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PRESS REVIEW

nº79 / EAU RIHLA / DIPTYQUE / PARIS

THE INSTIGATOR logo

Eau Rihla, one of the most significant perfumes of Diptyque Paris, was released during the 60th anniversary of the company. The scent’s characteristics will touch your inner senses, and will take you on an unforeseen voyage




Review by Zoltan Alexander




COVER THE INSTIGATOR Eau Rihla Diptyque Paris

DIPTYQUEEAU RIHLA º

THE FLEETING REALM OF A SCENT sensual discrete

powerful aspirational




A drop on your skin. You lean closer, as the top note of Leather, in all its splendor changing through the composition, merges with Musk and the mesmerizing Atlas Cedar. The olfactory of the perfume imprints instantly, and insanely.


Notes of spicy Rose Peppercorn and the woody Atlas Cedar create a vibrant accord. When Iris, Vanilla, and Saffron come into play, the fragrance warms up, changes, and takes on the comfort of a second skin becoming your invisible armor.


Eau Rihla is powerful enough to take you on an unforeseen voyage. Its uniqueness has no comparison.




THE INSTIGATOR Casa Wabi observatory
The Observatory / Photo © Courtesy of Casa Wabi Foundation


In Arabic, Rihla means journey, but not any kind.

A voyage is not always measured by distance but imagination.

It’s physical, as well as metaphysical.

Eau Rihla evokes both.



A PHYSICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNEY


The physical move, the geographic voyage is everybody’s first choice. Going on a trip is often the best healer, and certainly an adventure. The history of a perfume is always charged with many recollected memories.


From the beginning of the 60s, the founders, the gypsy-esque threesome, artist Desmond Knox-Leet, theatre craftsman Yves Coueslant, and interior designer Christiane Montadre-Gautrot, who loved Morocco, crisscrossed the spice routes of the region and the entire planet, to be inspired to create their perfumes.


Eau Rihla is conceived as the chronicle of their long journeys. The scent evokes the echoing sound of the Muezzin, the burning sun, the desert, and the sheltering sky with an infinite horizon from the Middle East to the Atlas Mountains, ushering the traveller through the dunes by the Hommes Bleus.




THE INSTIGATOR Denis Dailleux Cafe a Bab Zumeila au petit matin Galerie 127
"Café à Bab Zumeila au petit matin" / Photo © Courtesy of Denis Dailleux / Galerie 127 Marrakesh


These adventurous protagonists were always travelling, and belonged nowhere specific. They moved at a slower pace over a period of time, preferring to experience, to discover, and learn, rather than merely rushing and profiting. Spontaneity played a significant part in their journeys, and the more time they spent in one place, was the better.




THE INSTIGATOR David Daim el Fenn Marrakesh
(left) French artist David Daim / (right) Hotel el Fenn Marrakesh / Photos © Courtesy of Zoltan Alexander


They believed that a traveller should treasure the moment, spend hours in philosophical and intellectually challenging conversations, or in perfect solitude sitting in front of a landscape, listening to music, listening to their heartbeats, and to their instincts. Most certainly a traveller would carry an Eau Rihla somewhere in his suitcase, and with the heat, he would allow the scent of Leather and Musk to blend with his skin.


Eau Rihla recollects memories from the past, spicy mornings, love-making at the black & white sea with cool breeze, or when you are writing alone by the ocean, marking your notebook with words and sketches before the night falls.




THE INSTIGATOR sea table
THE INSTIGATOR table hand diving
Photo-montages by Zoltan Alexander
THE INSTIGATOR Malin Oredsson sea pond
"The Pond" / Photos © Courtesy of Malin Oredsson
THE INSTIGATOR Sylvie Bouaidi Essaouira geometric
THE INSTIGATOR Sylvie Bouaidi Essaouira cloud
"Essaouira" / Photos © Courtesy of Sylvie Bouaidi


TIMELESSNESS IN BLACK & WHITE SEASCAPES


“Mystery of Mysteries. Water and Air. They are right there before us in the sea. Every time I view the sea, I feel a calming sense of security, as if visiting my ancestral home; I embark on a voyage of seeing.” Hiroshi Sugimoto


Eau Rihla is a scent that simultaneously captures discrete moments in time, and evokes a feeling of timelessness.




THE INSTIGATOR Hiroshi Sugimoto sea horizon
"The Sea" / Photos © Courtesy of Hiroshi Sugimoto
THE INSTIGATOR Malin Oredsson sea horizon
"The Horizon" / Photos © Courtesy of Malin Oredsson



A METAPHYSICAL JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN OF SELF-DISCOVERY


Eau Rihla is also metaphysical journey that certainly involves a more ethereal mind-set, that encourages the discovery of one’s inner self, the core of identity.




THE INSTIGATOR face marble hands
THE INSTIGATOR woman oranges.jpg
THE INSTIGATOR woman straw hat bodies
Photo-montages by Zoltan Alexander

Eau Rihla’s absolute essence, created by Le Nez Fabrice Pelegrin, is LOVE.

Love for ART

Love for TRAVELLING

Love for an OTHER




THE INSTIGATOR Ismail Zaidy in touch two men pink fabric
"In Touch" / Photo © Courtesy of Ismail Zaidy / Galerie Maāt Paris


Just as love is a source of wonder and beauty, so too is the sea, which fills us with passion, joy, and a sense of belonging in the world. In both love and the sea, we find the power to transcend our limitations and connect with something greater than ourselves

Simone de Beauvoir


But could you love another as yourself?




THE INSTIGATOR Josue Comoe Trinity three men
"Trinity" / Photo © Courtesy of Josue Comoe


The desire to love and be loved are part of the structure of our existence without fear, restraint, and obligation. It is knowing yourself and knowing the other.


Love is a powerful tool, and Eau Rihla is a powerful scent, accessible to individuals who are not afraid of expressing themselves. When you allow yourself to accept who you are, no matter what age, colour, or form you might have, everything starts falling into place.


Between two individuals, unpredictable love becomes unbeatable. It is a rare gift, and to be authentic, it must be reciprocal and non-exploitative with neutral understanding of the other, and most importantly of oneself.


Eau Rihla is an unpredictable journey in one's self-discovery.


But as Simone de Beauvoir said “self-knowledge is no guarantee of happiness, but it is on the side of happiness and can supply the courage to fight for it."




THE INSTIGATOR DIPTYQUE Paris Eau Rihla



 


INDEX




COVER THE INSTIGATOR Eau Rihla Diptyque Paris


COVER

(left) Photo © Courtesy of

Malin Oredsson

(right) Photo © Research

Cover design © ZOLTAN+MEDIA


EAU RIHLA DIPTYQUE PARIS

Created by Le Nez Fabrice Pelegrin

Golden label by artist Safia Souares


PHOTOGRAPHS / COURTESY OF THE FOLLOWING ARTISTS

Hiroshi Sugimoto / Japan

Ismail Zaidy / Morocco

Galerie Maat / France

Denis Dailleux / Egypt

Galerie 127 / Morocco

Malin Oredsson / UK

Sylvie Bouaidi / Morocco

Josue Comoe / Ivory Coast

Bosco Sodi Casa Wabi / Mexico

Zoltan Alexander / UK


PHOTOGRAPHS

© curated by Zoltan Alexander, to illustrate the spirit of Eau Rihla.

None of the photographs were commissioned by Diptyque Paris.


WEBDESIGN

© ZOLTAN+MEDIA London


DIPTYQUE PARIS


CGC PR LONDON



THE INSTIGATOR Eau Rihla Diptyque Paris bottle

Diptyque Paris logo

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