L’Artisan Parfumeur- Ananas Fizz

It took me several years and countless of samples to start enjoying Ananas Fizz by L’Artisan Parfumeur (an Anne Flipo creation). I couldn't get past the pineapple and its friends, the rum and coconut milk notes. I don't want pink paper umbrellas in my perfume, and even though I could recognize that Ananas Fizz was not your typical Pina Colada scent, it still had all that happy pineapple. I couldn't deal.

Sometimes, though, the stars and nose align right and you suddenly smell the magic, or at least the perfume story the perfumer meant you to feel. I don't know how or when it happened, but one day I was sniffing some L'artisan samples and absentmindedly applied Ananas Fizz and it was there- not just the tropical fruit (diluted in citrus juice), but also the green notes and dry wood, with only a hint of sweetness. It's a lot more wearable than I ever thought and actually has a kick- not just the fizz, but also the type you usually get from a chypre. I'm not sure i can explain it through the official notes, as there's no oakmoss, patchouli or labdanum listed. The recognizable notes to me, other than pineapple, are lemon, bergamot, a hint of coconut and cedar. It's not exactly a recipe for a chypre, and yet it feels exactly right.

There's something very sheer and gauze-like about Ananas Fizz. It's like looking at a tropical scene through a veil or a light fog. The colors aren't very vibrant and won't make you start dancing or doing the Hippy Hippy Shake*. It's the contrasts between the initial expectations and the actual scent development that make this scent interesting and enjoyable for me. The official carded L'Artisan samples are doing this perfume (and most of the others) a disservice. Dabbing a drop here and there isn't the best way to wear Ananas Fizz. I transferred several samples into small spray vial and that made a huge difference in terms of longevity and sillage. It makes the scent feel a lot more substantial without compromising its lightness.

Ananas Fizz is still available from some L'Artisan retailers (Barneys, Luckyscent, Blue Mercury), but it has been removed from the L’Artisan Parfumeur website (artisanparfumeur.us), and we all know what that means.

*The Hippy Hippy Shake: