The Unclassifiable Perfumes of the Officine

"Epicene": "whose form does not vary according to gender." Since their creation, the Eaux Triples, the timeless perfumes of the Officine Universelle Buly, have allowed a total freedom in the very personal choice of a fragrance.

February 10, 2024

Epicene (adjective)

(Latin epicoenus, from the Greek epikoinos, common to many, from koinos common)

1. Denoting a noun that retains the same grammatical gender regardless of the sex of the referent (for example, a pupil / a pupil ; a child / a child).

2. Denoting a noun that may refer to a male or a female (for example the partridge, the butterfly).

Since the dawn of time, perfume is subject to fashion but has no limitations of gender. As revealed in the writings of Pliny the Elder, Theophrastus or archaeological discoveries such as the frescoes of the House of the Vettii in Pompei - from jasmine to iris, to myrrh, saffron or cinnamon, scents were shared according to individual tastes. In the 14th century, the Queen of Hungary’s Water was made with rosemary while the courts of Europe adopted lavender and cloves. The Medici launched strong enveloping scents of civet, musk and amber. Civet was also adopted later by Louis XIV and his court in Versailles before being ultimately seduced by the delicate scent of orange blossoms. Lastly, at the end of the 17th century, with the birth of the Eau de Cologne, the Italian aristocracy initiated the vogue for fresh waters with citrus accord.

In the image of this millennial perfumery, it is the love of an olfactory universe that takes precedence, a genderless identification with a journey through time, with a history of scents that echoes an intimate story. Favourite perfume and muse of the greatest Persian poets such as Saadi in the 14th century, the Damask Rose can thus be worn by men while a woman may be sensitive to the green and woody smells of vetiver. The skin itself drives the choice of the scent and the emotion it provides or not. The Eaux Triples of the Officine are respectful water-based perfumes without alcohol or ethanol that combine technical prowess with softness, revealing the emblematic perfumes of the Officine Universelle Buly with a beautiful balanced power.

If all the perfumes of the Officine are suitable for all genders, these six Eaux Triples specifically provide a whole range of experiences, fragrances that are loved freely just as one loves a particular colour, music or fruit that is irresistibly attractive one you let yourself be surprised: English Honey, Sumi Hinoki, Kiso Yuzu, Medina Oud, Makassar and Komi Forest. Like other beauty treatments, they also come in white opaline bottles placed on an earthenware shelf in the bathrooms. Here we find the very root of the word "epicene" from the Greek epikoinos "common to many".

"But all style, that is, artifice, is, ultimately, epicene. Life is not stylish. Neither is nature."

Susan Sontag

SUMI HINOKI, AROMATIC SMOKE AND VETIVER

The Eau Triple "Sumi Hinoki" manages to capture the ungraspable: the essence of precious Japanese cypress wood smoke. Firstly, the flame burns the wood, consumes it in an aromatic cloud. In Japanese, Sumi means coal, ink or purity. With its first smoky aspect, the Eau Triple "Sumi Hinoki" is inspired by the atmosphere of the black burnt wood houses of Kyoto, built according to the traditional technique of Yakisugi (wood preservation by fire) with cypress wood "sugi". This soothing "smoky" fragrance also evokes the incense ceremony with the reassuring softness of a touch of leather, vetiver, guaiac wood, and the splendid momentum of Hinoki wood, close to a cedar shrouded in aromatic herbs. With an almost fresh tangy note that combines Hinoki wood, from which the most beautiful temples in Japan are built, the cypress finally infuses its green magic. The divine circle is complete!

Eau Triple Sumi Hinoki

MEDINA OUD, A CARAVANSERAI PERFUME

Medina Oud features a divine trio: saffron, a spice also called the red gold, the rose, a flower most celebrated in Persian mystical poetry, and the precious oud wood, tinted with a uniquely woody and amber perfumed resin. Behind these major accords, we perceive the softer melodies of amber, vanilla, and musk with a touch of patchouli and sandalwood. Rich in these incomparable treasures, this Eau Triple takes us from the East to the Asian borders along the legendary trail of caravanserais - Isfahan, Cairo, Constantinople, Baghdad, Damascus or Samarkand - in a restless dream of noisy crowds, lively conversations, warm colours and the scent of rare spices carried away by the desert wind...

Eau Triple Oud De Médine

KISO YUZU, A RADIANT CITRUS FRUIT

The Eau Triple "Kiso Yuzu" is a small miracle in itself. The purity and sweetness of this unique citrus fruit is combined with fruity notes of lemon, peppermint and Japanese bay leaf, warmed with a sensual woody amber accord, Hô wood with a light clove-like smell and white musk. A hybrid of wild mandarin and Ichang lemon, yuzu has been an integral part of "Tōji" the winter solstice ceremony for at least four centuries. On this night, in the warm water of the large Japanese wooden baths, the yuzus, a kind of chubby yellow lemon are left to float, releasing their scent to the delight of bathers. With this custom of "yuzuyû", these little suns illuminate and soothe the spirit at the time of the year when summer is mostly missed.

Eau Triple Yuzu de Kiso

MAKASSAR, THE EPIC OF IRIS AND CEDAR

This extreme oriental fragrance unfolds like a poem devoted to the iris, which reveals its powdery and woody notes, illuminated by the warmth of amber and sumptuous resins with a touch of blond tobacco and cardamom. The Eau Triple "Makassar" paradoxically carries an elegant softness and a singular strength: a crescendo hold on the skin. Indeed, the iris, the Flower of Kings, one of the most precious essences in the world, leaves a sensual trail that grows with time, close to a fruity violet, balanced here by the leather of cade, the intense Virginia cedar and exotic resins from Southeast Asia.

Right in the heart of the Indonesian archipelago, Makassar fills this perfume with the mystery of the epics of shadow theatre, the "Wayang" which means, "shadow" or "imagination" in Javanese. In the Eau Triple "Makassar", the scents evolve like so many graceful wooden puppets - warriors, princesses or goddesses of love - recounting the Indian epics of the Ramayana or the Mahabharata when everything seems most intense and languid, from midnight to dawn.

Eau Triple Makassar

KOMI FOREST, A BOREAL WAVE

Enter the mysterious universe of the Komi Forest step by step. A boreal forest on the borders of the Urals where mineral and woody essences mingle revealed by the delicate moss of pine trees in the rain. With deep green notes, the Eau Triple "Komi Forest" is conceived as a fantasy walk where in the shade of tall trees, one would come across soothing cosmic herbs - sage, basil and cardamom - and romantic flowers - lavender and violet. The perfume finally warms up in a last breath with the musky woody sweetness of the cashmeran compound, and the gentle presence of petrichor, this very special scent of damp earth after a rain shower.

Eau Triple Forêt de Komi

ENGLISH HONEY THE BEE AND THE CEDAR

Pure honey and cedar from Virginia: the sweet and woody Eau Triple "English Honey" plays on these classics to better divert them: a rose also scatters a few petals near an amber pearl surrounded by the mythical cashmeran, a multi-faceted musky woodiness. This magnificent winter perfume brings comfort to the skin like an afternoon spent in an English library: the smell of old wood, teatime and just before nightfall, the amber-coloured fire lights up the room. The Eau Triple "English Honey" lastingly lingers like a caress on the tweed of a jacket or on the skin of the neck, but it also makes you fall in love: those who have tried it say that they will never be able to part with it again.

Eau Triple Miel d'Angleterre