Reviews of Cologne Bigarade (2001)
by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle

I tend to sway with my opinion on this one, but contrary to it's marketed 'freshness' I always find it very dry and dusty. It's probably the spices going a bit bonkers on me; a bit like smelling 20 year old spices from a spice rack you find at a car boot sale.

I have to absolutely slather myself in it if I'm in a odd enough mood to wear it. Longevity is very poor, but it is a cologne. On the plus side, unlike a lot of colognes it doesn't have that 'dipped in vodka' undertone - it is all scent - and if you want a light but dry and spicy orange it may be good for you.

A "dirty" citrus, not unlike Creed's Orange Spice in general concept, but with a much brighter, rounder orange opening and an altogether different drydown. I very much like the juxtaposition of deep bitter orange with cumin, just as I like the cumin-leather counterpoint in Eau d'Hermes. The cumin note introduces some animal warmth to the compositon. In fact, it manages to humanize what might otherwise have been an very "clinical" fragrance.

The orange actually holds up rather well on me - a good two or three hours. That's about as good as it gets for citrus notes (Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier's remarkable Bahiana and Fraicheur Muskissime excepted). Once the orange peels away (ouch!) I'm left with a gentle, woody skin scent. This is Cologne Bigarade's least distinctive aspect, but I forgive it since it is, in fact, a cologne, and hence not expected to go out with complexity. A strong entry in a genre I don't usually care for all that much.

This is a beautiful sweet sensuous fragrance that makes me think of Joan Collins in her hay-day. It is floral and flirtatious and a bit provocative. This is a scent for men? I don't think so, unless the bloke does a great Joan Collins impression.

Well, this one is a definite hit. It is a very luminous and optimistic fragance without being sickening floral or sweet. It has a very nice opening and then it dries down gently and lasts quite some time on me, despite the warnings of previous contributers that it is short lived. It is a very elegant and one af a kind fragrance without being bizarre. It reminds me of nothing, which to me means that it's not one for the crowd but one for the lover of individuality:) I haven't fall in love like this since 'discovering' Un jardin sur le Nil, by the same Jean Claude Ellena who created Cologne Bigarade.

Bigrade Concentree:
This starts out sharp and bitter,almost a peppery citrus. 30 minutes later, it begins to mellow. The citrus sharpness begins to give way to more floral almost vanilla like sweetness. By the end of the day it is faint,clean, pleasant. I think one of the above reviews characterizes it as eccentric. This is accurate, and part of its appeal. If Bigrade Concentree were architecture, it would be Le Corbusier's Villa Savoy -bright, slightly eccentric, but elegant in its straightforward geometry.

I'm commenting on Cologne Bigarade, not the concentrated version. It starts off incredibly well: a very nice, rich, non-bitter yet sparkling, almost steely, refreshing citrus scent. Then, like magic, it disappears. I mean completely, utterly gone in less than an hour. It's probably the shortest duration scent I've ever tried on. I have to give it a thumbs-down because I can't even comment on the "dry-down," since it wasn't really there long enough to dry down. I'd love to try the Concentree version, as it has the potential to be a go-to summer scent if it can last long enough.

This is actually about the Concentree version which is different than the Cologne Bigarade:

Top note of sharp and bitter citrus of an agreesive variety gives way to a Declaration-like drydown with a bit of cumin ( personally I am not afraid...)that lasts well and mellows a lot.
If it was a little less sharp at the beginning I'd wear it all the time for casual occassions. Plus the Declaration is more readily available

I am reviewing the Concentre and prefer it slightly to the oringinal. Cologne Bigarade was the last of the Malle's that I purchased, and it did take me awhile to like it. Now I adore it. It was not as fresh and bracing as I had expected-- this I liked. The top notes remind me of the pith of an orange, like eating just the rind. I have never had a true bitter orange so that is the closest comparison I can make. I was also surprised by the spicey aspect to the scent. I smelled mainly cumin (caution: test this scent out-- cumin can be a bit,uh, off smelling to many people) and corriander seed-- two of my favorites for cooking. This is what gave Cologne its "skin" scent to me. The rose added a rounding and powdery quality to the overall smell. I would say Cologne Bigarade is a close relative of Acqua di Parma Assoluta. AdPA is more tart, powdery, and musky while FMCB is more bitter, close, warm, and spicey.

My comments are also on the concentrated version:
A very promising start with bitter zesty orange peels unfortunately dries down to a base that is both fleeting and containing way too much cardamom. I find that the cardamom note just like cumin should be used very moderately as it easily destroys otherwise perfectly nice scents. Examples of this is Alexander McQueens Kingdom, Biagiotti Acqua di Roma and IMO Malle's Bigarade. If there was a way to prolong great topnotes, so many scents could be even better. Lacoste claims to have done just this with the new Essential - let's wait and see. I should also add that not much from Malle has impressed me except The Winter Water and Musc Ravageur, so take that into account considering this dismissal of BC.

Nothing short of brilliant. This is a beautiful, refreshing, utterly compelling fragrance. Balanced somewhere between the classic and the eccentric, Cologne Bigarade is like nothing else you've ever worn - all the more surprising, as citrus is a standard element men's perfumery, and has been for a few centuries. (Citrus bigaradia is the botanical name for the bitter, or Seville orange.) The description on Frédéric Malle's website does not claim that bigarade, or essence of bitter orange, is new to perfumery, but that Jean-Claude Ellena wanted a true bitter citrus fragrance, and that this cologne uses a new formulation as the basis for the bitter orange note. It may be this new formulation which allows the citrus note in this scent to be so striking: it's clean, strong, bright without being sweet, and amazingly persistent. The citrus note seems a little more prominent in the Concentrée version, (which I prefer slightly over the cologne). The Cologne version gives more prominence to the rose note, I think. The combination of citrus, rose, cardamom and, of all things, hay is what gives this fragrance its complex, slightly strange character. Try it in hot, humid weather.