Fenwick in Tunbridge Wells stocks the L'Artisan line now, as I may have mentioned before. The other day I found Batucada on the shelves. What is it about this name, but I keep on wanting to call it Barracuda! Anyway, the official list of notes from L'Artisan's website is brief in the extreme: Tiare flower, Caipirinha accord and skin notes.
In reality, Batucada is a very well executed citrus fragrance, with a bit more oomph than is usually encountered in this genre. When I wore it, I detected mostly a luscious orange and mandarin note, a lovely combination of sweet citrus yet with just enough acidity or bite. There is also an underlying tropical-ness to this perfume, which to me smells like orange juice just slightly sweetened by coconut milk. Not the creamy coconut flesh mind you, but the clear juice one finds in the hollow middle.
As Batucada dries down, the citrus does fade somewhat and is joined by a note that is ever so slightly musky, but more salty really. I suppose this is the skin notes they refer to.
I actually think Batucada is a really nice perfume, a citrus that manages to last quite decently, and is just different enough to stand out a bit. I wouldn't say it is a massively complicated fragrance, and definitely reminds me of summer and warmer weather, so I can't really see myself wearing this over the next few months as we go from autumn to winter. I don't know how realistically this perfume evokes Brazil and the 'effervescence and rhythm of Rio' as L'Artisan purport, but I do like the top and middle notes the best, when it smells fun, fresh, yet quite sophisticated for what it is.
Image credit - http://www.artisanparfumeur.com/
