Traversee du Bosphore

So, I was pretty curious to smell La Traversée du Bosphore, as it sells for such a high price online. I can't understand why L'Artisan Parfumeur did not choose this one in their recent limited re-release. It's gourmand, complex, and sugary. The notes are OK, but it's not what you'd expect from Bertrand Duchaufour in that configuration. But the pistachio/nougat accord is a lot better than what we get now during the terrible pistachio craze. On touch, it's a "grenadine" or candied apple with warm spices, honey, nougat, pistachio, and the leather note I hate in some of the old L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrances. The florals are here, but nothing really stands out. It's cloying. The texture is weird, and I feel like it could be because it's an old juice. On skin, nougat, pistachio, honey, and a weak spicy rose are all I get. It's sugary and a bit easier to endure. The iris is probably buried somewhere; I, sadly, don't get it. My main takeaway from Traversée du Bosphore is: don't be fooled; some perfumes are now expensive as hell not because they're incredibly good, but because they're rare, and they will get harder and harder to find as time passes. At the same time, I'm happy to have been able to get a decant, because I'll never buy a random fragrance for 500€, but the fact that some people did makes it harder not to be at least curious about those scents.

Traversee du Bosphore is a hidden gem. It's such a shame they discontinued this beauty. I get quite a bit of iris from this; more so than leather, and I'm not complaining about it one bit. This is like a whisper of iris petals with some fruity notes, saffron, and that nutty nougat. It's not loud, she's refined, yet grounded and poised. This and YSL Velours are my favorite discontiuned fragrances-- why must they take such lovely iris fragrances away from us?!

If anyone is willing to trade this or sell this and ship to the US, please let me know!

Lo ho sempre rimandato fino a quando è stato interrotto. Ero indeciso,un giorno mi piaceva e il giorno dopo,no... Insomma dopo tanti anni di tira e molla alla fine cel'ho. E sono soddisfatto. Questo profumo mi piace quando ho voglia di un odore sciropposo di albicocche mature,anice e miele mescolati a un ricordo di torrone e pistacchi che fondamentalmente mi ricorda anche Arabie di lutens, anche questo fuori produzione. Traversee du bosphore e gli altri creati da bertand per l'artisan mi piacciono tutti o quasi. Si sente la sua fantasia e creatività. i ricordi di viaggio (reali o immaginari) e le scenografie di posti esotici e particolari, come l'Havana vanille, Seville, Timbuktu, Poivre piquant, piment brulant, al oudh.. Pur non essendo dei concentrati molto forti e troppo densi, riescono a stare sulla pelle e fare il loro lavoro senza stomacare. Traversee ha un sentore iniziale di ciliegia che avvolgente tutto in una glassa lucida con anice fresco,l'odore voluttuoso incontra sentori di mirra e la scia finale di benzoino ma il bouquet è così ricco e delizioso che porta con la mente dappertutto.

I loved this fragrance years ago and it was a regret that I didn't purchase. Then it discontinued. I never forgot about this fragrance. Recently I went to a fragrance swap at the local shop I go to. This fragrance popped up there last week and my pulse was racing to see it there. Fortunately I was able to trade this for Noir Exquis also by Bertrand. I love it just as much as I did years ago. I was nervous that my tastes had changed and I would be disappointed, but I was not. I have tried other Turkish delights fragrances and never found one I liked as well as this, the others have just been too powdery and sweet. I have even emailed L'Artisan Parfum and asked them to bring it back. I still wouldn't mind if they bring it back so I never run out.

@dlst08 I sent you a message :)

With my most beloved perfumes, words falter — I fear I cannot fully capture the joy and the sensations they awaken in me. Traverse du Bosphore is, for me, the perfect gourmand dream: I breathe in the delicate clarity of Turkish delight, a whisper of powdered sugar, the golden warmth of caramelized apples. There’s a cosmopolitan elegance, a suede-like softness in the air — warm, tender, and irresistibly joyful. Duchaufour’s genius shines through once again; he has crafted a living memory, a sensual lullaby. Pure magic.

I do not understand L'Artisan's strategy to murder their most amazing fragrances - Havane Vanille, Dzing, Tea for Two, Drole de Rose. And now that I got acquainted with this masterpiece, I learned that it is also gone. I seriously need to stop sampling discontinued perfumes all together because those are the only ones I tend to go crazy for. This is such a magnificent and unique perfume that somehow manages to lean into both a gourmand and cosmetic categories, and does so masterfully and effortlessly. Candied apple, pistachios, sweet honey, all framed by pillowy, powdery iris with a hint of soft, old leather. An absolute masterpiece!

I love this beautiful fruity creamy leather. I had initially overlooked it due to the “nougat” and sugar notes listed, but came across a bottle for sale and since I make a point of trying every L’Artisan I can, I bought it. Oh gosh I’m glad I did it is just beautiful. Anyone who fears those gourmand notes being too literal- fear not! I would say the saffron and iris combine to create a subtle nougat-like pillowy effect but overall it smells more like fresh pressed apple cider and leather. It is not overly sweet, just beautifully so- only as sweet as fresh pure pressed apple juice can be. The fresh apple smells so realistic, and only registers as literal apple juice 20-30 mins before settling in to the rest of the composition as a subtly sweet, fresh and bright aspect. There is also no density or syrupy quality to the honey note, it is just a whisper. The leather is very similar to skin on skin, and the apple makes it utterly delectable. It’s just lovely.

Smoky Turkish Delight. Just smashed by bottle all over my kitchen floor. RIP, my discontinued friend.

Traversée du Bosphore is an artfully blended fragrance that captures the city of Istanbul's mystical charm, born from perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour's travels to Turkey, where the majestic Bosphorus River flows. The adage "don't translate a quote" rings true in this case; L'Artisan Parfumeur's original description of Traversée du Bosphore paints a beautiful portrait of the scent and needs no embellishment: “This vision opens with apples, tulips and just a hint of spices. The creamy iris is worked in contrast with a tobacco note. A delicate waft of rose and pistachio recalls the suave aroma of Turkish delight. Then an unexpected burst of warm and animalic leather, that scorches the air around the tanneries, takes us as the musk embraces us.” With its playful yet sophisticated appeal, Traversée du Bosphore is an easy to wear fragrance that leaves a long-lasting impression on skin and clothes. This Duchaufour masterpiece exudes an alluring, ethereal essence, suited for elevating special occasions or adding a unique twist to the everyday.

I bought the old bottle version back in 2018, and over the years I've reached out to it many times, especially when the weather gets cooler, thinking it *should* be my perfect autumn fragrance. But each and every time I'm put off by how synthetic the scent is on me. There really is something 'play-doh' that I just can't overcome and that makes it impossible to feel at home wearing this.

I actually made an account to review this. I just tried out @peachfairy's sample and I can reply to @GizPop regarding it being an expired or poor sample: It's not. I felt a lot of what @Dr B1414 explained in their review. But I did NOT have a positive experience with it at all. The opening was crisp and sharp. It went down a delightful nougat road. And then it ended up in some notes that really made me feel like I want it off my skin 5 minutes ago. The rice pudding scent Dr B1414 talks about. I can't stand it. And it was blasting me so strongly. Each person has different experiences with fragrances and how their skin works with them. YMMV. But the scent of rice pudding in a synthetic fashion is not something I enjoy.

I shouldn't say this but I am grateful that this has been discontinued, it always smelled like a syrup to me! Sweet but weird sweet not a good one!

Dear @peachfairy, I think you might have an expired sample or something, because Traversee does not smell like cucumbers, a face cream nor is it a skinscent. It is actually a pretty sweet perfume.

This is probably the saddest review I'll ever write. I have no idea what everyone is on about with this scent. I purchased a small amount for test and the lady said "I hope you wouldn't like it as it's discontinued". I've read so many reviews on here, each one more picturesque than the other and while waiting for my package to arrive, I was already mourning a heartbreak. Little did I know the reason for our short-lived love will be completely different. I guess, based on that, I should be relieved, but I'm actually sad - not only I don't get the hype, but I don't get any of the scenes, described from the other reviewers. I really wanted to love this, I imagined it would be this intoxicating, warm, opulent, sweet like turkish delight, mysteriously spicy and leathery scent... but to me, this smells like a cheap old face or hand cream like the ones before the skincare era and especially those with cucumber. I'm not saying it's an unpleasant smell, but I wouldn't spray myself with it and it's definitely not brining me to Istanbul (where I've been many times). The first seconds I can sense the spices and the leather very distinctively and then some sweet note - perhaps the nougat. Another reason why I'm glad I didn't like the scent that much is the projection - this is basically a skin scent for me. I have to literally touch my nose to my hand so I can get a proper whiff.

I am very late to this party, i blind bought a 15 ml bottle off eBay of this fragrance and I wish I knew about it before, I’d stock up on this fragrance until my end days. What can I say about the fragrance, it smells familiar yet unique, gourmand yet not an edible, sweet yet sophisticated, all season, day or night. Out of my collection of nearly 200 niche frags this does stand out, and I will cherish it so. Edit: if anyone wants to sell their bottle to me, PM me, I’m in the UK Edit2: I finally found a bottle for £275 and bought it. Whoever offered to sell their bottle to me here on Fran for 490, literally go funk yourself

A masterpiece. Writing from memory, I had the gold cap and it.was.stun.ning. I cannot tell you how much I wish this was still in production still, it's my baseline for complex but wearable and sexy gourmands. Turkish delight sold in the bazaar. Places less travelled vibes. Total compliment getter at the time. Oh how naive I was buying the one bottle at the time 😢.

Traversee du Bosphore is, in my humble opinion, the best perfume L'Artisan Parfumeur has ever put out, one of the best perfumes by Duchaufour, and one of the best gormand compositions ever, alongside something like Ambre Narguile. What makes this perfume such a triumphant success in my book, is how unique it smells, and how every single part of it is perfectly dosed in order to play its role in the bigger picture. I think the name is aptly chosen, as the scent profile would have you longing for the city of Istanbul with its beautiful aromas and for the Bosphorus breeze. Opens up with a beautiful crisp, red, apple accord, blending with pistachio, honey, spices, and nougat. The heart reveals a powdery-creamy orris accord and a soft leather aroma. The dry down becomes more golden hued and ambery. Very clever and smooth development, exceptional blending and choice of accords. The orris accord in the heart almost creates a rice pudding sort of smell, so to me, it almost creates this rice pudding image, adorned with apple flakes, cinnamon, pistachio and nougat. It's incredibly beautiful and complex, and totally unique. Fear not, this is sweet, but never too much, it is gourmand, but never too jovial. It really walks that fine line that a sweet gourmand like Ambre Narguile does. It gives me a very similar vibe, although they smell nothing alike. Perfectly unisex, and could be worn all year round. This is what happens when you have a brilliant nose la Duchaufour, or Jean Claude Ellena work on a sweet-gourmand composition. You get something trully exceptional. For people who appreciate Ambre Narguile, this should be a must try.

What a masterpiece! One of my favourite perfumes ever. Imagine smoking a hookah with a tulip and nuga flavor. I know it is supposed to be a leather fragrance, but tulips and honeyed nuga strike me the most here. It has bitter slightly herbal touches, it is very honeyed and a little nutty. It is definitely a red colour smell. Those who have smelled the ripe center of an open tulip flower surely can recognize the dry polen sweetness and mysterious vibe. I love how the spiciness is treated in an unexpected way and the whole composition is so original and moving. The smokiness makes it a little stuffy, like a carpets shop in Istanbul, where they also serve their famous unsweetened tea, to attract customers. So it does evoke a bazar but not through spices, but through a scenic representation of an actual atmosphere and a complexity of smells. Intriguing and transportative interpretation of a famous destination, without falling into a spicy cliche. I feel that it is quite a serious, faraonic, old kingdom type of scent. I love it more and more with each wear, a gem.

everything about this is in the dry down. opening: tangy, sweet, sour, mildly herbal, weird, like a fruity concoction. something in it is borderline synthetic fruity, kind of like a powder jello that u mix with water, which i suspect is the pomegranate more than apple, but i have a hard time with apple as well and that doesn't help. fast forward 15-30 min into the dry down: the "synthetic jello" blooms into this red fruit champagne-esque or a red fruit fizzy drink that's quite uplifting maybe because it's effervescent. the scent matures on ur skin and i start getting a warm floral aspect, which i also get from jo malone scarlet poppy, and i can only imagine it's the poppy. i feel as though the "nutty" accord binds everything together. unfortunately i don't necessarily pick out individual notes beyond this, but u start getting something bitter and the warm touches. the wafts i get from this are unbelievable, so pleasant, and the honey is not animalic.

An absolute treat for the nostrils. Sometimes I find the profile a bit stuffy because of the heavy nuttiness and powdery sweet leather accent. But in general I find this one behaves quite well on my skin in most conditions only on occasion do I find a wearing of it a bit heavy. At first for the longest time I imagined Serge Lutens' Rahat Loukhoum must have been Prin Lomros' inspiration for his Turkish Leather from his now discontinued line Pryn Parfum only to find out this Traversee du Bosphore is probably the original concept that informed Prin's 2016 creation. In Traversee du Bosphore the profile is extremely waxy with a mild ebb and flow of sweet syrup and thick tobacco smoke that could smell like flavored cigarettes in some respects. A smokey leather with a sweet incense quality that conjures thoughts of the middle east is the perpetual base here that compliments some nutty qualities from a nougat accord and a waxy slightly bitter pistachio. The heart is meant to recreate the fantasy smell of a tulip which are generally odorless in nature. However most of the notes like tobacco, saffron, honey, spices are considered to be some of the scent qualities odor having tulips can potentially emit. All in all a very inspired and original fragrance from a slightly overlooked niche house. Well made with all its associations to the region of Anatolia and the Bosporus river that runs through separating the European side from the Asian side.

If you want a fragrance that is similar to this discontinued gem try Acqua Di Parma Vaniglia. Very similar to my nose; minus the leather facet.

I used to work for L'Artisan a decade ago and it was one of my favorite perfumes from the collection. To me it smelled like an apple-pie with a silky oudhy cream on top. The fragrance was literally delicious - not in a food-wise way tho. It was like a travel to Turkey on a warm sunny day where the smell of juicy fruits is mixed up with spices and all the oriental fragrances in the air. Gorgeous and unforgettable. I can't believe it's discontinued. What a shame.

1. Gourmet leather notes A rare combination (fruity, gourmet, spicy, leather, tobacco blend, and occasionally bursts of light floral fragrance) 2. Turkish Grand Bazaar: Turkish sweetness is handled appropriately, and the leather is treated uniquely High-bodied sweetness, slightly smoked and sweet spicy leather, the life style of Asia Minor, it is very exotic when dipped in a moderate amount

One of the great great Bertrand fragrances that gave me the most happiness. I was driving home after a Sniffapalooza event and I had applied this at a store. It hit me! I fell in love. I went and got a bottle. It was what perfume is all about for me!

L’artisan Parfumeur Traversee du Bosphore (2010) - Turkish Delight - #bertrandduchaufour starts the journey with fruit: Pomegranate and crisp Apple. Then, the sweeter Turkish delight takes form: Nougat, Sugar cubes, Honey, Rose sprinkled with Pistachios. I was initially concerned it would be too sweet, but counterbalanced with iris, saffron and smokey tobacco. One of the greats across the brand.

The name says it all. If you’ve been to Istanbul, this perfume will conjure up moments of nostalgia. The aromas of Istanbul -sweet apple tea, Turkish delight, leather, flowers, tobacco and spices. Not one note overpowers the other. They all blend masterfully, as if you really were walking the streets of Istanbul, ready for a boat ride on the Bosphorus River. Just amazing!

This is very unique. Main accords: Red apples- nougat with Iris- leather. Weird combo that works. Success = discontinued. I guess those sales people dont use common sense. 9/10

smells like green apple play-doh. not something I'd wear but fun to smell