Monday 20 September 2021

THE SCENTED STEM DIFFUSER from Le Jardin Retrouvé

One thing that's guaranteed to get people thinking about home scents is surely the changing of the seasons. We naturally mark these moments with different aromas, whether that’s a new perfume or even a shower gel, but the options for scenting our homes are a little more limited. Everyone has their opinion on the effectiveness of either a candle or a room spray, but when Le Jardin Retrouvé announced that they were launching a diffuser it came with an expectation of excellence. The company have a history of successfully challenging the way things are done, and that continues with their new Scented Stem Diffuser.

Le Jardin Retrouvé was founded by Yuri Gutsatz back in 1975 as a way of breaking the cycle of perfume being governed by the big companies’ marketing machines. He felt that the creativity that perfumers spend years mastering had become secondary to trend, fashion and finance. He couldn’t fight the system from within, so he stepped outside and formed what is regarded as the first “niche” perfume house. Le Jardin Retrouvé has always remained a family business, it's now run by Yuri’s son Michel and his wife Clara, and every product still embodies Yuri’s famous promise from 1986 to “embrace you all with my heart”.

How do you reinvent the diffuser? This was the question that many were asking when Le Jardin Retrouvé announced that they were going to try something new. In basic terms, a diffuser is a fragranced liquid that comes in a container and is dispersed into the air thanks to either wooden, rattan, or fibre reeds. Alcohol versions evaporate quickly and usually give a huge scent throw, while oil based equivalents last longer but can be a little more muted. Le Jardin Retrouvé’s approach was to choose a glycerine oil and use the maximum amount of fragrance possible, and so create visual and scented perfection.

The company’s philosophy has always been based on sustainability, and so they wanted to replace the single use reeds with an alternative. With the help of the Research & Development team at Artoria, the Limoges pottery, they have created a porcelain stem that diffuses the fragrance oil along its entire length, something that had previously only been done with alcohol versions. This is why the Scented Stem Diffuser is a welcome development in this style of home fragrancing. Le Jardin Retrouvé’s come with a Limoges porcelain jar and rose stem, a Jura beechwood lid, and an aluminium flask containing the fragrance oil, but how does it work?

Very simply, you pour the fragrance oil into the jar, put on the lid and insert the stem. The scent takes about 36 hours to fully develop. However, if you're impatient, you could try the Stephan Matthews approach. After pouring the oil into the jar, stand the stem upside down in the liquid. With a small paint or pastry brush, apply a thin coating of the oil onto the top of the wooden lid, this adds an extra scent throw. Carefully remove the stem, turn it the right way up, put the lid on the jar, and insert the stem through the hole. You'll get an instant fragrance while the full effect develops. Whichever one of the five scents you choose, you are in for a treat.

The Scented Stem Diffuser is available in five fragrances (Tubéreuse Trianon, Rose Trocadéro, Cuir de Russie, Mousse Arashiyama and Osmanthe Liu Yuan) from the Jardin Retrouvé website at lejardinretrouve.com priced at €84 for 125ml. You can also buy a refill of each fragrance oil for €30. [Sample provided by the company]

* Please remember to always wash your hands after you have touched any diffuser and read the safety instructions that come with the product.

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