The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Or Blanc arrived in 2012 as part of Vanessa Tugendhaft's first fragrance collection, Eaux Diamantees, created by perfumer Alice Dattée. The scent presents itself with the restraint of a polished detail chosen with exacting taste: clean enough to flatter, layered enough to reward a second impression. Bergamot and mint establish a bright entrance, while fig, jasmine, and orange blossom place fruit and white flowers at the centre. Together, they create a composition that feels fresh and refined without relying on decoration for impact. The fruit gives the heart a soft, rounded quality, while the jasmine and orange blossom add clarity and an airy floral lift.
What makes Or Blanc worth a closer look is the collision running beneath its polished surface. Fig brings creamy fruitiness, jasmine and orange blossom add a clean floral lift, and ambergris gives the composition a polished, skin-warm finish. Moss contributes a dry, earthy texture, while white musk settles the composition close to the body. The interplay keeps shifting between soft fruit, transparent petals, green accents, mineral warmth, and a subtle woody base.
The evolution
The opening begins with a clean snap of bergamot, sharpened by mint and the rosy lift of pink pepper. That brightness quickly gives way to a rounder heart: fig adds green, milky fruit, while jasmine and orange blossom lend polished white petals. The composition feels airy and sunlit at first, though black licorice soon introduces a darker thread beneath the fruit and florals, like a cool metal bracelet against the wrist. As the scent settles, the citrus recedes and moss gives the base a quiet woodland texture. Ambergris lends mineral warmth, while white musk draws everything closer to skin. Over time, the fragrance moves from sparkling daytime brightness into a softer floral-woody finish, with the different textures gradually drawing together into a more intimate impression.
Cultural impact
Or Blanc presents fragrance as an intimate accessory, with a floral-woody character defined by restraint. Bergamot and mint offer brightness, fig adds a creamy fruitiness, and jasmine and orange blossom keep the heart light and polished. Moss, ambergris, and white musk give the composition a close, quietly textured finish. It's a fragrance for those who appreciate scent as part of an edited look rather than a loud statement.
The House
Vanessa TugendhaftVanessa Tugendhaft is a Belgian jewellery designer whose Paris practice connects fine jewellery with fragrance. Working between diamonds, precious metals and scent, she introduced Eaux Diamantees in 2012 with Or Blanc, Or Jaune and Or Rose. The collection draws its name from the French expression “eaux diamantées,” meaning diamond waters, and uses a trio of gold-inspired names to frame each fragrance as a facet of the same jewel-like world. Tugendhaft’s perfume debut extends the restrained sensuality of her jewellery into a compact olfactory trilogy, centred on the colours and symbolism of white, yellow and pink gold.
The Creator
Alice DattéeAlice Dattée favors a clean, architectural approach. She builds structures around crisp citrus top notes, anchors them with a heart of jasmine or rose, and grounds the composition with subtle amber or vetiver bases.
