Aedes de Venustas Parfum d’Ambiance (room fragrance) was created for the West Village perfume boutique by L’Artisan Parfumeur and perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. The Aedes de Venustas room spray harks back to earlier Duchaufour creations, Comme des Garçons Red Series Sequoia and Incense Series Kyoto and Avignon, the recent L'Artisan Dzongkha, and the wonderful Eau d’Italie perfumes.

Duchaufour is one of my favorite perfumers. I have owned thirteen of his scents and appreciate their originality, their quirks, their strange accent notes that prevent excessive "smoothness" and instant familiarity.

Aedes de Venustas room fragrance contains Japanese incense, leather, strawflowers, balsam, musk and woods. Of these ingredients, incense and leather stand out. The incense of Aedes' room fragrance is not burning or smoldering incense, but fresh, unburned incense that has a light, slightly powdery, near-vanilla aroma with hints of cedar and sandalwood. A mellow leather note is present throughout the fragrance’s development and is especially noticeable in the dry down if you spray this scent onto skin (I use this on skin as much as I spray it into the air.)

The strawflower fragrance note is described in the ad copy as having a "honeyed bitterness". The strawflowers I know and grow in my garden do possess a hay-like scent when dried — do they account for a touch of sweetness in the Aedes opening? (Or do they add that elusive "tart" aroma I just can’t describe, no matter how often I smell this fragrance?)

The lasting power of the Aedes de Venustas room fragrance is excellent and the room spray adds instant 'warmth' to any space; it's a perfect cool weather fragrance, suitable for use by a man or a woman.

Aedes de Venustas Parfum d’Ambiance is a limited edition offering (4.22 oz. spray/$70). There is also a matching candle (6.2 oz./$60). Both the room fragrance and candle come in handsome matte glass containers with gold accents and are sold exclusively at aedes.