February 2021
L'Air de Panache
Lime Oil 150
Bergamot Oil 150
Orange Flower Ether 50
Neroli Oil 35
Nerol 20
Nerolidol 25
Hedione 50
Aldehyde C11 (10-undecenal) 2.5
Rosemary Oil 30
alpha-Ionone 10
Sylvamber 30
Helvetolide 40
Galaxolide 100
Farnesol 20
Rose Acetate 7
Coumarin 30
Santaliff 10
Musk Ketone 20
Total: 1000
I love Wes Anderson, and I love The Grand Budapest Hotel. I watched it again some time ago and decided to try and create the imaginary perfume, L'Air de Panache which is very important to Monsieur Gustave H., the main character. I later learned that a real-world version of the fragrance was commissioned by Anderson and created by the perfumer Mark Buxton. I have no idea how mine compares to this one as I haven't had a chance to smell it yet.
The film takes place in 1932, in the imaginary Eastern European country of Zubrowka (which is a brand name of a famous Polish Bison Grass Vodka). While creating the perfume, I tried to account for these facts, the plot, and Anderson's unique sense of humor and esthetics.
Honied apples and orange flower, with an eau de cologne opening. Rosemary for the reference to Budapest, which brings Hungary Water to mind. French aldehydes of the 1930s, a dash of coumarin for the Zubrowka reference, and an extra panache of musk.
The result is very much a cliche, but at least to my nose, a pleasing one.
L'Air de Panache
"There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity"