The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
100BON launched in 2017 as the first French house built entirely on 100% natural raw materials. The brand's philosophy is simple: transparent ingredients, honest compositions, nothing hidden. Maquis Exquis & Immortelle was designed as an exploration of what the Corsican maquis actually smells like, not a romanticized version, but the real wild scrubland: herbs pressed against stone, warm resin, dry air. Karine Vinchon-Spehner built the composition around immortelle as the central character, a bold choice, since immortelle tends to divide opinion. She made it the point of the fragrance, not an afterthought.
Immortelle has a particular aroma that many describe as curry or warm soup spice, unusual for a fragrance that opens with citruses and mountain air. Fenugreek amplifies this effect, contributing a bitter, slightly sweet herbal quality that sits somewhere between crushed seeds and the undergrowth of the maquis itself. Together, these two materials create a heart that smells intentional and committed rather than accidental. The cedar and patchouli base then does what woody bases do: it extends, deepens, and makes sure the memory of the fragrance stays with you long after the initial spray.
The evolution
The opening lasts roughly thirty minutes before the hand-off begins. Citruses fade first, the bergamot thins, the air accord dissipates, and the immortelle steps forward with its signature curry-honey warmth. This is the pivot point: fresh becomes herbal, bright becomes grounded. The fenugreek arrives alongside it, amplifying the wild-herb quality until the composition reads as deeply natural rather than composed. By the fourth hour, cedarwood and patchouli have settled the structure into something drier and woodier. The immortelle never fully disappears, it persists, quieter now, threading through the base like a memory of the maquis itself. On fabric, this fragrance can still be detected the following morning.
Cultural impact
In a fragrance landscape increasingly dominated by synthetic complexity, 100BON arrived in 2017 with a different proposition: simplicity, traceability, and honesty about what you're wearing. Maquis Exquis & Immortelle sits in an interesting position, bold enough to appeal to those who find most natural fragrances too quiet, grounded enough to wear regularly without announcing yourself. The immortelle-heavy heart puts it in conversation with Goutal Sables and L'Artisan Parfumeur Mandragore, fragrances that built reputations on a single unusual material used fearlessly. For someone who has read an ingredient list and wondered what immortelle actually smells like, this is the answer.
