La Douleur Exquise by Les Abstraits
La Douleur Exquise (“the exquisite pain”) is a perfume released by Les Abstraits, whose nose is none other than Antoine Lie. This perfume is special for more than one reason. Let’s see what they are.
First of all, Les Abstraits is a house owned by Eugen Nizic, who, until before he created the house, was (and still is) a reviewer of perfumes on YouTube and other channels. In my experience, I have seen reviewers who are very technical and very deep, but know enough to know that they can’t put together a perfume — the skills required to make a perfume and the skills required to review one are different. It is not impossible — for there are many famous perfumers who did not have a formal background in chemistry, or botany, or perfumery. The most I have seen a reviewer do to get into the industry is by becoming a creative director of a perfume or a perfume house, which is to say they will influence the idea, but still depend on a proper perfumer to blend it. Eugen, as far as I know, is one of the few people who really stepped up his game and decided to start a house.
What does it take to launch a house? In addition to money, you need unfettered imagination and determination. Second, if you are lucky, you will sign a perfumer who makes up for the absence of any brand recall in the already crowded market. So, who did he sign? Antoine Lie is a master perfumer who created several landmark perfumes with houses like Etat Libre D’Orange and more recently Les Indemodables. He is known for his daring ideas, irreverence to the mainstream industry and creative confidence.
Image Source: lesabstraits.com
La Douleur Exquise is a perfume that is often compared with another legendary perfume. Fortunately, I have both and can give you a first hand comparison. If there is one niche perfume that reached the level of fame only associated with the mainstream designer fragrances, especially in the last 20 years, it has to be Portrait of a Lady by Frederic Malle, designed by Dominique Ropion. From my experience, people tend to compare these two fragrances.
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Both are fantastic perfumes, in fact, I have recommended PoaL to many friends of mine, either for themselves, or for gifting their spouses, and each time I have got nothing but big praises. But if you noticed, the key differences the two are — 1/ LDE is decidedly more animalic, having notes of Cumin (which gives off a skin/ sweat smell) and Castoreum (which gives off a leathery, smoky vibe). LDE also has Labdanum which gives a serious vibe to the olfactory experience. 2/ PoaL is a “safe” perfume, given it has notes of Blackcurrant and Raspberry, and Sandalwood in the base, which is generally considered very calming.
I hope it is established by now that I am not a technical reviewer. Most perfumes I spritz, if I am able to name 3–4 notes (while it may have 20+ notes), I would consider that my success. Also, my repertoire is not so vast, that I can compare this with 10 other fragrances. But what I do do is tell a story. So what is the story of these fragrances?
PoaL’s hero is the rose, which I understand Malle and Ropion were very deliberate the emulate the effect from Guerlain’s Nahema. Malle himself says he didn’t anticipate PoaL to be as big a success as it was. One interesting anecdote I picked up is during the process of creation, Malle asked his wife to wear the final formula when she went to a dinner in New York. He says, “…four different people asked her what she was wearing. That’s when I knew we made something legendary”.
On the other hand, Antoine Lie was inpired by the idea of the “paradoxical beauty and longing of unrequited love”, captuting the heartache, hopes of lost romance, and a reminder that it is possible to begin and love again. The different notes swing you back and forth between the two extremes, and it is a delight to smell.
Pro tip: If you don’t like plain/ docile florals, get the Antoine Lie creation. If you don’t like the idea of animalics, get the Ropion.