Fragonard launched the Confidentiel line this year with four fragrances, all created by perfumers at Givaudan: Mensonge, Cette Nuit La, Apres Tout, and Soudain. The fragrances are priced higher than usual for Fragonard and the packaging has a more modern aesthetic; this would appear to be an effort to capture some of the upscale niche fragrance market. Today I am trying Soudain, which has notes of Italian green mandarin, lemon, Guatamalan cardamom, jasmine, orange blossom, Paraguayan gaiac wood and musk.
Soudain opens on very dry, very green citrus, heavily dusted with cardamom. The top notes are rather high-pitched, in the same vein as Hermés Jardin Sur Le Nil, and smell more like lime and grapefruit than mandarin and lemon to my nose. The wood is noticeable before the floral notes, which stay very sheer in any case. The dry down is light musky woods laced with orange blossom. Enough cardamom remains to provide a nice kick, and happily, it stays very dry and dusty and zingy — I adore cardamom, but in perfume it often goes flat and stale after 30 minutes.
It is a fresh, transparent, summery fragrance, decidedly unisex, and while it is neither terribly long lasting nor startlingly unique, it is nicely composed and is going on my shopping list for next spring.
Soudain, like the others in this quartet, is an Eau de Toilette, and the lasting power is about average; it will take several sprays to make a decent impression. For buying information, see the listing for Fragonard under Perfume Houses. I think the price is $80 for 100 ml, but I failed to write it down and I have a terrible memory. If anyone has the recent catalog from Barneys and has a moment to check the price, please comment!
More Fragonard reviews: Eau de Garrigues & Cerisier en Fleurs
Update: as of early 2008, the Confidentiel line appears to have been discontinued, although Mensonge has joined the regular Fragonard line.
Hi R! I tested these at Barney's last weekend, and I believe they're $84. My overall impression is very similar to yours – well-composed fragrances, but not truly special. I have this nagging “harumph” in the back of my brain when I think of them – I can't help thinkiing that Fragonard has improved the packaging and marketing with this line, but the quality of the juice doesn't really justify the price increase. Not that I think they're bad at all, just you know, “nice” like so many of their other ones.
I thought Soudain was a perfectly nice light, pretty blend, but uninspiring, so I gave my sample to my husband. I was more impressed with Cette Nuit Là, but not enough to actually fork over $84, when there are so many other spicy orientals with more character that are already in my cabinet. I still have yet to smell a Fragonard that grabs me. That said, I haven't smelled that many of them, because the size of the line and the sameness of the packaging always confused me entirely.
A, I tested the others only briefly on paper, so hate to say anything about the quality of the juice. But would agree with the assessment of Soudain: it isn't “truly special” — but I like it all the same! It works better for me than similar fragrances with citrus & cardamom. Will be interesting to see how they sell at Barneys and what other stores pick up the line.
T, sounds like I liked Soudain much better than you did! The only other Fragonard I've found worth buying was Garrigues, which was much, much cheaper.
Sounds like a great fragrance for spring-summer. I remeber reading about this line once at Life in Paris and I think Cette Niut La was the one I thought I might like, but Soudain seems lovely too now 🙂
You loved that Nelly Rodi Cardamome too—I think we're looking at the beginnings of a whole category of scents you like built on citrus-woods-cardamom here. 🙂
It is true! Still looking to replicate what FM Cologne Bigarade smells like on me for the first 10 seconds before it all goes so terribly, terribly wrong.
M, wish Barneys was not so darned stingy with samples, would really love to try the rest of them.
With my perfume closet bursting at the seams, a new fragrance has to be truly special or an exceptional bargain for me to make room for it. Looking at the notes, Cette Nuit La, is the one I'm most interested in sniffing, but I just have not been inspired by any of the recent new launches by anyone.
I would really like to find what you called “startling unique” or at least something that is truly beautiful in a way not mirrored by six other scents I already have. Perhaps I ask too much, but when I do find something nice and new it seems like other variations on the theme spring up from everywhere and take the luster off of the original find. Sigh.
I saw these at Barneys the other week and sprayed them.
They were fragrant, but not memorable. So far my favorite Fragonard is Fleurs de Cerisier. :):)
Hugs!
C, Agree that startlingly unique is hard to find…and anything really unique is likely to strike consumers as weird rather than wonderful. Hoping we'll get something in between the two from the new Frederic Malle Carnal Flower.
Glad you are still loving the Cerisier, R!
Like R, I was not impressed. They were nice, but lacking something to me. Apres Tout was probably my favourite, a light tea rose.
I will settle for shockingly beautiful!
Like R and V – I was not impressed enough to buy any. Lovely review dear R!
Hugs!
V, looks like this line is not generating much enthusiasm! Perhaps I'd better snag a bottle of Soudain before it disappears.
N, off topic, but have the MF mascara & am not impressed. Can't wait to hear what you think!
You had me at “cardamom.” It is rather a pity it tends to be such a short-lived note, but this sounds like I might find myself pleased by this scent. Thanks, R.
Still looking forward to trying it! Thanks for an informative review.
LOL — that is all it takes for me, too!
L, I think you will like it (?)
“Cette nuit là” and “Après tout” are certainly the best of this serie with good lasting power and nice originality. “Mensonge” is nice either but, to my mind, a too little old school for me (80-90's). I agree with you : “Soudain” is very lovely but also very casual. Gosh : I can't believe how expensive these Fragonard perfumes are in the States !! ( # 50 $ here in France)
They are very pricey, and never seemed to have garnered much attention at all — and for that matter, as it turned out, I never could bring myself to pay full price for Soudain — too many other similar things for less $$.
2009 : the confidential line is discontinued… unless … ?Mensonge have been reorchestred to smell much like the frags in the casual line. It has definitely lost its niche personality.
Yeah, I had heard that. Too bad — I thought they were nice. They never got to be widely distributed in the US at all.