The Vagabond Prince Enchanted Forest (2013): The First "Cassis" {New Perfume}
When we first heard about the debut perfume entitled Enchanted Forest by brand The Vagabond Prince founded by blog site Fragrantica and art-directed by its editor Elena Knezhevich, we were intrigued by the mention of its central use of the blackcurrant note. At the time, we were thinking simply about a future post on this newly trendy fruity note as we had smelled its fresh scent, with great pleasure, in several new perfumes. With Enchanted Forest, it is not a trend really but a full commitment to the note. As perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour remarked,
“Enchanted Forest is a unique fragrance for several reasons. Enchanted Forest is the only perfume I know of that is built around blackcurrant as the sole raw material, to such an extent that one can say it is a CASSIS....
By this the nose means that just like for the Chypre de Coty, Enchanted Forest is so typical it could become a genre in and of itself.
We will have occasion to return to the fragrance with more technical details as the composition reportedly presented a number of perfumery challenges. We will also publish Knezhevich's thoughts on why she decided to focus so specifically on blackcurrant or cassis.
The press materials state that the main inspiration for the perfume comes from the world of Russian folk tales. The "Vagabond Prince" is Ivan Tsarevich.
"Enchanted Forest is inspired by the endless sea of Russian forests and fairytales, as well as the most sensual ancient Slavic celebration named Kupala, rooted in the times of darkness, when all on the Earth knew its soul and its name (often too powerful to be uttered in vain or at all)".
Fragrance Notes:
Top: pink pepper, aldehydes, sweet orange (traces), flower cassis, blackcurrant leaf, hawthorn, effects of rum and wine, rosemary, davana.
Heart: blackcurrant buds absolute, CO2 blackcurrant, Russian coriander seed, honeysuckle, rose, carnation, vetiver
Base: opoponax resinoid, Siam benzoin, amber, oakmoss, fir balsam absolute, Patchouli Purecoeur®, castoreum absolute, cedar notes, vanilla, musk
The flacon is painted with an original Russian Hohloma motif. The opaque black glass and the shape of the bottle are meant to symbolise the blackcurrant fruit.
