French Lover / Bois d'Orage (2007)
by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle

A sharp, spicy and aromatic (angelica) incense-galbanum, some dry woods, vetiver and musks compose this proud incensey vetiver.  This fragrance is unique, classic in execution but at once contemporary, far from the airy smoothness of Vetiver Guerlain but not untamed and roaring as other herbal and rooty beasts as Vetiver Etro or Route du Vetiver. As many others underlined this fragrance is very dry and severe lacking of balsams, florals and citrus in the way that the only one element   able to imprint colour and a touch of final softness is a woodsy chord of oakmoss and musk, missing this link of any kind of animalic connotation. Despite its notable sharpness the fragrance is not exidedly harsh or boisterous turning out as a sort of elegant, solitary and easily irritable incensey vetiver exuding a certain dustiness coming from pimento, pepper and spices and manteining  a certain level of radiance and soapiness without sliding in the darkness. The woody element of cedarwood is the king of the sharp fragrances and even in the body of this fragrance impresses, in its link with earthy and aromatic vetiver, a dry stableness and a natural, slightly rough and astringent mildness that ends to plunge itself in a bed of moss and radiant incense highly classy and changeful. The touch of pimento, the spices and white musk stress the elegance of the smell. For the lovers of the nature, for the lovers of the forest, for the lovers of the silent class.

1st November, 2011.

Arguably the best entry to one of my least-favored trends - the 'masculine pepper and woods'. BOIS D'ORAGE successfully manages to steer clear of the pitfalls which many designer versions have fallen into with their screeching, fingernails-on-chalkboard blends. I particularly enjoy the way galbanum leads the way to a warm, rather close-wearing skin scent that transports me away to a sun-dappled footpath through some long forgotten woods.

16th October, 2011.

Pierre Bourdon's French Lover is a resolutely dry and bitter fragrance of pepper, vetiver and moss, garnished with a little angelica. Like Grojsman's Outrageous!, it has a static-like, subliminal character which means that, not only does it wear close to the skin, but even when detectable it seems to flicker in and out of perception. Its astringent green profile belies the damp soil just below its moss, and this hint of something akin to Christopher Brosius' Black March makes it worthy of the Malle range, betraying a secretive Lover of humble origins beneath his tailored suit.

10th April, 2011.

I'm convincing myself everyday more and more that EP Frederic Malle is one of the best niche perfumes house of the last 15 years and French Lover just make my beliefs even stronger. An incense-pepper-vetiver scent that is as dry and bitter as much your immagination can go. It opens with a crispy blast of galbanum and woods, and even if not included in the note list I also get laurel. After 20 / 30 minutes a strong but sophisticated vetiver shows up together with frankincense. French Lover is a completely desweetened fragrance that leaves nothing to prettyness but at the same time it's austerely elegant, refined and modern.

If you're into fragrances such as Sycomore, Vetiver Extraordinaire or Memoir Man, you will probably dig this. Even if they don't share many objective similarity we can say they're in the same vein, they have a similar effect. Don't get me wrong, French Lover with its bone-dry structure can result much more disturbing to someone but its extremely sophisticated composition make this scent unique and immediately recognizable.

IMO this is an important and potentially influential release, kind of a trendsetter in the modern male perfumery. After two years from its entrance on the market it already has a few clones (i.e. Comme Des Garcons Monocle Scent # 2 Laurel).
Great projection and tremendous lasting power (12 hrs on my skin). A superb work and one of my favourite from this house.

3rd April, 2011.

This is very well composed and follows a classic, woody, vetiver, nutmeggy thing in the manner of Gucci Pour Homme and similar ilk.

The problem I have with it is it's so utterly dry, lean and peppery it gives me the illusion of having a parched throat and a dry tongue. Er, that's not really something I want in a fragrance! Compared to the full-figured appeal of a scent like GPH, French Lover is emaciated and boney... and quite frankly, hard work to get on with. There's also a chilly, airy, ozone note in there gently hissing away somewhere that adds to the effect.

I admire the perfumer for not politely fleshing it out with pleasantries or sugaring the pill too much.. but this french lover has a cold heart. Maybe that was the joke? It doesn't last long either - maybe that was the other joke?

One for the purists, I reckon.

17th March, 2011. (Last Edited: 18th March, 2011.)

Very elegant classic scent.Warm, clear with scharp begiining. good silage. Love it!

11th March, 2011.