A fresh woody perfume with crisp cedar and oakmoss in the coniferous company of elemi and frankincense resins. Autoportrait is a good example of how frankincense can be used in a modern way for its fresh coniferous value, without going into a churchy or oriental interpretation.
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
This is a fragrance for close range and inward focus: the kind of scent that suits a quiet walk, a long desk session, or an evening spent thinking rather than performing. It gives off a calm, self-contained presence, with woods and incense that feel polished, dry and slightly meditative.
How to wear
Best in cool to mild weather, Autoportrait wears comfortably with a restrained hand: one or two sprays are enough to keep its cedar, vetiver and incense clear without crowding the space around you. On skin it stays intimate and smooth, while in air it reads as a soft woody haze rather than a heavy trail.
Who it’s for
For those who prefer dry woods, vetiver, oakmoss and restrained incense over sweetness or overt richness. It will appeal to wearers who like contemplative, understated fragrances with a clean, modern structure and a quietly textured woody character.
Release year
2011
The nose
Nathalie Lorson is known for composing fragrances with clarity, balance and a polished sense of intimacy. Working at Firmenich, she has created a wide range of modern signatures, including Encre Noire for Lalique, Another 13 for Le Labo and Paul Smith Man, often drawing on vetiver, musks and floral nuances to build compositions that feel refined rather than loud. In Autoportrait, her style is especially well suited to the brief: she turns incense and woods into something airy, dry and personal, keeping the resinous materials luminous rather than heavy. The result reflects her strength in making structured, wearable fragrances that feel quietly distinctive.
Collaborators
Céline Verleure shaped the concept of the fragrance and the brand’s image-led creative process, using photography as the starting point and inviting community input into the project’s development. Luc Lapôtre’s photograph provided the visual inspiration that Autoportrait was built around.
Olfactive Studio’s story
Olfactive Studio treats perfume as an artistic response to photography, building each scent from an image rather than a conventional marketing brief. The house favors unisex compositions with a contemporary, contemplative tone, and its identity is rooted in creative collaboration, visual emotion and a distinctly niche, anti-mainstream approach.
Autoportrait’s concept
Autoportrait launched in 2011 as part of Olfactive Studio’s debut trio. It was inspired by a photograph by Luc Lapôtre and developed through the brand’s unusual image-first method, in which visuals guided the perfumer’s interpretation rather than a traditional brief. The result is a modern woody-incense composition designed to feel intimate and reflective.
Extra info
Autoportrait was one of the three debut fragrances of Olfactive Studio, a house built around the meeting of photography and perfumery. It is often described as a lighter, airier take on the dark vetiver style, with incense used in a fresh, modern way rather than a church-like one.
A fresh woody perfume with crisp cedar and oakmoss in the coniferous company of elemi and frankincense resins. Autoportrait is a good example of how frankincense can be used in a modern way for its fresh coniferous value, without going into a churchy or oriental interpretation.
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
This is a fragrance for close range and inward focus: the kind of scent that suits a quiet walk, a long desk session, or an evening spent thinking rather than performing. It gives off a calm, self-contained presence, with woods and incense that feel polished, dry and slightly meditative.
How to wear
Best in cool to mild weather, Autoportrait wears comfortably with a restrained hand: one or two sprays are enough to keep its cedar, vetiver and incense clear without crowding the space around you. On skin it stays intimate and smooth, while in air it reads as a soft woody haze rather than a heavy trail.
Who it’s for
For those who prefer dry woods, vetiver, oakmoss and restrained incense over sweetness or overt richness. It will appeal to wearers who like contemplative, understated fragrances with a clean, modern structure and a quietly textured woody character.
Release year
2011
The nose
Nathalie Lorson is known for composing fragrances with clarity, balance and a polished sense of intimacy. Working at Firmenich, she has created a wide range of modern signatures, including Encre Noire for Lalique, Another 13 for Le Labo and Paul Smith Man, often drawing on vetiver, musks and floral nuances to build compositions that feel refined rather than loud. In Autoportrait, her style is especially well suited to the brief: she turns incense and woods into something airy, dry and personal, keeping the resinous materials luminous rather than heavy. The result reflects her strength in making structured, wearable fragrances that feel quietly distinctive.
Collaborators
Céline Verleure shaped the concept of the fragrance and the brand’s image-led creative process, using photography as the starting point and inviting community input into the project’s development. Luc Lapôtre’s photograph provided the visual inspiration that Autoportrait was built around.
Olfactive Studio’s story
Olfactive Studio treats perfume as an artistic response to photography, building each scent from an image rather than a conventional marketing brief. The house favors unisex compositions with a contemporary, contemplative tone, and its identity is rooted in creative collaboration, visual emotion and a distinctly niche, anti-mainstream approach.
Autoportrait’s concept
Autoportrait launched in 2011 as part of Olfactive Studio’s debut trio. It was inspired by a photograph by Luc Lapôtre and developed through the brand’s unusual image-first method, in which visuals guided the perfumer’s interpretation rather than a traditional brief. The result is a modern woody-incense composition designed to feel intimate and reflective.
Extra info
Autoportrait was one of the three debut fragrances of Olfactive Studio, a house built around the meeting of photography and perfumery. It is often described as a lighter, airier take on the dark vetiver style, with incense used in a fresh, modern way rather than a church-like one.