Somewhat withdrawn but still attentive, his father smoked cigars and sometimes brought David to the market in Pointe-à-Pitre where the young boy reveled in the sweet, powerful array of spices. His step-father took him on unforgettably redolent escapades in Morocco…. Amidst this fragrant mosaic, David Jourquin grew up believing that smells had meaning, they gave structure to his life and spoke only truths to him.

Still today, he remains filled with the scent memories that made him who he is. The scent of waxed wood floors soothes him; patchouli reassures him. He cannot forget the familiar scent of leather, dazzling spices, wafting cigar smoke…. They are his mirror image, his roots, the many facets of his inner self.

Over time, through the various experiences that made a difference in his life, new sensations etched their way into his emotional network. Cigars now remind him of Cuba, evoking myriad images, sounds and silhouettes in a head-spin of amber colored rum.

Leather has become more sensual and exciting, his favorite material, in fact. It’s like a second skin he wears all the time, dressing him as if naked because it’s so incredibly comfortable.

While other people may need to breathe, drink, eat or sleep… David has a vital need to perfume his world, to make it his own, to get a handle on it, to move forward and to create.

The entranceway to this apartment smells as if it’s lined with incense paper. The kitchen emanates the warmth of vanilla and patchouli. The living room is filled with the rich scent of floor wax and the bedroom dances with the delightful fragrance of orange blossoms… Certain furniture is also entitled to its own olfactory signature; such as the bed, on which the pillows receive a nightly dab of precious Eau de Cologne. “It helps me sleep,” he confides. “I don’t like the smell of laundry detergent, so I create my own sense of ‘clean’ before slipping between the sheets and heading off to dreamland.”

For this detail-oriented individual, a pre-fabricated olfactory expression of his personality would be unthinkable. So he started by pin-pointing two fragrances that each reflected a different aspect of his personality. The first was rather strict. It echoed the businessman in him and naturally coincided with his daytime activities. The second one was sweet and heady, allowing for the whims of the midnight hour. But neither completely satisfied his exacting tastes. At times, he even combined them, the way he accented an outfit with a surprising accessory, such as a leather glove or a string of pearls…

Until the day he dared to venture into art of perfume making, and developed his own men’s fragrances, Cuir Mandarin and Cuir Tabac. Formulated like a genuine olfactory biography, they come to life through a heady heart note of patchouli and feed off the perfumer’s personal experiences, adding a hint of mandarin orange wrapped in tobacco leaves, and then take flight in a field of fine lavender before veering into the sensual essence of musk.

Elegant, rare, balanced and tinged with a bit of folly shine in their gorgeous containers, as warm, refined, exciting and precious as the ambrosial notes they protect, sheathed in lambskin and shimmering like brass, sealed with exquisite wooden caps.

Now they are accompanied by two stunning yet sensual women’s fragrances – Cuir de R’Eve and Cuir Altesse inspired by the spirit of the Roaring Twenties.

And two olfactory journeys drenched in sultry sunshine, juicy fruit and exotic aromas. Ready to melt on you hot summer skin: Cuir Caraïbes and Cuir Solaire.

David Jourquin

Thoughts gathered from a discret man.