What distinguishes a Count from a waiter? What makes a princess? The nature of nobility is one of the questions raised in A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.1 Perfume lovers might torque the question to “How does a classic French perfume differ from a department store floral?” and “Is it worth it?”
Parfums MDCI Promesse de l’Aube would certainly be listed in Debrett’s Peerage, if the book extended to fragrance. Promesse de l’Aube, composed by perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, launched in 2006. Its notes include bergamot, Brazilian tangerine, Californian lemon, Egyptian jasmine, ylang ylang, Indian sandalwood, tonka bean and vanilla. Its spirit is of a modern-day princess in a vintage dress, somewhere between June-morning-floral-oriental and fruity chypre.
Promesse de l’Aube smells like a bouquet of delicate garden flowers — no hothouse divas here — with a waft of champagne-like peach and a non-mossy chypre vibe. It’s silky and sheer. Its initial citrus shimmer vaporizes into a gentle and well mannered floral heart speaking jasmine and roses in modulated tones. The peach gives the fragrance a youthful feel and wipes out any suggestion of stuffiness. Still, next to Promesse de l’Aube, Yves Saint Laurent Yvresse, another delicate peachy chypre, is practically a brazen hussy. (Let’s not even get into one of my favorite classy-trashy fruity chypres, Arquiste Ella.)
Although Promesse de l’Aube has a vintage feel, it’s the best kind of vintage: gorgeous materials and meticulous craftsmanship. Have you ever touched handsewn lingerie from the 1920s? Promesse de l’Aube reminds me of the impossibly tiny stiches on the hem of ivory silk tap pants and the lush embroidery only its wearer will see. At the same time, the fragrance is supple, not scratchy or unfamiliar to modern taste like some of the classics, including Chanel No. 5, can be.
Promesse de l’Aube’s dry down is an easy whisper of vanilla-sweetened sandalwood. In keeping with its good manners, Promesse de l’Aube has a quiet sillage, and a generous splash from my sample bottle lasts about half a day on my skin. This could be a major drawback for those of us on a budget, since it’s not a cheap perfume, and the burn rate will be high.
In short, Promesse de L’Aube is pretty, through and through. We may have lost our taste for pretty and our appreciation for the kind of nobility that doesn’t have to do with bloodlines. This perfume is a reminder to slow down and pay attention, that quality can be easy to miss but rewarding to explore.
Parfums MDCI Promesse de l’Aube is $250 for 75 ml (bottom image), or $610 for the 60 ml bust edition (top image shows the cap only). For information on where to buy it, see Parfums MDCI under Perfume Houses.
1. A Gentleman in Moscow was one of my comfort reads this winter. Recommended.
This smells interesting. I have Un Couer Mai (sp) from them and I think I have a decant to test it I haven’t been too enthused with this line. For something I have probably smelled a 100 times over, I can’t justify the price. Especially those bottles with the bust!
It’s true that the line is expensive. And many of the fragrances don’t break much ground. But they’re so beautiful!
They’re expensive but have a class & sophisitcation to them that makes me far more likely to buy these than the over the top gaudy wanna-be perfumes of someone like Roja Dove with his tacky (fake) jewel encrusted caps & faux style.
Point well taken!
Thanks for reviewing this, Angela, and reminding me to get out my decant!
I hadn’t thought about your point before, that this is vintage-like in terms of quality and attention to detail, without assaulting modern tastes.
I know many people rag on the bust bottles, but I love them. ?
Not $600 worth of love, but one of my Perfume Regrets is not jumping on a steeply discounted pre-owned bust bottle of Pdl’A that I saw on ebay years ago…
Someday we’ll have to do a post on perfume regrets–the bottles that got away. Now that Parfum Delrae is defunct, I’m mourning the bottle of Bois de Paradis I never bought….
I’m also mourning the Bois de Paradis – I always thought I’d have time and now it is no more.
*sob*
I so regret never trying Wit …
I’ve never tried it, either! I can’t believe it!
Angela & austenfan, I have some! I’ll share! How do I do that?
You are so kind! I’ll email you. It seems appropriate that someone named Mrs. Darcy connects with someone called austenfan.
You are too kind mrsdarcy! I’m so loving this kind of exchange.
Heart officially broken now that Delrae Roth has closed the business. I ran to buy a new full bottle of Eau Illuminée when I got the news.
Oh! I know! Now I’ll never have that bottle of Bois de Paradis that I’ve wanted for so long.
I remember smelling this one at Jovoy Paris in 2009. It was so beautiful it made me well up. I bought a bottle years later, at a discount no less. I also own its sibling, the much darker Enlèvement. I can never make up my mind which one I like best, they are both stunning.
Promesse lasts well on me by the way. I spray it though, which might make all the difference.
Thanks Angela, for reviewing one of my favourites!
I’m wearing Enlevement today, in fact! (Purchasing the sample set early on was a good move for me.) I might just love it a tad more than Promesse.
Ah, that’s the one! Hard to remember since I’ve only read about the line.
I’m lucky to live not far from Fumerie–they care the line.
I’ve also got the sample set and those bottles are large enough to last a long time. Another one I really like is Invasion Barbare.
I love that one, too! Yes, the samples are practically decants.
Sigh, great review and I am a bit sad I will probably never get to sniff the perfume. I have just finished reading Promesse d’Aube ( Promise at Dawn) by Romain Gary ( enabler pin to Austenfan) and it is wonderful. Thenrelationship between the son and his mother, and the descriptions of their life together…and her dedication and willpower during the scenes when they are living in near poverty in Nice and she has a hired cabinet in the hotel Negressco in Nice and sells small trinkets, scarves etc. to rich patrons to earn money for food. Great book.
I’ve never read it the book–thank you for the recommendation! You make it sound like a great read.
https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/195432/romain-gary-literary-impostor
It is worth reading. And thanks for your book suggestion. We are expecting snow today so it is perfect weather for a good book!
A Gentleman in Moscow is perfect for a snowy day!
I’m glad that you enjoyed it so much. It is a stunning book.
For some reason I thought this one had been discontinued! I’ve always wanted to smell it. I’ll have to order a sample.
I think Enlevement was discontinued, but not this one.
I haven’t tried this one and it sounds charming.
I fell in love with Invasions Barbare although it leans masculine and don’t know which one would be their best known/loved fragrance.
I will have to sample this, I am always in search for exactly this type of modern vintage creation.
I wonder what the top pick would be among all the NST’ers,
looking at the last 40 years, in or out of production (maybe one of each?) I flit from fragrance to fragrance hoping to find one jaw dropping “I can’t live without this perfume” modern masterpiece.
Do you have a guess?
And behold the impossible question! So many lovely, intriguing fragrances out there–how to choose one or even a handful! My advice is to enjoy the search for your holy grail perfume, because the grail can be a slippery goal.
Wise advice (sorry, that did occur to me as I asked the question) as I have so many new loves/infatuations now that I may never have met otherwise.
MDCI has an impressive pedigree and is one that doesn’t seem to need to dive into the mainstream flood. They have a few that I would love to try.
It’s so terrific to share samples and new loves with friends, too. Isn’t the perfume community great?
I loooooove Un Coeur en Mai which I just happened to wear today. This is one of my very favorite perfumes of all time. It is so smooth and the perfect balance of beautiful-and-unusual. I know others say it’s a simple beauty but I smell a faint cigarette-like undercurrent that makes it perfect.
Surprisingly, I haven’t smelled many of the others. Must remedy that.
It’s been so long since I’ve smelled Un Coeur en Mai that I can’t say much about it–except that I remember liking its Chamade-like vibe. Now I want to sample it again for the hints of cigarette!
What a beautiful review. I’m quite fond of Rose de Siwa…I used up my sample and still haven’t purchased a bottle, for some reason. Sigh.
Maybe someday that bottle will appear….
Must revisit my sample of Promesse a l’Aube. I LOVED “A Gentleman in Moscow”! Such an ode to a lost era of refined manners, but also so edge-of-your-seat exciting during the final escapes!
I’d be curious to know what you think of L’Aube! As for A Gentleman in Moscow, I’ve been recommending it to everyone these days.
Very much classic chypre, old Hollywood glamour and all that. Something maybe Lauren Bacall would wear, but when she was really young and in love with Bogart. Or maybe Barbara Stanwyck or Marlene Dietrich in their heydays. It’s the sort of thing I would wear just for myself to feel modern, but in a retro kind of way, like a trend that comes back around, only you spot it 5 years before anyone else.
Oh, dear. I think you and I could be best friends!
Very cuddly and slightly spicy drydown, too!
Nice!