in time, when ink, paper and the hand become one.”
Olfactory notes of rice steam are used to evoke the grain of paper, while white musks add a featherlight sweetness – nothing too heavy or saccharine – and summery mimosa adds a warm, floral hum. Blonde wood tones keep the scent natural and light (as paper… sorry).
It’s a silky, powdery scent, with a subtle and sexy woodiness that makes it grown-up and delicate. It’s soft cashmere hugging your skin; a sip of crisp white wine on a sun-drenched summer’s day; the joy of throwing open the pages of a new book as you sink into a warm bath. Basically, it smells like the best things in life.
“The uniqueness of the cereal and ink accords, blended with the sweetness of white musks, creates the scent of paper – and this combination is what defines the fragrance,” says perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin who created the scent. “I’ve tried to convey the subtle, sensitive interaction when ink is applied to a sheet of paper through an overdose of musks.”
Die-hard Diptyque fans will notice that the bottle for L’Eau Papier – designed by French artist Alix Waline – looks slightly different. Unlike traditional designs, there is no recognisable figure or scenery on this bottle, but an abstract illustration that could easily be ink swirling on a page.
So, if you were wondering which perfume GLAMOUR editors are currently obsessed with (and what we’re drenching our entire office in), this is it. You’re welcome.