Angeliques Sous La Pluie (2000)
by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle

Icy, cool, peppery, woody.

A gin and tonic on a rainy day.

A walk through a wet garden of geranium and angelica.

Cool morning mist in a cedar tree forest.

10/10

Angeliques Sous La Pluie is the beautiful daughter of French Lover and Bigarade Concentree. She looks more like her mother (BC), but has her father's (FL) eyes. She's somewhat androgynous and appeals to both sexes. A modern beauty.

It's taken me 10ml - multiple wears and countless arm samplings to get this ASLP, and when I finally wrapped my head around it last night, a light bulb going off over my head, I put the fragrance on my 'must buy soon' list.

ASLP isn't about the topnotes, the mid, or even basenotes but rather the journey through the development. I love angelique, and Guerlain's Angelique Noir and AA Angelique Lilas are favorites of mine. Thus I had high hopes for ASLP, especially it being a Malle and JCE. As many people have commented, the topnotes are not what I was expecting. A watery, peppery accord with a touch of sweetness? That's it? Unfortunately it seems like a lot of people bailed on the fragrance at this point, which is unfortunate. Over the next two hours two things happen on the skin - the peppered spices become less distinct and the sweet, green/floral note of angelique emerges. Although this is difficult to articulate the spice doesn't just fade and angelique rise, but the accords *collide into* one another. Two distinct aspects of the fragrance merge into one bold angelique accord that has a spicy edge to its natural sweetness. Once the merger is complete this remaining angelique-centered basenote accord is simply gorgeous. I highly recommend anyone testing ASLP to plan on giving it 2-3 hours before coming to any conclusions.

There's no disputing that ASLP stays close to the skin... this is not a fragrance for loud sillage but will work well anytime you don't need/want sillage. Longevity is actually quite good for a subtle fragrance (@6hrs), though this may not be apparent because the sillage is so mild. ASLP is absolutely unisex and a must-try for angelique fans.

Very high recommendation!

This review is under revision...

The woods after a rain shower, childhood play camps in the undergrowth, sunlight shafting through the canopy, breaking twigs under footfall. This is my life in a bottle, as fresh as a kid running in from the garden, grubby face and shining eyes. The first blast is a real tear jerker, for the "attack" of this fragrance is the coriander "tang" which has scented the skin of every man I fell in love with, whether he deserved it or not. I cant live without this perfume, it is reliable, faithful and gentle.

Yes, this fragrance is wonderfully evocative, perfectly made but definitely not in-your-face. I guess it's a choice and as a male, I welcome the elegant discretion of the scent (so different from the strong, woody fragrances generally branded as "masculine"). The complaints about its lasting power are somewhat true, but I've had surprises (like people asking me at the end of the day what perfume I was wearing , when I myself thought that all molecules had evaporated). I've had compliments from both women and men.
For those concerned with that issue and leaving in the UK, a suggestion: oddly enough, the VO5 brand of shampoo here features the same general accords as this scent (though in a much coarser way). So one way to enhance the strength of the smell is to use this popular shampoo as an intensifier! :)