For those who believe that the choice of a fragrance should not be guided by the dictates of fashion, L'Artisan offers a return to the honest principles and rituals of the perfumer's art as practised in less hectic times.

While new customers tend to discover the range and embark enthusiastically on personal crusades to enlighten others, the company has adopted a much more relaxed, almost best-kept-secret approach.

 L’Artisan was established in 1976 by Jean Laporte, who set out to produce an elite range of fragrances to be available through small boutique “boudoir” spaces where clients would be able to take their time, in a more relaxed setting, to discover perfumes that are entirely personal and suit every subtle mood and occasion.

Now a cult name among connoisseurs around the world, L'Artisan has become a high-end fragrance house that retails in a select number of boutiques internationally, catering for those who crave a unique scent that stands apart from the clutter. Here, perfumes aren't distinguished by day or night, age, culture, season or even gender boundaries. There is no pandering to mass market desires, nor any trace of brash celebrity sparkle.
Inspired by nature and familiar scents found in the sweetest corners of the memory, these fragrances evoke the nostalgia of childhood and first loves, or joyful moments in life – and all of the beauty and wonder of the world. Each scent is a story.

Minerve founder Brenda Temple first encountered them in the mid-1990s and believes that being a very satisfied customer herself places her in a strong position from which to be encouraging others.

There may well be better-known names she says, but L’Artisan outshines them all.