Review: Atelier Cologne Clementine California

To set the scene, I'm walking down Elizabeth Street in Lower Manhattan in the dappled sunshine on a Sunday afternoon. This neighbourhood is home to a beautiful array of fashion and beauty brands. The first Sezane 'L'Appartement' has recently opened here, the first on American soil with its perfectly Instagrammable pink velvet seating area, bouncer and red carpet! Just next door is the British leather emporium, Grenson, and beauty brand Aesop with it's incredible window displays and on-street samples that always remind me I need to use hand-cream more often! Across the street from here, my eyes fell upon the teal exterior of Atelier Cologne, a perfume house I had been lusting over in Sephora for months and months but never knowing it had its own bricks and mortar store. 

"Our dream: to create colognes to be worn as Pure Perfumes."

I figure when it comes to perfume, you are either incredibly loyal (yes, Chanel Mademoiselle fanatics, I'm looking at you) or you embrace a wardrobe of fragrances that you flit between depending on your mood, the season, etc. I have always been in the first camp and so a fragrance purchase is often either a predictable re-purchase or... kind of a big deal. 

My fragrance history is pretty much a shelfie full of citrus notes. Ever since my twelfth birthday when I received a gift of French Connection Eau de Toilette, I could not be swayed for almost five years. From my teens onwards, it is only the sharp, zesty scents that have appealed to me, meanwhile my friends emerged from a heavy cloud of Hugo Boss Deep Red, Gucci Rush and Ralph Lauren. Ryan and I even had Jo Malone Lime Basil and Mandarin as our wedding fragrance! Needless to say, a perfume on display in Sephora featuring clementines is definitely going to pique my interest. And so, my love affair with Atelier Cologne began – a brand that celebrates and founded its first collection of exquisitely curated and long-lasting colognes purely from citrus and herbal notes - and I became a serial spritzer of California Clementine.  

"Each of our Cologne Absolue tells the story of treasured emotions and powerful memories."

The reason I photographed this blog imagery in the sunshine is that's exactly where the fragrance transports you. Hot summers in California with luscious, fresh and clean notes. As I'm sure you've heard (or realised), scents are very powerful at triggering emotional responses and connection. This is my first New York summer in a bottle. Despite us being now in October, the heat and humidity still lingers and I'm reaching for the bottle time and time again. 

This exquisite French brand has over 30 different fragrances in their repertoire and, depending on individual taste, can be unisex in their appeal. After ages chatting and learning about the brand and its husband and wife co-founding dream team, my nose and I had sniffed countless beautiful scents yet nothing could quite beat my California Clementine! 

What's great about visiting the store is you find out about their exclusive offers (and meet their friendly, passionate staff). In this instance, it was a complimentary 30ml travel size fragrance of your choice with any full size 200ml purchase. To top it off, I was also given a personalised leather case which they hand-pressed in-store. For me, this brand struck the right chord between great customer journey and incredible product.

Discover your fragrance wardrobe and nearest location with Atelier Cologne.

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