or the art of achieving one’s purpose…
…in matters of seduction


"There is an olfactive family, or if you prefer a perfume territory, which is traditionally emblematic of men; it is the fern. This same fern which awakens in us the memory of the one who gave us our first romantic thrill, sometimes by stealing the fragrance of one of his elders.

A woman wearing fern can do it in memory of past conquests or in nostalgia for the comfort of her father’s arms. But she can also just do it to defy people around her with alluring and provocative scents.

A man wears it for the same reasons, sometimes nostalgic, others conqueror, manly, confident.

I needed a fresh, visionary and talented eye to address the delicate issue of revisiting such a classic universe. It was Vanina Murraciole.


It was love at first sight. She is Corsican, facetious, bubbly and yet precise. During our first appointment, she told me something that would strike me and seduce me :"Francois, this fragrance is for me, I'll compose you a “Maquis* fern” ...".

* (“Maquis” is the name of the underground French resistance during WW2 and in Corsica it is where the independentists hide after their actions.)

I was intrigued. And it wasn’t long before I got to see the first draft of what would become "The art of war." The first test made me smile. I knew that the first fresh and incisive rhubarb note was what this fragrance needed to stand out among its nine siblings. Then, the genius of a “clean” note, a handsome man who shaves himself, takes care of himself, perfumes himself.

And at last, the long-awaited fern, slightly tinted by smoked immortal flowers, but woody and spicy.... I was at the time caught in a series of trips and found myself emptying the testers one after the other. I knew that other Noses were working on this bouquet, but I had made my decision, Vanina was right.."

- François Hénin