Isabelle Larignon Dafneis Eau de Parfum

Inspired by the aesthetic revelation Isabelle Larignon experienced upon encountering the magnificence of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s sculpture ‘Apollo and Daphne’, Dafneis is a tribute to the artist, to Italy, to women. Built around an accord of iris, orange blossom and woods, Dafneis expresses the minerality of white marble, the deep-rootedness and melancholy of a woman undergoing metamorphosis, and the elegance and beauty of the Italian Renaissance.

The formula illustrates Daphne’s metamorphosis, as depicted in Ovid’s Epic poem, The Metamorphoses (8 CE): first there is the minerality and whiteness of the marble in Bernini’s sculptures (white sandalwood and orange blossom), then the pursuit of Apollo, "carried on the wings of love", and Daphne’s frantic flight, "her body exhausted, overcome by the exertion" (styrax), followed by “the heavy torpor” that seizes the nymph, whose once-nimble feet become immobile roots (Corps Racine, iris, patchouli), her chest “enveloped in a thin bark” (cedar, vetiver), “her hair becomes foliage, her arms branches” (Galbazine, bay leaf). Finally, immortelle pays tribute to a woman’s vow to “enjoy her virginity for ever”.

Dafneis’ packaging depicts the unfolding myth: the outer packaging illustrates the origin of the myth of Apollo and Daphne: it shows Eros/Cupid ready to take revenge on Apollo by firing two arrows – a golden arrow that makes Apollo fall madly in love with Daphne, and a leaden arrow that closes the nymph’s heart forever. Its sides illustrate the chase, while the cross-shaped interior depicts the beginning of Daphne’s metamorphosis, from a perspective inspired by Bernini’s sculpture. Finally, the bottle artwork depicts the complete metamorphosis: Daphne is now nothing more than a laurel bush, her heart still beating beneath the bark. Like engravings, the illustrations are by the French artist Dimitri Rybaltchenko.