John Varvatos’s 2016 Nordstrom-exclusive limited edition: a Mediterranean citrus-aromatic that won the 2017 Fragrance Foundation Men’s Prestige award.
At a glance
Artisan Blu is a limited-edition eau de toilette from John Varvatos, launched in January 2016 as a Nordstrom exclusive. It is a flanker to Artisan (2009) and followed Artisan Acqua (2014).
It is a citrus-aromatic fragrance with an aquatic feel: bergamot, bitter orange, lavender and basil over geranium, clary sage and iris, on a base of cedar, patchouli, pine and pistachio resin. In 2017 it won the Fragrance Foundation’s Fragrance of the Year award in the Men’s Prestige category.
Creation and context
The brand presents its fragrances the way it presents clothes: like a wardrobe, each one suits a different mood. The Artisan sub-line is its lighter, craft-led branch: citrus and herbs rather than the dark leather and spice of the 2004 original, in handcrafted rattan-wrapped bottles with an antiqued cap and an engraved tag.
Now Smell This reported the launch on 21 January 2016 and quoted the brand’s description of “crystal blue waters under the warmth of the sun” and “a vibrant seaside lost in the Mediterranean summer.” The brand’s launch announcement, carried by Hombre1, describes it as a Mediterranean-inspired aquatic take on Artisan and Artisan Acqua, with an azure bottle and silver accents to match. Both give the 125 ml eau de toilette at $86; the announcement adds a 75 ml size at $66.
The perfumer is not officially credited. Fragrantica lists none, and Parfumo names Rodrigo Flores-Roux, who composed the original John Varvatos and the first Artisan. The Fragrance Foundation lists Elizabeth Arden, the licensee at the time, alongside the award, and Parfumo shows Arden as the last company to market it.
The composition
The notes below are the ones that the launch announcement, Now Smell This, Parfumo and Fragrantica all list.
Despite the name and the blue glass, it is more aromatic than marine. Fragrantica’s description calls it greener than its colour suggests, with a soapy, clean profile that recalls both the Mediterranean and a barbershop. The herbal top and orange blossom give it a cologne-like structure, while the pine and pistachio resin in the base are the details that make it more than a standard fresh scent.
Why it matters
Artisan Blu is a small limited edition that won a major award. The Fragrance Foundation named it Fragrance of the Year, Men’s Prestige, in 2017, confirmed by the Foundation’s own awards archive and by Now Smell This. According to Now Smell This, the same ceremony gave Tom Ford’s Vert d’Encens the Men’s Luxury award and Yves Saint Laurent’s Mon Paris the Women’s Prestige award.
It also shows how the 2010s “blue” fragrance could be done differently. Where many launches followed the clean citrus-and-woods pattern, Artisan Blu took its blue from the Mediterranean and built it on herbs, orange blossom and resin. It is a later branch of the aquatic tradition that began in the 1990s.
Reformulation and editions
Artisan Blu was sold only as an eau de toilette, in 125 ml and 75 ml, as a limited edition through Nordstrom. Parfumo classes it as limited, and no reformulation has been documented.
It sits in a line that includes Artisan (2009), Artisan Black, Artisan Acqua (2014) and later Artisan editions. Each is a separate composition in the same rattan-wrapped bottle style, so check the colour of the glass and the label when buying: Blu is the azure bottle with silver accents.
Wearing it today
Expect a bright bergamot-and-lavender opening with a green, slightly vegetal edge, settling into a soft herbal floral and a dry, piney woody base. It is a hot-weather and daytime fragrance; Parfumo’s users rate its longevity and sillage as moderate.
As a limited edition from 2016, it is now mostly found through resellers. Check the batch and the condition of the rattan wrap, and keep it out of heat and light, since the citrus top fades first.