Parfums MDCI is a French high-end niche line showcasing the work of well-known perfumers. The fragrances are presented in limited edition, numbered crystal flacons (see picture at right) or in 60 ml glass refill bottles.
There are three fragrances for women, all created by perfumer Francis Kurkdjian:
Promesse de l'Aube is an oriental floral:
The head notes express the exhalations of an enchanting bergamot, enhanced by touches of mandarin of Brazil and California lemon. The olfactive ballet goes on with heart notes built around Ylang ylang and Egyptian jasmin. Bottom notes of Indian sandalwood, Tonka bean and vanilla ensure a long, harmonious, generous unfurling of the fragrance.
Rose de Siwa is a woodsy floral:
The general tone is definitely playful and charming: it can best be described as gourmand, délicious and unashamedly romantic. Headnotes of litchee, peony and hawthorn are followed by irresistible, intoxicating notes of Moroccan and Turkish roses, which, interlaced with violet play on a backdrop of precious cedar, musc and vetyver.
Enlevement au Serail is an oriental floral:
A bold and startling composition in which headnotes of bergamot and Italian mandarin, Ylang-Ylang open the way to the entrancing powers of sambac jasmin, tuberose, Turkish rose and wallflower. A precious background of patchouli, Indian sandalwood, vanilla and Haitian vetyver adds the finishing touches to a very special fragrance with an unforgettable, bewitching trail.
There are also two fragrances for men:
Ambre Topkapi is by perfumer Pierre Bourdon, and is described as fresh, woodsy and spicy:
The formula succeeds by balancing the powerful notes of oak moss, vétyver, sandalwood, rosewood, leather, Darjeeling tea, amber, musc, vanilla, with unexpected, precious, almost feminine colorations brought by jasmin and violet. Bergamot, grapefruit, pinaapple, melon, cinnamon,cardamom, nutmeg ginger, basil, thyme and lavender conjure up a princely and fabulous past.
The last fragrance, Invasion Barbare, is by perfumer Stéphanie Bakouche:
Here we have an "oriental fern", spicy and aromatic, with a captivating blend of headnotes of grapefruit, bergamot, violet leaves, white thyme, cardamome, lavender and ginger. A warm heart of cedarwood, bourbon vanilla and musc creates a precious and definitely masculine base which here too contribute to a well-balanced construction, true to the demands of the brand: elegant, precious, masculine and extremely sophisticated.
Luckyscent hopes to have the fragrances in stock this coming March. Reviews have already appeared at Aromascope, Perfume Smellin' Things and Perfume Posse.
That's so great! Once you get past the flacons and the image, the guy running the shop, Claude Marchal, is a hoot.
Did I remember to send you some FK2 like I promised?
Yes, you did, thanks! And I'm going to crack that vial this weekend, I swear
I liked FK #2, but the Luckyscent manager said they were horrendously expensive, something like $500 a bottle. Eeeek!
I heard $600, but who's counting, LOL? Although I think the refills are considerably cheaper. Still, they'd better be pretty darn wonderful at that price.
Just got my paws on some Enlevement au Serail. Yikes!!!! If anyone is a big fan of old-school-style Orientals, you are in for a serious treat. This one's along the lines of the old Carons in that very weighty, basenote-heavy opulence, but there's also a modern edge to it that's fascinating. I recommend keeping an eye out for it; I think TPC's selling 1mls for six bucks. . .
Whew — I am cheap, but there aren't many things I'd pay $6 to sample! But agree these were all very nicely done. I'm sort of surprised they haven't released any new ones.
Yeah, funny, huh? But maybe they're deliberately going in the opposite direction from the flanker-a-month set, and giving their perfumers tons of time and resources to do things right, and their consumers time enough to get to know the original line-up. That would be a good thing.
I tried Invasion Barbare today. Mmmmm!!! The base isn't exactly girlish, but I think many women would love this one. It's almost like a new Serge Lutens — omigod, is that sacrilege to say? — in that sweet-spicy-resinous density, although it's a little more straightforward, a fair bit less quirky.
(Speaking of genius SL quirkiness, I have Miel de Bois on the other hand, the first time in my whole life I've tried it. YIKES!! What IS that wild and crazy note that I thought would ruin it for me, but now seems to be the nearly addictive cornerstone of the damn thing?)
What a fascinating world we get to explore. Thanks for helping.
You know my cynical bent — what I've noticed is that not a single retailer in the US picked up the line except Luckyscent, and haven't seen it on many European websites either. So perhaps it is not selling well enough to warrant expansion.
Miel de Bois is weird stuff!
I do know — and really dig! — your cynical bent. It keeps this wet-behind-the-ears newish-bie reined in nicely. I'm moving through the perfumista stages quite slowly (spent FAR too long in the buy-everything phase) and I'm relieved to be heading now into the cynicial stage myself. Whew!
Well, for $610 for 60mls on Luckyscent, it's going to be a pretty small group of potential buyers for Invasion Barbare, et al. It's great stuff, but, sheeeshkebab, that is steep.
I had a spritz of MdB on a blotter in my sillage-testing wineglass overnight. At first, it was perfect: all honey and hawthorn and none of that weird thing. First thing this morning, I stick my nose over the rim. Whoah! That sure woke me up. Crazy stuff. The pee was back, and how. Such a drag, because the rest of it is so good. How can you inhale deeply and plug your nose at the same time, Serge? Waaaa!!!
LOL — true, it is not going to get a wide following at that price. And I liked all of them, but none of them blew me away.