Holy Smoke

Few fragrance houses feature tobacco as a starring note: these days, the stuff gives off a whiff of brimstone. But taboo though it is, Marc-Antoine Corticchiato feels it’s a perfect fit for Parfum d’Empire, since tobacco ties in with one of the initial uses of perfume: sacred rituals. And with its very origin: per fumum. Through smoke.

So Gainsbourg was right. God is a Havana smoker. Or rather, the gods, spirits, shamans... Several centuries before the arrival of Columbus, almost all the American Indian peoples used tobacco to purify, heal, or realize visions.

Ritually smoked to feed the gods or to carry towards them the prayers of men, this sacred plant plays in the New World the role of incense in the Old World: that of a link, created by fire, between earth and heaven.

In Tabac Tabou, its leaf diffuses its scents of fresh hay and tawny savannah in a mellow, penetrating fragrance, almost greasy by dint of being gorged of rich essences.

Thus, the narcissus which holds at the same time of the green sap, the white flower, leather and mane. And the sunburned immortelle, whose honeyed and syrupy accents honeyed and syrupy accents blend with those of tobacco...

A perfume for the initiated, Tabac Tabou is also a perfume for the rarity of certain ingredients. Destined to become part of the permanent collection of Parfum d'Empire, it will be produced each year in confidential quantities, with the label bearing its vintage.