Le Jardin Retrouvé Osmanthe Liu Yuan bottle, Photo by Rachel K. Ng
A pale wash of light yellow, gentle in substance and character.
Aloof by nature, yet its fragrance carries afar.
What need is there of fair cyan or pale red blossoms?
This one rank first among all the flowers. – Li Qingzhao, Song Dynasty poet describes osmanthus, translated by Ronald Egan
Chinese moon goddess, Cháng’é (嫦娥) on the moon with osmanthus tree, wiki
In the Chinese lunar calendar, the osmanthus flower represents the eighth lunar month (roughly October), and its blooming coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrating the fall harvest and opulent Hunter’s Moon (or Harvest Moon). Families gather together to enjoy elaborate dinners, eat mooncakes, drink osmanthus wine, hang traditional lanterns, and moon-gaze. The origin story of the Mid-Autumn Festival is a tale about the moon goddess, Cháng’é (嫦娥). Legend goes that after secretly stealing and drinking her husband’s immortality elixir, she flees, floating up to the moon where she will remain for the rest of eternity. Cháng’é is joined on the moon by an osmanthus tree and a jade rabbit. It is said that her husband, heartbroken by their separation, makes offerings to his wife every year. Following in his footsteps, honoring the moon has become annual tradition in Chinese custom. The eighth lunar month is also the time when Chinese imperial exams were traditionally administered. Success on these exams was such a rare achievement that a proverb developed describing anyone who had passed as having “plucked the osmanthus from the Moon Palace” (蟾宫折桂).
Liu Yuan Garden 留园 (Liú Yuán) Osmanthus Gazing Pavilion in Liu Yuan Garden, Photo by Rachel K. Ng©
The city of Suzhou is considered the best place in China to experience the osmanthus season, and within Suzhou, Liu Yuan Garden cannot be beat. Liu Yuan, or Lingering Garden, is a classic example of a scholar’s garden from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Lingering Garden, dating back to 1593, is one of the famous Classical Gardens of Suzhou on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Arrangements of garden rocks represented mountain ranges; miniature trees and bushes suggested ancient trees and forests; and small ponds or springs were viewed as mighty rivers and oceans. In other words, the garden presents the larger world of nature in microcosm. Clear sight-lines and geometric flowerbeds (formal gardens such as Versailles) are avoided in order to reveal experiences one at a time, as one journeys through the landscape. Gardens are designed to change with the seasons and to be discovered by engaging all the senses.
Givaudan Perfumer Maxence Moutte at Esxence 2023 courtesy of the brand
Givaudan perfumer Maxence Moette has captured the joy of Mid-Autumn Festival as well as the essence of the Lingering Garden in Le Jardin Retrouvé Osmanthe Liu Yuan (nicknamed O.LY. by the brand). This fragrance bursts full-dazzling out of the bottle with fresh, juicy yellow mandarin and fruity blackcurrant. It is optimistic and joyful. Givaudan perfumer Maxence Mouette explains, “with this perfume, I wanted to focus on the most fragrant flower in China, osmanthus. I wanted to highlight its cheerful and fruity facets, with a leathery undertone.” Golden osmanthus is indeed allowed space to shine in all its complexity. There is a palpable softness much like the skin of an infant, peach fuzz, or velvety petals just after being plucked from the branch. The stirrings surrounding one’s body by this wonderful osmanthus absolute are captivating rather than captured. Fruity notes in a predominantly apricot direction (with hints of mango) form a complex geometry with the jasmine-like linalool floralcy and honeyed animalics recalling castoreum. Undertones are leathery-suedey, with hints of powdery ionones, carrot seed and I imagine a spicy vanillic jam made of hay, tea and molasses. The addition of the material ionone beta brings a soft powdery texture with subtle iris-violet notes and rooty cedar shavings smelling of time spent in cool damp earth.
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Cleverly, the ionone beta reaches for and bolsters the apricot note in the osmanthus (beta ionone is the second most prevalent molecule in apricot). A sense of harvest and home is truly attained with the base of patchouli, safraleine©, and sylkolide©. Safraleine© exhibits warm, leathery and tobacco facets with hints of spices like saffron enriched by rose ketone floralcy. Sylkolide© is an ambery-fruity musk with a slightly powdery texture, smelling of skin. Le Jardin Retrouvé Osmanthe Liu Yuan evokes the warmth of sun on skin, the vibrant animal heat present in the background of all human gatherings, and the tender love of family. It is delicate and dazzling all at once. Le Jardin Retrouve Osmanthe Liu Yuan invites you on a journey to linger in the solar glow of its fruity-floral-animalics A joy to wear!
Digital Authentication via brand website
With Osmanthe Liu Yuan’s dedication to place comes an excellent addition to the fragrance experience. Based on the technology of the French start-up SORGA, La Jardin Retrouvé offers digital authentication with each purchase. Why is it important? Your bottle comes with a guarantee of ownership and authenticity on the Blockchain. According to the brand, “public Blockchain technology allows information to be transferred through a tamper-proof system. Each bottle of perfume has its own unique number which guarantees its authenticity and ownership, avoiding fraud and transferable for gift giving.” The best part for me was a dedication to full transparency of ingredients inside the bottle. With my QR code came a map of ingredient origins, perfume certificates, production companies, and other information. This transparency and dedication to detail sets Le Jardin Retrouvé apart and earns my trust as a client.
The far-reaching journey of Osmanthe Liu Yuan arrives at a universal wisdom: from the scholars of Liu Yuan garden to the French scholar and philosopher Voltaire, “Life is bristling with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to cultivate one’s garden.”
Notes: Mandarin, Blackcurrant, Green leaves, Osmanthus, Jasmine, Iris, Peach/Apricot, Patchouli, Leather, Musk
Bottle gifted by Le Jardin Retrouvé, opinions my own.
~ Rachel K. Ng, Contributor
Le Jardin Retrouvé Osmanthe Liu Yuan bottle, Photo by Rachel K. Ng©
Thanks to Le Jardin Retrouvé we have a 15 ml bottle of Osmanthe Liu Yuan for a registered ÇaFleureBon reader WORLDWIDE (if you are not sure if you are registered click here – you must register on our site or your entry will be invalid). To be eligible please leave a quality comment on this site with what strikes you about Osmanthe Liu Yuan and where you live. Draw Closes 5/6/2023
Co-founder Clara Feder, perfumer Maxence Moutte and Co-founder Michel Gutsatz introducing Le Jardin Retrouvé Osmanthe Liu Yuan during Esxence 2023
Please read Senior Editors Karl Topham & Nicoleta Tomsa’s Best in Show at Esxence 2023 reports featuring Le Jardin Retrouvé Osmanthe Liu Yuan and other cutting-edge fragrances here and here.
Editor-in-Chief Michelyn Camen and Video Editor Steven Gavrielatos review Le Jardin Retrouvé Bois Tabac Virginia here.
Please spend time with Guest Contributor Samantha Scriven’s review of Le Jardin Retrouvé Mousse Arashiyama here.
Enjoy Contributor Aaron Potterman’s exploration of the heritage of Le Jardin de Retrouvé here.
Please read Guest Contributor Samantha Scriven’s fascinating delve into how the fragrance Jasmin Majorelle was brought back to life here, as well as her review of Le Jardin Retrouvé Cuir de Russie and Tubéreuse Trianon here.
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