L’Artisan Parfumeur arrives in New Zealand with coveted Faradays spot

To celebrate L’Artisan Parfumeur’s arrival in Aotearoa (and its milestone 50th anniversary), Lana Andelane uncovers the maison’s rich heritage and unlikely storytelling philosophy.

Boutique French perfume house L’Artisan Parfumeur has arrived in Aotearoa, having secured a coveted spot in Queen Street’s premium new department store, Faradays—an occasion that marks an important milestone for the brand, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.  

L’Artisan’s story began in Paris in 1976, the brainchild of French chemist and botanist Jean Laporte. Widely considered a trailblazer of niche perfumery, Laporte founded the maison to translate his love of nature into imaginative, artisanal fragrances that bottled the scents of the natural world around him. The house’s iconic 1978 debut, Mûre et Musc, placed white musk at the heart of the fragrance rather than as a supporting note—a decision that became a defining moment in perfumery. Other enduring signatures include Premier Figuier, the perfumer’s innovative fig fragrance.

This "strong sensitivity" to nature is one of the key points of connection between L’Artisan and Aotearoa, explains global general manager, Reyes Lezcano. Finding a home in Faradays, meanwhile, felt like a natural fit.

"Faradays offers a curated environment where L’Artisan Parfumeur’s broader creative identity can be experienced,’ she tells us. ‘This gives the House the opportunity to build a more complete relationship with New Zealand consumers, introducing not only its fragrances, but also the vision, stories and craftsmanship that make the brand distinctive."

Over the decades, L’Artisan Parfumeur has become known for its bold, unexpected combinations and storytelling, evocative of landscapes, memories and emotions. Laporte championed freedom for perfumers, encouraging experimentation with unconventional ingredients and formulas—embodying the house’s founding philosophy, "creative freedom". Each scent is expressed through a distinct narrative: the Les Paysages collection, for example, is designed as a series of olfactory postcards, inspired by journeys through France.

This transportative quality extends beyond fragrance into L’Artisan’s candle and bath and body collections. From the pulse points to the heart of the home, this immersion turns the narrative into a lifestyle: wherever you go, your fragrance follows.

As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, L’Artisan heralds an exciting new chapter—one that brings five decades of French savoir-faire and creative freedom to Aotearoa.

In conversation with L'Artisan Parfumeur global general manager, Reyes Lezcano

This year marks the 50th anniversary of L’Artisan Parfumeur. How has the perfumery evolved over the years to cater to new audiences and tastes, while staying true to its roots?

L’Artisan Parfumeur has been pioneering fragrance artistry since 1976, creating scents that often explore something never smelled before. This spirit began with the founding gesture of Mûre et Musc and continued with creations such as Premier Figuier and Bois Farine, each opening a new olfactory territory. This pioneering approach is made possible by the way the House creates. Perfumers are given a white canvas: the freedom to express a personal vision, follow an intuition and take an idea to its fullest expression. Fifty years later, this founding philosophy remains unchanged. By preserving this freedom and creative conviction, L’Artisan Parfumeur continues to surprise new generations with fragrances that feel distinctive, unexpected and deeply personal.

As a pioneering niche French fragrance house with a rich heritage of craftsmanship and creativity, what similarities do you see between the values of L’Artisan Parfumeur and those of New Zealand consumers?

There are many points of connection between L’Artisan Parfumeur and New Zealand consumers. The first is authenticity. Our story is rooted in heritage, but it is also very contemporary. The vision created in 1976 was so pioneering that it is still alive today, and we continue to express it in everything we do. The second is craftsmanship. For L’Artisan Parfumeur, craftsmanship is where mastery meets intuition, and where savoir-faire meets artistic freedom. This is what allows our perfumers to create fragrances that are new and unexpected. Nature is another strong connection. Our founder was a botanist, so nature has been at the heart of the brand since the beginning. We explore it, transform it and express it through fragrance.

What makes New Zealand a natural fit for the brand, and why do you believe its creations will resonate with this market?

New Zealand feels like a natural fit for L’Artisan Parfumeur because there is a strong sensitivity to nature, creativity and authenticity, as well as a desire for fragrances that express individuality, tell genuine stories and carry a clear creative point of view. Our fragrances begin with real ingredients, places and emotions, then transform them into something unexpected. Mûre et Musc reimagines the familiar scent of blackberry, while Premier Figuier captures the fig tree in its entirety, from its leaves to its wood and fruit. This way of creating offers both discovery and emotion. It allows each person to encounter something new, while finding a story or sensation they can connect with personally.

What scents do you think New Zealand audiences will gravitate towards most?

Every market develops its own favourites, and it is always fascinating to discover which creations people connect with most. That said, I believe Abyssae could resonate particularly well. Inspired by the abyss, it imagines a journey into a world of eternal night: mysterious, almost untouched, and still largely unknown. It is a place that awakens both curiosity and the desire to explore. Its dialogue between eucalyptus, rose and cashmeran creates something fresh, textured and deeply captivating. Beyond its composition, Abyssae reflects what defines L’Artisan Parfumeur: transforming nature into an unexpected emotional experience. It invites us to venture beyond what we know and imagine what may still remain undiscovered.

Why do you think Faradays will be a great fit for the L’Artisan Parfumeur brand?

L’Artisan Parfumeur sits at the intersection of fragrance, craftsmanship, design and culture. Faradays offers a curated environment where this broader creative identity can be experienced beyond the product itself, through context, atmosphere and discovery. This gives the House the opportunity to build a more complete relationship with New Zealand consumers, by introducing not only its fragrances, but also the vision, stories and craftsmanship that make the brand distinctive.

L’Artisan Parfumeur’s tagline is “creative freedom.” What does creative freedom mean to the House, and how can consumers embody this ethos for themselves?

Creative freedom is the founding philosophy of L’Artisan Parfumeur. It means giving perfumers a true blank canvas: the freedom to create without a predefined formula, and to take their vision as far as it can go. This is where mastery meets artistry. The perfumer’s savoir-faire, sensitivity and personal vision come together to create fragrances with a strong identity, often opening olfactory territories that have never been explored before. For consumers, this creates a collection of genuinely different choices. Each fragrance offers its own world, allowing people to move through the collection freely and choose the scent that reflects who they are, rather than what they are expected to wear.

How does L’Artisan Parfumeur continue to honour this commitment to creative freedom 50 years later?

The vision established by our founder in 1976 was pioneering for its time and remains remarkably contemporary today. It placed olfactory artistry at the centre of fragrance creation, allowing perfumers to express nature freely through intuition, mastery and a singular creative idea. The House begins with the perfumer’s vision and follows it to its fullest expression. This philosophy has shaped L’Artisan Parfumeur continuously over five decades.

To illustrate it, we can look at one creation from each decade: Mûre et Musc in 1978, with its unprecedented encounter between blackberry and an overdose of white musk; Premier Figuier in 1994, the first fig accord in perfumery; Bois Farine in 2003, exploring the distinctive language of pyrazines through flour-like, nutty and powdery facets; and Noir Exquis in 2015, the first gourmand without sugar, replacing the expected sweetness with the roasted and textured notes of glazed chestnut and coffee. Abyssae in 2022 opens another unexplored olfactory territory: the mysterious depths of the ocean. It imagines this largely unknown world through an unexpected dialogue between eucalyptus, rose and cashmeran, bringing a new way of writing aromatic notes in perfumery.

Each of these creations expresses the same founding vision: allowing olfactory artistry to lead, and giving perfumers the freedom to create something that has never been smelled before.

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