Frederic Malle Angeliques sous la Pluie ~ fragrance review

Posted by Angela on 25 July 2011 52 Comments

Frederic Malle Angeliques sous la Pluie

While the rest of the nation has suffered from heat, we’ve had moderate temperatures and summer rain. I’m not talking about the wild, ozonic thunderstorms that erupt late afternoons in the eastern states. (How I miss them and fireflies.) I mean cold rain that eases earthy smells from the city, while soft, warm air pillows its splatter. In other words, it’s been perfect weather for Frédéric Malle Angéliques sous la Pluie.

Angéliques sous la Pluie was part of Frédéric Malle’s initial release of perfumes in 2000. Among the house’s line, Angéliques sous la Pluie doesn’t seem to get a lot of attention. I think it’s worth a second look.

Iconic nose Jean-Claude Ellena created Angéliques sous la Pluie, adding notes of angelica leaves, juniper berries, coriander, musk, and sweet cedar. In Perfumes: The A – Z Guide, Luca Turin compares Angéliques sous la Pluie to a wormwood-based Swiss liqueur, and not favorably. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a Swiss liqueur, so that comparison doesn’t prejudice my opinion…

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Frederic Malle Lipstick Rose ~ perfume review

Posted by Jessica on 11 February 2011 59 Comments

Norma Talmadge (circa 1919)

Roses are red, violets are blue…and this “valentine” to Lipstick Rose is long overdue. Seriously, I’ve intended to write a review of this fragrance for quite a while, but I kept getting distracted by new releases and so on. Sometimes we tend to take our loved ones for granted, in perfume as in relationships, but I’ve decided not to delay any longer in sharing my thoughts on Lipstick Rose.

Lipstick Rose was launched in 2000 as part of the original product line from Editions de Parfums. It was created for Frédéric Malle by perfumer Ralf Schwieger, and it is described by Editions de Parfums as “a vision of glamorized femininity” that evokes the “bonbon” scent of lipstick; its notes are listed as rose, violet, musk, vanilla, vetiver, and amber. Lipstick Rose has a fizzy, aldehydic opening with a sweet-but-tart raspberry note. The fragrance’s heart is a blend of talc-dusted tea rose petals and violet liqueur that does, yes, remind me of certain highly-scented lipstick brands. After Lipstick Rose’s flirtatious early development, its base of vetiver and soft musk makes a sophisticated appearance. The lasting dry down is a haze of candied violets and plush, ambery vanilla, with that sly musk lingering beneath. This fragrance has excellent staying power and noticeable sillage (particularly during the first hour or so).

Lipstick Rose is something of a paradox…

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5 Perfumes for: a Mint Refresher

Posted by Erin on 20 January 2011 131 Comments

mint leaves

Smell is the most associative sense. For years, they have dyed both men’s colognes and sports drinks like Gatorade the exact shade of blue of the absorbing liquid in maxi pad commercials and nobody seems bothered by this, except me — and, well, maybe now you as well. Something I never overhear: “I can’t listen to Bartók anymore, because John Bonham of Led Zeppelin has ruined me for timpani.” Yet every scent enthusiast is familiar with the type of scenario where you apply careful dabs of your most cherished new sample and you are snuffling away at the baptized spot on the back of your hand, squinting and considering every facet, when your spouse breezes in and announces casually: “It smells like Lifebuoy soap in here.” And you are NEVER ABLE TO WEAR IT AGAIN. The band-aid aspect of fragrances with black pepper, the ham in lily soliflores, a whiff of Creamsicle wherever and whenever it is found: once smelled, it haunts you forever.

Perhaps no note in perfumery has suffered more for its associations than mint. The cost of our modern obsession with smelling fresh has been that there are some of us who regularly wear fragrances that evoke the burnt dust of a blown computer CPU, but refuse to wear minty scents on the grounds that we are reminded of toothpaste, mouthwash and chewing gum…

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Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady ~ perfume review

Posted by Robin on 15 December 2010 123 Comments

Mistakes

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…

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