Perles de Lalique (2006)
by Lalique

Perles de Lalique presents a beautiful pepper / incense opening accord with a quiet rose for augmentation. The initial accord lasts through what would be the heart level and reaches into the mossy, light-woody, slightly powdery drydown that is first enriched by a soft orris that gradually turns into a translucent collection of oakmoss and light woods. I don’t experience a middle level in the progression of the fragrance… it seems to go directly from opening to base, both of which are more olfactory texture than strong, traditional accords. The clarity, sophistication, and discretion of this texture are impressive. Perles de Lalique becomes a near skin scent with lasting power suited to its character. Beautiful fragrance.

6th April, 2011.

The descriptions I’ve read don’t quite do justice to the experience of wearing Perles de Lalique. Yes, it’s an incense-seasoned woody rose scent, and yes, it has a pleasantly prickly black pepper top note. But Perles de Lalique doesn’t really fall in with the style of other peppery incense-and-rose scents like Parfum Sacré, Lyric, and Paestum Rose. Whereas each of those is to some degree dark, mysterious, and exotic, Perles de Lalique feels comparatively light, sunny, and cheerful. Part of this is due to the quality of its rose, which is more bright and fruity, in the manner of Une Zeste de Rose or Drôle de Rose, than languorous and heady. The rest stems from a very cool melony aquatic top note, borrowed directly from masculine fruity fougères and “sport” fragrances, and a much lighter hand on the woods and incense.

The fruity aquatic-tinged opening is as surprising in a feminine scent as it is banal in a masculine, and the rose steps up too quickly for the modest shock to get old. The pepper, woods, and fruity rose accord is very subtle and transparent, so that Perles de Lalique works primarily as a close-wearing skin scent. Its understated nature renders it more gender-neutral than its description might imply, and as a man I’d find it very comfortable to wear, especially in warmer weather. I confess to being baffled by the references to chypre style in conjunction with this scent. I smell nothing of the earthy, mossy classic chypre accord here, nor even much of the modern patchouli-fruit-and-iris chypre alternative that surfaces in scents like Chanel’s 31 Rue Cambon.

Perles de Lalique’s greatest liability is its drydown, which leans heavily on a abrasive and chemical cedar-like base note that ironically parallels the opening in its suggestion of a commonplace masculine. Luckily, this bare drydown is much less potent or obtrusive than most of its masculine counterparts, and hence doesn’t ruin the entire fragrance.

9th March, 2010.

Subtle, smells to me like a new Cedar bench in a rose garden. Yes, there is pepper, but quiet and demure. Lasts. Lovely.

12nd November, 2009.

A fruity, transparent rose is joined by distinct notes of pepper, vetiver, iris, and patchouli.

Sweet, yet somehow reserved; cool, despite the oriental accord. It's classy; undeniably modern, but not at all my style.

29th September, 2009.

Wow. Yesterday I sprayed this on a card and wasn't all that impressed.
Tried it on today and wow it is SO comforting and beautiful.

18th September, 2009.

Lalique Perles de Lalique

With the new restrictions on the use of oakmoss no style of scent will undergo more change than the chypre. It is and will be a challenge for perfumers to create something in this style without using the signature note. Nathalie Lorson's take on a modern chypre came out in 2006. I was introduced to it by picking up a card I thought had something else on it and being struck by this beautiful pepper note. When I asked what this was I was told it was Perles de Lalique. The top comes off very fresh this could be the start of many current bestsellers. Quickly this fresh accord is joined by a delicate rose. This is applied lightly allowing the fresh accord and the rose to complement each other. The heart is where the pepper note which so intrigued me on the card resides and it is paired with a note-perfect iris. This combination works so well on me and this phase lasts a good long time on my skin. The transition from here is a smooth ride to the base which is a light application of patchouli combined with musk. My favorite chypres show off different facets as they develop and this makes for a memorable olfactory trip. Perles de Lalique certainly qualifies on that score and Ms. Lorson begins the discussion of what constitutes a modern chypre in fine form.

28th February, 2009.