Frédéric Malle's new Portrait of a Lady, developed by perfumer Dominique Ropion, marks the line's 10th anniversary. Happy anniversary, Frédéric Malle Editions de Parfums, and here's wishing you many, many more. Oh, and can you please do jasmine next?
Portrait of a Lady is not jasmine; as many of you undoubtedly already know. It is rose, an oriental sort of rose with woody notes and spices, quite different from their earthy masterpiece Une Rose and even farther away from the powder-puff classic, Lipstick Rose. Portrait either was or wasn't inspired by the Henry James novel of the same name — I've seen both claims — but was certainly inspired by, or grew out of, ideas from Géranium Pour Monsieur, Ropion's last outing for Frédéric Malle.
The notes — raspberry, cassis, rose, cinnamon, clove, benzoin, sandalwood, patchouli, frankincense, ambroxan and white musk — sounded comfortably familiar. Fruitchouli we've seen plenty of lately, and patchouli + rose (to say nothing of incense + rose) combinations aren't exactly thin on the ground. But of course this is Frédéric Malle. Portrait of a Lady doesn't smell like your average teen-bait fruitchouli, and it's considerably more elegant than your average patchouli rose.
The opening is fruity: think tart berry jam. The fruit doesn't dominate for long though. The whoosh of rose — and it is a whoosh; I don't think you'll like Portrait if you don't like rose — arrives within seconds, and after, say, five or ten minutes, you've pretty much got what you'll have for the duration: a murky, spicy rose, oriental but not at all heavy (it does pack some sillage, but it doesn't feel thick), a hefty (really hefty) dose of very clean and smooth patchouli, the promised incense, some dark wood that might or might not be oud, and plenty of musk. It's dry but not bone dry.
Tom over at Perfume Posse found it dainty, a reaction that puzzled me: Portrait of a Lady is not dainty on my skin at all. No, it's too dark and dirty to be dainty, but I will say that it's a very modern dirty, in which there is nothing even slightly off-kilter: there's nothing musty or sour about the patchouli, there's nothing rough or medicinal about the oud (if there is any oud). Une Rose smells sexy in a overripe, down-in-the-dirt kind of way. Portrait is too elegant to be overripe — it's a clean sort of dirty, if you don't mind the oxymoron.
Portrait of a Lady is brilliant, and certainly a must try. The reviews so far have been mixed, but I have a feeling it will do very well. Trust me, I'd find a use for a bottle if one came into my possession. But for myself I prefer Une Rose, which is rather a relief: my to buy list has grown quite a bit already this year.
Men, don't be scared off by the name unless you're of the 'real men don't wear rose' school. Portrait is what most perfumistas would call unisex. And if what you're after is longevity, Portrait of a Lady should please you: it lasts through the day, and then some. On clothing, it might make it through the week.1
Frédéric Malle Portrait of a Lady is available in 50 (145€) and 100 ($300) ml, or in a travel set (3 x 10 ml, 90€). For buying information, see the listing for Frédéric Malle under Perfume Houses.
Note: top image is Mistakes [cropped] by mr.bmonroe at flickr; some rights reserved.
1. On me, Portrait nearly qualifies as frighteningly long-lasting: I start to worry when my perfume makes it through the shower and a long night's sleep. I have seen complaints about the lasting power though, and I had an interesting experience both times I tried to wear Portrait at the same time as Une Rose: one whiff of Une Rose, and I could hardly smell Portrait at all. Selective anosmias work in strange ways.
Great review, Robin! I’ve received compliments wearing this one-I just love it! Thank God for bottle splits!
Bottle splits are a lifesaver!
Thank you for the beautiful review, I think I can smell it from your description!
POAL is on top of my to try list, which is not very long list to be honest – so few things have captured my attention lately!
A strange and unwelcome thing that happens to me (my nose) most of the times is the translation of rose + patchouli into dark chocolate olfactory holograms, which I really don’t like. But from your description it sounds like there is a slightly different twist to these notes, so I am very curious to see if I’ll love, hate, or mildly appreciate!
I know exactly what you mean — this really doesn’t take on chocolate for me at all (it isn’t thick enough, but don’t know if that makes sense to anyone but me), but will be curious to hear if it does for you when you try it.
How strange – as I was reading your review this morning, my bottle of POAL arrived from Barney’s, so I was able to actually spray and experience as I finished your article!!!! And Robin you are spot on – the only difference for me was the opening “blast” seemed much more “dried berries and salted wood chips” (if that even makes sense…).
So far I’m loving it and look forward to wearing through the Holidays.
How brave to order it unsniffed! Hope you will continue to love it.
I will have to put some on again later and see if I can find the salted wood chips. It definitely gets woody (and everything else) early on.
Yay! She likes it! I loves it too! Thanks for the review Robin. 🙂
It’s just terrifically well done — I find it hard not to like, even though it’s not something I’m dying to own.
I’m intrigued by this one. I tried it a couple of days ago and was at the same time pleased and puzzled. I was expecting a huge wiff of rose and I found it sort of tame instead. Not in a bad way, but in what I smell the rose was subdued, like a distant voice you think is going to come closer and louder but it never does. I liked it very much, but on my skin it became a tenacius (very tenacious) skin scent, something like a rosy woodsy Dans tes bras.
But you are right, on clothes it’s still going on (and it was sprayed on Sunday).
That is so interesting. I just don’t find it tame at all.
Delfina, I experience that same Dans tes Bras-style tenacious skin scent with the Lady.
Whether or not it was intended, this did seem like a very Jamesian perfume to me: a wish for a passionate rose that was instead muffled by rather austere woods. Ambroxan is usually a note I like, but in this case there was just too much of its ambery wood for me. I think it’s what kept the rose from singing on my skin. And it was so insistent, right from the start and lasting well into the next day. It ended up feeling like a Victorian novel that went on a bit too long.
Interesting. I blame the modified patch for the lack of passion. But either way I know what you mean.
There is no jasmine in FM line?
There is no jasmine in FM line…Mind boggles!
And 3 roses.
And I don’t like any of the three (roses).
And I haven’t yet TRIED any of the three…
Ditto here…
I can send you two samples of Lipstick Rose….but I think it’s probably a little too sweet and frou-frou-y for either one of you.
Une Rose goes acetone-y on me …but Lipstick Rose is gorgeous, pink and fluffy. I love Portrait and I may begin screaming if my bottle doesn’t get here soon!
Hi Daisy, I would think that the violet note would make LR go sour on you, no? I’d much rather try UR and this one! 😉
Operafan – Lipstick Rose is no good for me – it is so terribly sweet and cloying. Like someone dumped some really good rosewater on a pile of smarties and dissolved them up. L’AP Drole de Rose is about as sweet as I can get in that style, but it’s cool iris powderiness saves it for me and pushes it more in the direction of a rose melancholy Apres L’Ondee style.
Does anyone have any comments on how this compares to MFK’s Pour Le Soir, which is also a patchouli rose scent?
Excellent question. Let me see if I can find my PLS.
Not going to work…I passed on all my MFK samples to someone else. Drat. All I can say is that I thought it was pretty but it did not wow me, although I know some people thought it was genius. We’ll have to hope someone else shows up with a better comparison…
I can pipe up here, as a luvva of both the Lady and Pour le Sour. PLS has no patchouli (not that I can smell, anyway), and comes off as a sweet, animalic amber. It’s syrupy and warm. The Lady behaves more like an airy musk perfume, but with attar-style overtones of rose and incense, along with that deep patchouli.
Katie Puckrik – that sounds great! Thanks for the comparison. FK’s compositions with rose are all a good variation on a theme, so I’ll be happy to smell this PoAL doing something different.
Maybe you are thinking of MFK’s Lumiere Noire pour Femme, which is a rose patchouli. I got benzoin and sweet leather with PLS, as I recall. What I love about Lumiere Noire is that it really is light (no oud here) but dark (perhaps the narcissus makes it animalic?). The name is perfect. It is so interesting, I think.
Yup, I was thinking the same thing: the comparison might be made more logically between the patch/rose of PoaL and Lumiere Noire pour Femme. And they’re still worlds apart. Both beautiful, but both different.
I can appreciate the idea of disturbingly strong sillage; I’ve had some fragrances (such as EL Sensuous Noir and Possets Isabella) cling to me, and even my clothes, through several washings, which I find annoying, since I like to switch up my scent almost daily.
As to POAL, it sounds like an amazing thing to smell, but I’m quite sure its just not for me. The last time I wore a musky rose, it was so cloying (and would NOT COME OFF) that I still have scent nightmares about it! I am just not a floral person. I will just have to settle for your wonderfully vivid description.
Hmmm…I did not find this at all cloying, but it does linger. It probably doesn’t project as much as the EL, hard to say. Maybe better safe than sorry 🙂
ELdO’s Rien can last through a shower or a laundering. Excellent value! (although then of course it can clash with the next day’s perfume…)
It’s senseless, I know, but when things last more than 6 hours I start to worry about how much synthetic musk is getting absorbed into my bloodstream (and I only mean senseless because I don’t know anything about the subject, or whether staying power has any relationship, or whether the musk is even what I should be worried about, etc etc).
Its my understanding that Tonka beans and coumarin can not be sold as food in this country because they tend to cause the blood to thin”. I have no idea whether the same ingredients in perfume might have a similar effect, but it suggests that your concern is not entirely frivolous.
(blood thinning is a medical effect which people with certain coronary diseases, now take aspirin to obtain).
Yes, I personally could use some blood thinning.
Not sure I want it in unmeasured doses from my perfume, though.
I really don’t think external use of coumarin causes blood thinning.
I think that those molecules are so large that skin permeability really isn’t an issue.
I love this perfume. I want to own it. There are certainly other fragrances I adore more and am saving for.
But I can’t see my perfumista future without this in my collection someday. My family loves it on me and yes it does last, but I just get whiffs of it , is it strange that it doesn’t SEEM that strong to my nose? 😉
Maybe others are tired of the patch/rose combos but not I.
I still swoon for them.
I don’t know if it’s strange…seems to be a fair amount of disagreement on the sillage!
Oh yes! Jasmine! Would love to try one by Malle. I’ve recently fallen heavily for Kilian’s Love and Tears…love it. I read in a Duchaufour interview that he’s also interested in doing a jasmine. Hmmm…maybe jasmine will be the next oud????
Oh, I wish. Or maybe not…I would be very sad to get sick of jasmine.
I like, but am not blown away by POAL. I prefer Une Rose if I’m being honest. I think it has more going on and never fails to captivate me on some level. POAL reminds me strongly of Lady Vengeance by Juliette Has A Gun, which like POAL goes on forever. And a day. They both last through a shower and a good night’s sleep on me too!
I thought Lady Vengeance, despite the name, was a much tamer scent…but they’re certainly in the same ballpark.
Hmm, interesting…the consensus seems to be that there’s more depth than both Lady Vengeance and MFK Lumiere Noire?
I hate to answer for the MFK because I tried it much faster than Lady Vengeance, and so even though it was more recent I don’t remember it as well. LV, at least, struck me as pretty run of the mill and relatively tame. Again, I know others were way more impressed with it than I was.
I really love Lumiere Noire.
No surprise Mals – LM heads off in that direction of L’Arte di Gucci…..
I think I’d like to smell this one… on someone else. Given that Bois des Iles, which everyone laments as “horribly fleeting”, lasts all day on me, I don’t think I dare let a drop of this near my skin.
Ha!
I’m with you Boo!
Thanks for the review. Once again, I was glad to see that we’re largely in agreement. This is without any doubt one of my favourite releases of the year. And yes, it can DEFINITELY work as a masculine!
It’s probably going to make lots of ‘best of’ lists this year.
And then loads of people will wear it, and we’ll end up hating it, because it’ll be too common 😉
I have a bunch of different patch-roses and am always curious how it can be done differently or better for that matter. I look forward to testing this very much since it’s both Malle & Ropion – the only man who ever made me love tuberose with Carnal Flower. Marriage made in perume heaven? I also agree with above question about any possible comparisons to Kurkdjian’s Lumiere Noire. I like LN, but it doesn’t sing on my skin like Guerlain’s Rose Barbare…. I digress, but a lot of my fav patch-roses are by Kurkdjian, so I always can smell their relation to each other. And then of course, there’s the rose-patch gold standard with L’Arte di Gucci…. I’m always happy to bring another one into the fold.
Lumiere Noire did not make a huge impression me either, but then, I also didn’t love Rose Barbare. But since you know them all, sounds like you’re the one who needs to write us up a comparison!
Right now, my ability to differentiate rose-patch’s is kind of strangely limited – eg, Lady Vengeance – desserty. Bryant Park – same with more flowers. Stella – baseline. MH Geranium Bourbon – earthy. Rose Barbare – golden, etc, etc………..
I’ll take Une Rose too! Actually, if they’d give me one, I want Carnal Flower. PoaL lasted for days on a friend’s coat sleeve and is still there, for all I know, unless she had it drycleaned. (It was beginning to grate.) I agree a man could easily wear this, although since I love men in Fracas, what do I know?
I finally got my hands on a 10 ml travel bottle of Carnal Flower. Meanwhile, my 5 ml bottle of Une Rose went off, and my Vetiver Extraordinaire 5 ml isn’t smelling too grand either. Sigh.
How long did it take for those 5 ml bottles to go off?
I’m afraid I don’t know when I got them. I would think several years at least, maybe more.
Well that is good to know. Thanks.
R, that’s terrible! Makes me fear for my decant/sample collection…
Yeah, really.
Just when I thought I’ve got all the roses I’ll ever need, along comes this one… *Sigh*
I’ve yet to try Une Rose, and based on the descriptions, probably don’t need to try Lipstick.
You will probably never have all the [insert note here] fragrances you need 😉
I love Lipstick Rose. The violet – rose combo is especially lovely in spring. Plus it really does smell like an expensive, scented lipstick, which I think is hilarious.
It cracks me up too, although I prefer to laugh along with L’Artisan Drole de Rose, which to me is same idea, different execution.
I wish I got that from Drole de Rose. All I get is a short-lived rosewater- meh.
I would love to smell this for the experience but it is unlikely to be a swoon for me as I am assuredly not a rose person. At least not as a dominant note anyway, I know it lurks in many many fragrances!
Oh well, plenty more out there to sample, right?
I didn’t think I was a rose person until I sniffed Le Labo Rose. Mysteriously these roses began to sift into my collection though I wasn’t a “rose” person (It just has to be really good). Paestum Rose, Pose Poivree, Lumiere Noir Pour Femme, White Rose, Une Rose, Zest Une Rose……..
It has a similar ‘effect’ to me as Rossy de Palma,, which I FB’d after a long rose search thinking I would never find a rose other than the old Paris to love.
I’ve got them both on now; there seems to be a really rich musky thing going on in Rossy which I adore….the Malle is going almost Coromandel patchy in comparison….I would recommend Rossy to rose lovers if you haven’t tried it….now I’ve gone and Paris-ed… argh my nose is aching
Yep, the Malle is definitely a rose Coromandel…well that’s my two-bob’s worth!!
Oh gracious. I do so hate Coromandel.
I can relate to that. I wouldn’t say I hate either Coromandel or Rossy de Palma, but Coromandel smells like sugar-rich cola to me and RdP has a bleach note that sometimes pings out loud and proud.
Good Lord. I can’t imagine actually hating Coromandel. I have been dying for a bottle for months if not more than a year.
Oh noooooo! Hatred for Coromandel? *protectively covers the ears on her bottle of Coromandel*.
Robin, I read your review of PoaL with interest, because it mirrored my experience of it to a T. That whole “it’s big but still soft” thing. And you’re right – it does last forever on fabric.
Like Winifrieda, though, I too see a little of Coromandel’s style of patchouli in PoaL.
LOL! I’ll run and cover them too! Coromandel is one my most worn and beloved scents and to me PoaL sure shares, though maybe in a colder way, some of that best-damp-but–fresh-basement-in-the-world patchouli feeling
Ladies, trust me, you can hate Coromandel. I had a hard time talking myself into testing it a second time.
Rossy de Palma is fine — I don’t really love it or hate it. Probably didn’t spend all that much time with it.
Katie, this kind of patch seems to me to be the only one you can find any more — everybody is using these molecular fractions. It’s been ages since I’ve smelled anything like “real” patchouli.
Robin, I wonder if that’s because “real” patchouli carries too much hippie baggage, hence the manipulated versions? Although we’re a good generation or more beyond hippies at this point…
I guess, but it’s not all that different to what is happening in perfume in general: it’s cleaner & smoother, less disturbing. There are other notes w/o those hippie associations (lavender, for instance) that are likewise nearly always modified now.
I tried this last weekend and immediately jumped on a decant from someone who hated it. Until that arrives I will be working from a sample. I did have a hard time with it first thing in the morning – it was a little much. But it is definitely beautiful. It was funny – it was really going on there for a long time and then *poof* I couldn’t smell it any more at all. I don’t know if my nose shut down or it did.
Interesting. I guess you’ll have to keep wearing it to figure out if it’s the scent or your nose?
Yes, I will. Poor me. Although if it’s my nose, others may not be so pleased.
I think the longevity depends on how well you detect the musk. I sprayed a bit on my wrist Sunday night, and it was pretty much all I could smell. Tuesday evening, two days and two showers later, I could still smell a bit of it on my wrist.
Tama, I have the same “hide and seek” experience with it. Could it be the musk?
It happened to me couple of days ago: I went to bed absolutely loving FM’s Carnal Flower and deciding between a travel size or a FB of it – and the next morning I could not smell anything but a spirit on my wrist a second after applying the perfume from a vial. I checked with couple other people and they confirmed that they could still smell it. So it IS my nose (though I have no problems smelling other perfumes, PoaL included). I really hope it’s a temporary thing and I will be able to smell it again (my wallet might have a different opinion on that).
It’d be handy to not be able to smell anything that cost more than $100!
Warning warning don’t go and read Octavian – lemming warning, – and he loved the Delrae rose too…who has got it, what’s it like? – Coupe de Foudre –
Jessica reviewed the Coup de Foudre. It’s very pretty, but I did not find it all that exciting.
https://nstperfume.com/2010/07/09/parfums-delrae-coup-de-foudre-fragrance-review/
Your selective anosomia is interesting, those kinds of tests are fun. I can just imagine this is very long-lasting and built to impress others, as Ropion’s Carnal Flower and Une Fleur de Cassie are. I look forward to trying it when I have a chance, but I don’t think it will please me as much as Ropion’s others. I also have to finally try Une Rose, which I think I will like. I can’t say it enough – I love Lumiere Noire pour Femme and keep sniffing my empty sample.
For me, the scents to beat are Carnal Flower and Vetiver Extraordinaire…my great loves 🙂
My absolute favorite line is FM (so far anways) I have FB’s of L’Eau d’Hiver, Carnal Flower, En Passant, Iris Poudre & Une Rose. And they are worth every single penny.
Thanks for the great review Robin…I am also an Une Rose girl. It was the first niche perfume I bought and I bought it in Paris from the very first Malle boutique, so it is really, really special to me. I can’t wait to try this one and I agree with you…where the #%&* is the jasmine!!!!
Oh, you picked well the first time then!
We’re having an ice storm here, so I have a bit of a respite on going into the office this a.m. Catching up on NST with my tea.
Thanks for the review, Robin. I always enjoy reading what you write. This one definitely isn’t for me. I’m only so-so on rose and while rose w/ patch is okay (I’m a patch lover), rose w/ a heavy dose of musk I can’t do. And I’m with you on being a little freaky about scents lasting like the Energizer bunny!
Ack — an ice storm! Hope it is not heading my way.
And yeah, sounds like this is not for you.
Yeah, this thing was evil! It took me almost an hour to chip my car out! You’ll probably just get snow though.
We did get a tiny amount of snow, but it froze on the roads immediately, thereby getting me out of a dentist appt. So, alls well that ends well 🙂
Thank You for a wonderful review, Robin!! I really like F. Malle’s line, and I would love to try Une Rose some day. However I am very uneasy to please when it comes to rose fragrances. The only ones I truly love were Rose Ikebana and the most gorgeous Lipstick Rose:) not to mention that my signature fragrance, most beloved Sweet Oriental Dream is more about the lokhoum and rose jam, rather than the rose flower, rite? But still because of my respect for Frederic Malle and his beatiful line, as well as your great review, have made me want to try the Portrait of a Lady. Sadly, I did not fall hard for any rose scents from L’Artisan:(
I love Rose Ikebana too! And Drole de Rose, and a zillion others: I am maybe easier to please when it comes to rose, LOL…but do try Une Rose, it’s brilliant.
Yes, Robin, I must try Une Rose:) I would love to try Parfum de Therese (or whatever that name was) its supposingly an amazing one!
Oh, it is gorgeous!
Really love the review!
As mentioned POAL can be considered unisex. What about Une Rose, or can this fit a guy even better you think? Also what of projection and longevity for Une vs POAL?
I cannot answer for projection & longevity off the top of my head, sorry! And also sort of hard to say on the gender. Neither are what I’d call conventionally feminine; the POAL maybe tips a bit closer to unisex? But certainly a man could wear Une Rose.
My burning question is how does it smell in relation to Andy’s Une Rose Vermeille? The concept, or at least the notes, sound similar, but I LOVE Un Rose Vermeille, and am wondering what’s different about Portrait of a Lady…
They are not much alike at all, if my memory serves.
Ahhh the musk always kills it for me. I was so looking forward to trying this and traversee du bosphore but both of them turned really sweet and powdery on my skin. Not working for me at all!
Oh well I guess thats two less I have to sneak past my husband as essential purchases when he is checking the credit card statements!
🙂
Oh, this will be the first time that I had a nice scent under my nose at the same time it came out. And gal, I must admit it is a Portrait of a Lady.
Since 6 days is smells on my jacket as perfect as it did in the shop. I agree with your review, and I would like to add that it smells like the bodyoil from the organic brand Dr. Hauschka with rose. Add incense and add a clean patchouli – got it. The fruits (hate red fruits!) are not worth to be mentioned. Well well – apart that you can get a lot of wonderful scents with this price tag I think?! I would love it too. I like roses and I hate patchouli but with this it all changes: well, I thought I hate patchouli, but the truth is I need patchouli!
I will have to try the Dr. Hauschka body oil then, although it’s probably expensive here.
It is surely around 20 USD, but it is worth every penny. I mean it’s a natural rose scent, and your nose will surely be able to appreciate it.
I have it in winter when my skin threatens to explode, it is also suitable for babies. Or can I send you one from Germany? I would love to!
That is kind of you, but no — I will get my hands on some! I do have the Weleda Rose oil, it smells nice too.
I got some small sample and it’s instant love. This is going onto my “to-buy” list. Too bad I just splurged for a bottle of Strange Invisible Perfumes’ Black Rosette pure perfume…. they are both equally beautiful, but oh so different.
Oh, I am jealous of your Black Rosette!
😀
So today I tried FM’s Une Rose. Do not find the scent “dark” and I am still waiting for it to develop it’s more meaty quality. Hopefully by lunch time?
I don’t think it’s a dark rose, just earthy!
Oh no, I know you didn’t. Just wondering why some other reviews say so.
It got meatier around lunch time, then magically at about 2 or so it started to fade, but in a nice and gentle way. I think instead of Portrait of A Lady I might have to opt for Une Rose as my next bottle!
Une Rose is great stuff.
Any suggestion as to which Frederic Malle I should try next?
Gosh, I really do think you should try them all. There isn’t a single one that I’d say was poorly done or a waste of time. My personal favorites in addition to the Une Rose are Vetiver Extraordinaire, En Passant, Un Parfum de Therese & Carnal Flower, with Un Hiver coming in somewhat 2nd place.
I just received my POAL sample and wore it to work today for the first time. To cut a long story short, the compliments I’ve receive so far have been OVERWHELMINGLY positive – this includes many work colleagues (a couple are now determined to hunt down their own samples), my barista and the fabulous French lady who owns a lovely cafe I frequent (it turns out she’s also a huge fan of Carnal Flower). I wear perfume to work everyday but until now no one has really noticed – perhaps this means I’ve applied way too much today? One thing’s for sure is that I shall definitely invest in a FB once my sample runs out!
^How lovely! Perfume compliments are the best. Extra points for impressing the French. 😉
I just received a sample of FM Portrait of a Lady and I find it so swoon-worthy that I’m seriously contemplating a bottle (or at the very least a decant). Too bad the boyfriend says it smells like a grandma–rose has that effect on him–I don’t care! I love and wear it anyway. 😀
Just took delivery of Portrait of a Lady and I love it. Also treated myself to the Ormonde Jayne discovery set. Children and sweet shops spring to mind!