Hi all,
Though the following fragrances have been reviewed quite a few times on the board, and some have gotten quite a lot of press lately, there are lots of new faces here lately, and I felt the need to spout off about three of my recent favorites.
For those who have not been introduced to Frederick Malle, a little history: He opened Editions de Parfums in Paris in 2000, taking inspiration in his approach from French publishing house Gallimard, long time publishers of simple yet beautiful quality books. The idea was to allow fragrance designers to create fragrances without interference or filtering from a brand or company. They would be allowed to use the most expensive materials, and be as artistic as the wanted. This was almost a reversal of the way most fragrance companies work, employing designers to create a fragrance that reflects the personality of the brand. His idea here was to create a company that reflected the work of the personality of the designers, as accurately as possible. As a result, he has had many of the finest noses in perfumery pounding on his door.
I have been working my way through several Malle samples over the last year and will review three below. I chose these three because they are my favorites, so far, and would be three most traditionally characterized as masculine.
Musc Ravageur:
This is a favorite of many, and worthy of the many accolades thrown at it since its arrival in 2000. For me, the fragrance centers around musk, vanilla, cinnamon, lavender, and the beautiful almost flowery orange peel top note (not noted in the fragrance pyramid, but I swear I smell orange.) It retains tremendous balance it is never too sweet, never too aggressive, always present, and always subtle. It is sexy without being vulgar. It is a thoroughly modern interpretation of musk, and bears no resemblance to the bottles of musk that I remember smelling in my parents bathroom ( I think one really was called Sex Panther.) Created by Maurice Roucel, Musc Ravageur is a fragrance I will never be without.
Vétiver Extraordinaire
Let me first say that there are very few vetiver fragrances that I can enjoy. In fact, vetiver is a note that can easily ruin a fragrance for me, turning an otherwise enjoyable fragrance sour on my skin. So discovering VE was a revelation. It is reputed to contain the highest concentration of pure vetiver oil in any modern fragrance, and the effects of this indulgence are wondrous. Words commonly used to describe VE include: earthy, raw, woody, deep, oily, and spicy. It is all things, and yet it retains all of the grassy freshness that gives it air and light. Unfortunately, vetiver seems to leave my skin quickly, and I have to bathe myself in this rather generously to get any lasting power quite impractical at this price. The general consensus, however, is that VE has quite good lasting power. It was created by Dominique Ropion.
Noir Epices
While the VE and MR are fragrances that focus specifically on a single chord, Noir Epices is much more abstract and symphonic. This is a fragrance that bills itself as an oriental, yet is very short on the usual sweeteners, amber, vanilla, and musk. Instead, this is a fragrance that revels in dark spices. In a way, I think this fragrance does for spices what Avignon or Kyoto did for incense, drying them out, setting these primary notes up front, letting their dry, aromatic character lead rather than softening them up with typical vanilla/tonka base. And in doing so, this may be too sharp for some. Spices include nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and various peppers, with a heavy dose of a sharp, metallic note not unlike that in LAnarchiste, further deepening the mix. The top is quite floral, in a way that scared me off initially notes of white rose and geranium set against a beautifully blended orange note. The drydown reveals woods (mostly santal) and patchouli, though the spices remain center stage. This is created by Michel Roudnistka
For samples of these, Frederic Malle is notoriously generous. You can take a questionnaire online, after which they will guess at a fragrance to suite you, but I have found that the most effective way to go is just to e-mail them and request the samples you want. They sent me what I requested, along with a hand written note. This is a very classy outfit. But please, do not do this lightly. These are highly addictive fragrances, and in this case sampling inevitably leads to purchasing, and these are not cheap fragrances. You and your bank account have been warned.
Other Malle reviews to followand I would love to hear comments from others...
Thanks.
Slim
Though the following fragrances have been reviewed quite a few times on the board, and some have gotten quite a lot of press lately, there are lots of new faces here lately, and I felt the need to spout off about three of my recent favorites.
For those who have not been introduced to Frederick Malle, a little history: He opened Editions de Parfums in Paris in 2000, taking inspiration in his approach from French publishing house Gallimard, long time publishers of simple yet beautiful quality books. The idea was to allow fragrance designers to create fragrances without interference or filtering from a brand or company. They would be allowed to use the most expensive materials, and be as artistic as the wanted. This was almost a reversal of the way most fragrance companies work, employing designers to create a fragrance that reflects the personality of the brand. His idea here was to create a company that reflected the work of the personality of the designers, as accurately as possible. As a result, he has had many of the finest noses in perfumery pounding on his door.
I have been working my way through several Malle samples over the last year and will review three below. I chose these three because they are my favorites, so far, and would be three most traditionally characterized as masculine.
Musc Ravageur:
This is a favorite of many, and worthy of the many accolades thrown at it since its arrival in 2000. For me, the fragrance centers around musk, vanilla, cinnamon, lavender, and the beautiful almost flowery orange peel top note (not noted in the fragrance pyramid, but I swear I smell orange.) It retains tremendous balance it is never too sweet, never too aggressive, always present, and always subtle. It is sexy without being vulgar. It is a thoroughly modern interpretation of musk, and bears no resemblance to the bottles of musk that I remember smelling in my parents bathroom ( I think one really was called Sex Panther.) Created by Maurice Roucel, Musc Ravageur is a fragrance I will never be without.
Vétiver Extraordinaire
Let me first say that there are very few vetiver fragrances that I can enjoy. In fact, vetiver is a note that can easily ruin a fragrance for me, turning an otherwise enjoyable fragrance sour on my skin. So discovering VE was a revelation. It is reputed to contain the highest concentration of pure vetiver oil in any modern fragrance, and the effects of this indulgence are wondrous. Words commonly used to describe VE include: earthy, raw, woody, deep, oily, and spicy. It is all things, and yet it retains all of the grassy freshness that gives it air and light. Unfortunately, vetiver seems to leave my skin quickly, and I have to bathe myself in this rather generously to get any lasting power quite impractical at this price. The general consensus, however, is that VE has quite good lasting power. It was created by Dominique Ropion.
Noir Epices
While the VE and MR are fragrances that focus specifically on a single chord, Noir Epices is much more abstract and symphonic. This is a fragrance that bills itself as an oriental, yet is very short on the usual sweeteners, amber, vanilla, and musk. Instead, this is a fragrance that revels in dark spices. In a way, I think this fragrance does for spices what Avignon or Kyoto did for incense, drying them out, setting these primary notes up front, letting their dry, aromatic character lead rather than softening them up with typical vanilla/tonka base. And in doing so, this may be too sharp for some. Spices include nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and various peppers, with a heavy dose of a sharp, metallic note not unlike that in LAnarchiste, further deepening the mix. The top is quite floral, in a way that scared me off initially notes of white rose and geranium set against a beautifully blended orange note. The drydown reveals woods (mostly santal) and patchouli, though the spices remain center stage. This is created by Michel Roudnistka
For samples of these, Frederic Malle is notoriously generous. You can take a questionnaire online, after which they will guess at a fragrance to suite you, but I have found that the most effective way to go is just to e-mail them and request the samples you want. They sent me what I requested, along with a hand written note. This is a very classy outfit. But please, do not do this lightly. These are highly addictive fragrances, and in this case sampling inevitably leads to purchasing, and these are not cheap fragrances. You and your bank account have been warned.
Other Malle reviews to followand I would love to hear comments from others...
Thanks.
Slim
