After I posted about a couple of my fave fragrances that are a cut above the rest – I had several brands reach out and send me their fragrances to try. I’ve probably tried about 10 in the past month. Most of them were okay but I was SOOOOO excited to discover Petite Histoire. A luxury line of fragrances formulated with natural ingredients.

Petite Histoire has four scents. The first scent was developed by the founder Jeff Smith and the next three scents were developed by his perfumer, Mathieu Nardin who has created scents for Miller Harris, Etro, Anick Goutal and Kenneth Cole. In addition, Robertet, is their partner for natural ingredients with a long legacy in the perfume industry that dates back to the 1800s.

Petite Histoire is the backstory between lovers: it is the narrative that entwines them and the palpable tension that defines them. Here’s a breakdown of their four scents:

Out of the four, Coup De Courage is my fave. It’s dominant in sandalwood – which smells incredible but it’s an ingredient that has a lot of sustainability issues around sourcing so I asked Jeff about it and this is what he said:

Robertet has a “seed to scent” program where they work with communities all around the world to not only protect raw materials (like sandalwood) but give back to the communities that grow them. In New Caledonia, they’ve gone in and helped reinforce the community with the founding of a sandalwood farm in collaboration with the local Kanak community – which further helps stabilize the community. As a part of this they’ve begun an extensive reforestation program, installed solar-powered extraction units, and distillation/extraction practices that utilize 100% recycled solvents. This farm is Forest Stewardship Council certified, meaning the products are in line with internationally recognized sustainable forest management guidelines.

Amazing right!? And remember a few posts back when I said that most natural perfumes smell a little too much like lemon or lavender or…dirt? Jeff tends to agree saying, A lot of natural perfumes lack the pedigree and industry finesse which means most people don’t truly get to experience just how sublime naturals can be. Working with Mathieu and Robertet means these are first and foremost luxury perfumes. And I can attest, these fragrances definitely stand out.

AND! He explains, a lot of the green perfumes are incredibly vague about how they’re actually formulated and greenwashing is a bit of an industry problem at the moment. Petite Histoire is set in a base of hydrating fractionated coconut oil and formulated to IFRA standards of ISO norm 9235 which is one of the strictest and most clearly defined set of guidelines in the industry. 

I happened to fall in love immediately with Coup De Courage but like I mentioned, I’m a sucker for anything cedarwood and/or sandalwood. But this fragrance is so much more than that. You know when you have a nice glass of wine and you are like; OH! This is so smooth!? Well apply that sensation to Coup De Courage- it’s just so….smooth! Musky with a sweet finish like it was just born to be. Jeff describes it as their “jeans and t-shirt” scent and a bit like being wrapped in cashmere. I agree!

And on the other end of the spectrum, I really love Envie Desoir. It’s so soft, powdery and smells like roses. Super feminine and barely there – just beautifully understated and really pretty.

The perfect everyday fragrance!

SHOP PETITE HISTOIRE HERE!

P.S Check out more natural fragrances I love and some luxe organic lip balms!