Les Zazous were the rebellious party boys of their day – nattily dressed in oversized plaid, listening to swing jazz and bebop, wearing their hair long and making their way about town with a feisty attitude and a syncopated step. Keiko Mecheri has taken inspiration from these dandies and the tumultuous mix of influences in post World War II Algiers and created a fragrance to suit the jaunty rebel in all of us. Leading with the trumpet blast of bright, peppery lavender, Les Zazous leads us into a jazzy mix of honeyed wood, incense and soothing balms. This has the mesmerizing scent of the marketplace – rich spices and deep incense, hints of sweet tobacco, dried flowers and sharp herbs, luxurious oils and balms, something warm and rich and soothing brewing in a kettle. With so much going on, it could smell chaotic, but it doesn’t. It smells rich and exotic and exciting. It smells like endless possibilities and invitations to forbidden places.