“Perfume became my language, my way of expressing emotion and memory,” said fragrance connoisseur Claude André Hébert. His eponymous Montreal-based niche luxury line, Hébert Haute Parfumerie, has risen to esteemed international ranks in the world of curated, intentionally batched fragrances. Canadian-dreamy scents like Le Bûcheron (“The Lumberjack”) — boasting notes of Québéquois sugar pie, earth musk, and dampened wood — are now showcased at the famed Sens Unique in Paris, a ‘scent boudoir’ specializing in ultra-rare fragrances.
ICYMI, young fragrance connoisseurs abound thanks to TikTok. And Hébert has legendary status for bringing iconic perfume Angel to mass market in 1995 as Thierry Mugler’s commercial regional manager.
Now with his own line, Hébert is a master of small-batch precision. Considered craftsmanship, using bookish theory and sustainable approaches, has become the insider alternative to mainstream industrial fragrance production.
Each scent unfolds from a tailored narrative of impressions and memories woven together with olfactory poetry. The finest, responsibly sourced materials from historic origins in India, Italy, and France are then deepened through a long maceration process. Le Bûcheron is drawn from “men who measure their days by the swing of the axe, where sweat glistens amid balsam needles,” reads the label.
“It’s really for high-end people who understand it. Each fragrance needs to go with the personality exactly. You either connect with it or you don’t,” Hébert said. Like those we love most, the more profound the chemistry, the more magic.
Here I must confess: I’m in a campaign for Hébert Parfum’s Victoria, with notes of orange zest, berries, jasmine, rose, and cedar. Hébert’s inspiration was a blend of Queen Victoria and the women on Victoria Ave., where I bought it.
“She moves through life like a melody, each step a testament to her innate poise and cer-tainty,” the eau-de-toilet is described. I’d fallen for the aroma — and its siren story.
When natural-light photographer Vivian Doan snapped family portraits in my garden, she suggested holding a prop. I playfully went for the perfume. Hébert adored the photos and asked if I’d be his fragrance muse. I was flattered. “The coincidences are so real. I love it,” he said.
Led photos CÉSAR OCHOA
For more, drop in to Hébert Parfums, 4348 av. Coloniale, Montréal, QC H2W 2C4, visit them at hebertperfumes.com and follow on socials.