ELEVATION

Fragrance Overview and First Impressions

Elevation by Les Eaux Primordiales is an eau de parfum that layers pear and hazelnut sweetness with spices and toasted sesame. Released in 2026, it reached Japan on April 29. Founder and perfumer Arnaud Poulain created it to celebrate ten years of work.

Its sweetness extends beyond fruit or vanilla alone. Rounded hazelnut and the toasted character of sesame lead towards soft woods and musk, while floral notes add another dimension. For someone who enjoys vanilla but would like a different texture around it, that combination offers a reason to try it.

Cotton-soft and milky are useful ways to imagine its overall feel. Milk is a description of texture rather than a separate note in the composition. Thinking about how the nuts and sesame sit within that softness gives a clearer picture than reading the ingredient names on their own.

Perfumer, House and Creative Background

Arnaud Poulain was born in Arras in northern France. His father worked with metal, his uncle with wood, and his grandparents farmed. He studied mechanical engineering before discovering perfume in 2007: practical craft was already part of his surroundings before he entered perfumery.

While studying the foundations of perfumery in Lens, he met Amélie Bourgeois, who became his mentor. They have continued to collaborate, with Poulain setting an artistic direction and the two developing ideas together. He founded Les Eaux Primordiales in 2015. The French name means "primordial waters" and draws on Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, referring to the water from which life on Earth began.

Elevation brings together pear, woody and spicy vanilla, and sesame: materials that had each served as a signature in an earlier perfume from the house. It celebrates an anniversary by gathering those elements into one new composition.

The place where Poulain works also holds family memories. As a child he sold vegetables with his grandfather across the road from a château, listening to stories about the region's mines and wars. In 2021 he acquired that château and made it the setting for the workshop.

Domaine Primordial stands within a fourteen-hectare wooded estate in Acq, near Arras. A place he once watched from outside became the home of his own work. Elevation's theme of growth can also invite a personal reading of that return to familiar ground.

Detailed Scent Analysis

The top notes are pear, hazelnut and cardamom. Pear brings a bright fruit sweetness, hazelnut adds a rounded nutty quality, and cardamom contributes spice. Fruit and nuts suggest different kinds of sweetness, and their combination is an immediate way into the perfume.

Orange blossom, cinnamon and freesia form the heart. Orange blossom refers to the flower, rather than the sharpness of orange fruit. Floral lightness sits alongside cinnamon's warmth, adding something beyond the edible associations of pear and hazelnut.

The base comprises vanilla, guaiac wood, sesame, ambroxan and white musk. Toasted sesame adds a nutty, roasted facet to the vanilla sweetness and wood. Musk helps explain the soft finish, broadening the picture beyond a literal image of food.

It is useful to imagine these elements overlapping as the fragrance settles, rather than abruptly replacing one another. Sweetness, toasted notes and a smooth finish are the qualities to notice on skin, and the balance between them may determine how comfortable the perfume feels.

Comparisons and Positioning

Althaïr by Parfums de Marly offers a comparison through vanilla and spice. Orange blossom, cinnamon, cardamom and guaiac wood provide shared reference points, while vanilla and praline are central to Althaïr's description.

Elevation brings pear, hazelnut and sesame into that sweet picture. Althaïr may interest someone drawn to vanilla and praline; Elevation offers another route for someone wanting nutty and toasted facets. The question is what kind of sweetness appeals, rather than simply which perfume seems stronger.

Blue Talisman Eau de Parfum by Ex Nihilo shares pear, orange blossom and musk, with citrus, ginger and Ambrofix also in its composition. Its fresh, airy character makes it another useful comparison.

Blue Talisman places attention on the freshness around pear, while Elevation moves from fruit sweetness towards warmer hazelnut and vanilla associations.

For a comparison centred on sesame, L'Eau Papier by Diptyque also uses a toasted sesame facet. L'Eau Papier pairs it with rice steam and white musk for a light, quiet impression of paper and ink; Elevation combines it with hazelnut and vanilla for a warmer, richer sweetness.

Looking from the vanilla, pear and sesame directions helps explain the particular appeal of Elevation's toasted sweetness.

Buying Guide, Size and Price

The Japanese listing offers Elevation as a 100 ml eau de parfum at ¥39,600. The international official range also includes 50 ml and an 11 ml travel spray. Whether the bottle stays at home or accompanies regular outings can help determine a useful size; current availability and price depend on the retailer and market.

The bottle has rounded shoulders and a cylindrical body beneath an angular gold-coloured cap. Its pale, milky-looking body contrasts with a transparent base, fine gold bands and gold lettering. Curved and straight forms meet in a simple design that can feel connected to the fragrance's softness.

For someone who enjoys sweet perfume with hazelnut and sesame facets, there is a clear reason to sample it. Someone primarily seeking brisk freshness for hot weather may wish to check how the creamy sweetness feels on their own skin. Curiosity about the notes and comfort in everyday wear are both useful considerations.

Wearing, Occasions and Impressions

Cool-weather outings in autumn or winter are one way to imagine wearing Elevation. A café visit, a quiet evening, or a knit under a jacket could provide a setting for its toasted character and warm vanilla sweetness.

Some wearers enjoy the way its composed sweetness remains gently on skin for a long time. Others find the creamy sweetness more prominent, or dislike the smell that remains on their skin. Smelling soft is not the same as being weak.

On warmer days or in close indoor company, the perceived sweetness is worth noticing. Comparing the initial fruit with the toasted notes and musk after it settles can reveal whether both stages are comfortable. That is a useful way to imagine wearing it through an outing rather than choosing from the first impression alone.

For someone already fond of vanilla and curious about hazelnut and sesame, Elevation offers a distinct reason to explore further. Its ten-year creative history provides a background to a perfume that can become part of the wearer's own cool-weather routine.