L’Artisan Parfumeur Fou d’Absinthe perfume is an herbaceous, foresty fragrance with spice. L’Artisan describes the fragrance as such

Hot and cold, spicy and soft, Fou d’Absinthe is a perfume-paradox, olfactory craziness, an embodiment of absolute freedom of mind, of the desire to break taboos and to have courage to realize one’s most daring dreams. Inspired by absinthe, the decadent drink of choice of poets and artists, this addictive potion is an aromatic explosion of green, slightly bitter absinthe, tingling spirit of angelica and crispy blackcurrant buds. The hot-cold sensation is enhanced by the alluring contrast of chilly star anise and fiery four-spices mix (our very own cocktail of pepper, clove, nutmeg, and ginger) and is carried all through to the base notes where dry pine needles mingle with the sweet, balsamic scent of labdanum, the fruity sap of fir balsam and the deep, tantalizing earthiness of patchouli.

Wow, that is some description and you can see why I would love to love this “olfactory craziness”. It sounds very exciting. The fragrance is fine but I’ll stick to the real green deal.

At first I find Fou d’Absinthe very zesty and invigorating. I get lots of pine and anise. As far as the absinthe, I guess. There is a cooling wormwood type feeling that I get from wormwood baked goods. I can see how this scent is based on absinthe from this initial blast. It has an absinthe punch. I wanted this to be more like licorice or star anise on me. Nope. The pine is very strong and I feel like this initial stage is difficult for me to pull off. It reminds me of a men’s fragrance, a zesty and sporty men’s fragrance. I really like it, but I find it too masculine for me to feel comfortable wearing. That doesn’t mean other women can’t. The fragrance wears like pine needles on me for a long time. The pine is spicy with clove and anise. It really reminds me of a wintery, Christmas time kind of fragrance in the middle stages, very evergreen with yuletide spices. I do pick up fruits, dark blackcurrants smelling of dark, slight musky grapes . This is a very pretty addition, but it also a very “yuletide” addition to me. I really like the dry-down of this fragrance. It’s very warm. It smells like the forest floor, but not in the usual sense that I use that term. This smells more of the pine forest in warm climates such as Georgia (U.S. state) or Florida. This smells like dried out and crunchy pine needles on the bottom of a dry, hot Southern pine forest with a little bit of sweet pine sap. It’s slightly spicy but in an evergreen spice way instead of the foody spice cabinet way in the middle stage. Many evergreens have a spiciness to them, almost peppery or like cinnamon. This dry down wears closely to my skin. It’s woodsy and warm. This fragrance does go from cold to hot. This fragrance reminds me of early Picasso Blue Period paintings with lots of cool blue with the occasional warm color.

Notes listed include absinthe, star anise, dry pine, cistus, angelica flower, blackcurrant buds, clove, ginger, nutmeg, patchouli, pepper, pine needles, and fir balsam.

I find this fragrance more on the masculine end of the spectrum. At first I was worried that it was too masculine for me. After a few wears, I find that it isn’t difficult to wear as I initially thought. On me it wears very green and like the forest for most of the wear. I think this is a very attractive fragrance on a man. My husband says this scent is too feminine for him and too “floral”. I can’t pick up any of the flowers on me! So, do wear this before buying (like all fragrances). My verdict is that I like this fragrance, but it is tricky because it transforms so much. On some people, it’s very green and herbaceous/balsmy, on others it’s like a “Christmas” scented candle, and on some it’s very spicy. I like Fou d’Absinthe but I can live without it in my collection. I’d rather smell it on other people or have it as a winter time home fragrance/candle. It isn’t the absinthe fragrance that I am looking for. I’m looking for something more feminine with more licorice/anise. I want it to be like the sylphs in Mucha’s Absinthe ads, that kind of beauty. Has anyone tried AromaM Geisha Green? Is this what I’m looking for?

The 1.7 retails for $120 at Beautyhabit. Samples are also available for purchase.

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Want more of my “men’s” L’Artisan reviews? Here’s Mechant Loup, Timbuktu, and L’Eau d’Ambre.

– I also re-sniffed this in November 2014 and here are my thoughts. 

*Sample purchased by me. Product pic from the brand. Post contains affiliate links. Thanks!