Materials that stir emotions

One of the oldest roads in the world, the Silk Road crossed Asia and North Africa on its way to Europe. The precious fabric was carried over thousands of miles along with musk, amber and balsams, perfuming the air with their captivating notes.

These flowers have inspired countless poems and songs. The rose for its grace and beauty, and the hawthorn for its delicacy and magic. Or is it the other way around? As a fragrance, their scents complement each other, the second soothing the fresh floral heart of the first with its almond, powdery touch.

A wild garden where shrubs and blooming rose bushes mingle. The green, tangy accents of the freshly picked berries highlight the floral, gently spicy scent of fresh roses. A harmony of flowers and leaves on a beautiful summer’s day.

The scents of two treasures from Laos, a country once known as the Land of a Million Elephants and the White Parasol: benzoin and agarwood. Their fame stretched far across Asia and the East. Used in duo as an incense, benzoin adds a touch of spice to the smoky, woody notes of agarwood.

Time has no hold on this library of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Over the centuries, the fragrance of waxed wood has taken on a delicate patina - the leathery, smoky scent of bound books stretching as far as the eye can see.

Inspired by the English childhood of Desmond Knox-Leet, one of diptyque’s three founders, recalls the black English tea and spices once shipped from Indian trading posts.

The combined scents of two candles often lit as a duo at the 34 Boulevard Saint-Germain boutique. At once woody, tangy and green, it is as if the wood of its distinguished counter had been infused with the fragrance of the berries once placed there. A Saint-Germain literary salon in an English garden.

Everything is ready in the big hacienda near the port. The dancing has just begun, the local delicacies have arrived. In the air, the music is tinged with the scent of vanilla and orange blossom.

A harmony of flavors and colors, of yellows and warm browns. With the arrival of autumn, the scents of wood and fruit grow more complex. The powerful smoky, woody accents of the oak tree add spice to the suave, fruity scent of quince.

The streets of Mysore are lined with colorful market stalls piled with flowers and spices in a thousand and one hues. They are offered as garlands by the hundreds, scattered loose on the ground or heaped on broad trays. The air is saturated with fresh, flowery and exhilarating spicy scents.

The leathery and powdery scent of a leather pouch that diptyque’s founders always kept near. Pencil leads and drawing sheets left their scented mark on the landscapes they sketched during their travels.

The scent of the Greek islands in summer. Tree-lined paths crisscross the hills overlooking the Mediterranean sea. When the wind blows, the green, woody accents of fig trees blend with the resinous, honeyed notes of cypress trees.

Once across the threshold, one is immediately captivated by the scents of this shop. The wood of the old oak counter seems to have absorbed the balsamy scents and lively, aromatic fragrances of the plants used for elixirs and ointments since time immemorial.

In the studio of Desmond Knox-Leet, one of diptyque’s three founders, a large fire burned in the hearth in winter. On his desk, a jumble of small objects, amber stones and fragrant resins joined him on his creative journey. Their scents blended with the smoky, woody notes of the fireplace.

On a large table, a botanist lays out the plants he is about to draw. There are leaves, flowers, buds on the verge of opening and herbs of every kind. The lavender sprigs and stems of lemon verbena fill the workshop with their sweet, aromatic notes.

The scents of Ancient Rome: filled with the balmy accents of opopanax burned in temples and houses, and the woody, fruity notes of the fig tree held sacred by Romans for its protective powers. Worshipped on the Forum, it symbolized the benevolence of the Roman gods.

Although the sun has dipped behind the trees, the air is still warm. The tall grasses have already grown back between the large stacks of fresh mown hay. All is golden and green under the blue sky, as the sweet, almondy scent of hawthorn caresses the honeyed notes of the soft straw.

In Normandy, the house lived in by diptyque’s founders was called Les Lilas. The garden was filled with flowers in groves and flower beds that spilled down to the sea. In the morning dew, the almondy scents of hawthorn softened the fresh, peppery fragrance of freesias.

From his box, a young novelist observes the Parisian society he portrays in his books. He breathes in the green, milky scent of the white gardenias that grace the buttonholes of the men, and the powdery iris that perfumes the women and their evening gowns.

The masculine atmosphere of club chairs and aged wood paneling. We hear the sound of muffled voices and the clink of cocktail glasses before a roaring fireplace. The smoky scent of wood fire enhances the bitter burst of spice.

The French Riviera is bursting into bloom. Between the villas on sun-drenched hills facing the sea, spring comes to its end. The mimosas still have their little golden fluffy blossoms, and their velvety, honeyed scent rounds out the aromatic, dewy notes of the flowering geraniums.

Florence during the Quattrocento of Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci. Behind the high walls of a palace, corridors open onto an endless series of salons and galleries. The powdery fragrance of leather scented with iris softens the resinous accents of waxed parquet floors and paneling, evoking the magnificence of the Italian court during the Renaissance.

At a palace in Southern India, the air is filled with the scent of sandalwood burnt like incense, and jasmine from its gardens. The spicy notes of sandalwood warm the flower’s fresh, heady scent.

The fragrances of a cabinet filled with wonders. Over time, treasures, rare balsams and crystals, extraordinary plants and secret scrolls in their leather cases have accumulated there. The scents mingle in a cloud of leathery, spicy and balsamy fragrances.

The fragrance of a long-vanished ball. The guests are intoxicated by the perfume of the large bouquets of white flowers with their heady scents of lilies and tuberose.

In the north of the island, at nightfall, nature’s calm returns after the storm, though its scents linger: the humid, mineral fragrance of fig trees rooting deep into the wet soil, blending with the resinous, amber accents of the maquis.

Under the shade of the tall palm trees, smoke rises from a narguile as mint tea is prepared nearby. Patiently stripped of its leaves, the plant releases its lively, aromatic aromas warmed by the spicy, honeyed scents of tobacco.

Violet is one of a number of "silent flowers" whose fragrant principle cannot be extracted. In the 19th century, to give a floral, powdery dimension to the note, perfumers added the natural extract of mimosa.

On entering the forest, each step is like a fragrant pause. The sometimes woody, sometimes green scent of hazelnuts mingles with the wet, earthy fragrance of the moss. A harmonious blend of earth and wood.

In the shade of the tall trees, at the heart of the forest, a green expanse is speckled with tiny white lily of the valley bells. The moist scent of the moss rises from the earth, enhancing the delicate freshness of the flowers.

The voluptuousness and magic of an Oriental tale. As night falls, an odalisque languishes on brocade and silk velvet. She listens to musicians, wrapped in the balsamy, musky scents that curl sensuously into the air.

For more than a thousand years, they crossed the deserts, pausing at Hiram, Petra, Advat... They carried myrrhe, benzoin and other resins burned as incense. Their volutes were at times soft and balsamy, at others spicy and resinous.

Night falls over the riad. On the patio, lanterns are lit one by one near large bouquets of lilies scattered here and there, and under the large palm tree, where smoke curls from the narguile. The honeyed notes of tobacco volutes warm the scent of the white flowers, underscoring their spicy accents.

Lightly roasted hazelnuts, fresh from the oven. Their still-warm praline accents have taken on the caramelized and slightly spicy sweetness of the vanilla pods.

In the Middle Ages, a legendary scent in the form of a fragrant paste was used to perfume homes. Composed of resins, balsams and spices, the paste was shaped into small birds burned in golden cages. Their resinous, balmy scents escaped in fine curls of smoke.

The scent of a large copper cauldron in which preserves are being prepared with peel and orange segments, brown sugar and cinnamon sticks. The aromas begin to mingle, the fruits zested with spicy notes then slowly caramelized.

The burning sun has receded from the sand dunes. In tents, people rest after a long journey as the Agarwood dwindles on the embers. Slowly, its fragrant volutes with their smoky, distinctive accents spice the warm scents of the night.

A play of light and shade, and solid, slender shapes sketched by the curves of groves, shrubs and rocks. Everything is green in the Japanese garden: the fresh, moist scent of moss, the zesty fragrance of yuzu and the liveliness of water meandering between the trees.

A great adventurer has just returned from an expedition. His oak trunk is heavy with wonders brought back from every corner of the globe: scrolls, woods and precious stones, rare silk and cashmere fabrics preserved by fragrant patchouli leaves.

The sweetness of evenings spent huddled by the fire. The smoky accents of wood fire blend with the delicious scents of spices and candied fruits of the traditional thirteen desserts.

A fragrant memory of a festival held to mark the beginning of spring in the South of France. The celebration closes with a flower battle when the air is filled with thousands of petals and multicolored corollas.

Scents of a muggy tropical jungle. The memory of a trip to Asia, with its fragrant lush flowers and tree trunks hauled by mighty elephants. The woody, velvety scent of sandalwood blends with the green, heady accents of tuberose.

After journeying over the endless plains, one stops to rest near the samovar with a hot black tea before the odyssey continues. It warms the soul and body with its smoky, spicy accents, intensifying the scent of leather. The horses are already saddled: the road to the dacha is long.

All the perfumes of summer in the countryside. The linden trees are still in bloom, exhaling their floral, honeyed notes. One begins to mow the hay, the earthy green scents of the tall freshly cut grasses lend their fragrance to the meadows.

In the old days, in the Grasse region, young girls were forbidden to go out on the evenings the tuberose was picked. Its heady fragrance “went to their heads", it was said. Some sneaked out, their kisses scented like white flowers and the iridescent powdery notes of their make-up.

In the Indian Ocean, ships are docked in the port of a maritime trading post, exporting spices from the other side of the world. Cinnamon and vanilla are loaded and unloaded like treasures, leaving behind their spicy, intoxicating scents.

At dawn when the world is still at slumber, the garden is already releasing its scents. One can smell the earth, its herbs and spices. The lively aromatic scents of green mint awaken the sweet, citrusy notes of the lemon verbena leaves.

The atmosphere of the tailoring houses on Savile Row in London's Mayfair district. In the workshops, measurements are taken, tweed and flannel rolls are unwound. Around the gentlemen swirls the scent of vetiver and geranium perfumes, sometimes woody and smoky, sometimes pink and lemony.

The hushed, fragrant atmosphere of a boudoir. A world of scent. Powders, lipsticks and other cosmetics with their velvety scents and violet accents are blended with creams and balms scented like rose petals.