NEW FRAGRANCE REVIEW: Parfums MDCI Chypre Palatin – Duchaufour Strikes Again, Straight to the Heart + Luckyscent Draw

I recently visited Scent Bar in Los Angeles for the first time, and as I was prowling the shelves for all that was new and fabulous, to either the world or just me, Franco Wright, the proprietor, took a pretty bottle out of a paper bag.Here’s a new MDCI – we haven’t put it on the site yet”. New MDCI? My heart beat a little faster, since Claude Marchal’s line produces some of the most stunningly classic, lovely perfumes I have ever smelled. I sniffed it on paper, swooned a little, recovered myself, and sprayed some on the back of my hand.

MDCI Chypre Palatin opens with a symphony, an overused term that completely suits this occasion. There is forest, there is soap, there is comforting darkness and fizzy light all at once. I am taken to my grandmother’s powdery dressing table, to my mother’s fine wool sweater I nuzzled as a child, to my father’s cigar box. Chypre Palatin smells like none of these things exactly, but conjures all of these things in my mind.

I have to confess I am terrible at picking out individual notes in a perfume unless they are really obvious. I am more concerned with the impressions a perfume gives me, where it takes me, how it makes me feel. Some perfumes, like this one, have notes lists too complex and diverse to even begin to extract into single entities. The experience of the perfume is key, and this new scent is truly experiential.

The perfumer for this fragrance is the highly talented Bertrand Duchaufour, a man so prolific lately that I am almost surprised when he is not the nose for a new release. I feel left out of the reverential buzz, usually, as the vast majority of his fragrances are lovely until they hit my skin, and all is lost into vapid pale nothingness. Chypre Palatin does not fall into that sad category for me at all. The aromas when I press my nose to my skin, the sillage cloud I leave in my wake, the lift of the corners of my mouth as well as my mood; all signify a perfume that is a rousing success. There is no disappointment here, no wishing a certain note were more dominant, no wailing about skin life. After the grand ovation of the opening, it is smooth, with a little sweet fruit pulp, creamy, and tender. This is classified as a “green Oriental chypre” but I’m not sure that is true. It’s too purple, too golden, to be completely green. There are classic mossy chypre elements lurking in the drydown, but they are not strident, and people (like me) who have difficulty with chypres will be able to appreciate and enjoy having that little taste.

Chypre Palatin is marketed as a masculine, with a stern dark figure as the vaunted bust on the bottle. I can definitely see this on a man who is not afraid to wear something that is unabashedly a throwback to the glory days of perfume. There is nothing sporty or extreme or marine about this lovely creature.  If I met a man who smelled like this, I would peg him as a man with extraordinary taste and confidence. Women are going to want to wear this, too, though, especially women looking for a change from straight-ahead florals or simple Orientals.  There is an empty place in my collection where a bottle of this should be.

Notes per Lucky Scent: Green clementine, hyacinth, lavender, rose, jasmine, iris, benzoin, styrax, vanilla, castoreum, costus and leather accord

Chypre Palatin is available now on Lucky Scent, $250 for 60 ml, or $375 for the 60 ml bust edition. Thanks to the generosity of the folks at Lucky Scent I have two samples to give away to two lucky readers. Let me know your favorite MDCI, your favorite Duchaufour, or anything you liked about this review. Draw closes June 8, 2012  (via random.org).

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

Tama Blough, Senior Editor

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56 comments

  • It sounds like a lovely blend, with the florals and leather. It would be something I’d get for my husband but then end up using myself.

  • Linnea Wiedeman says:

    Peche Cardinal is my fave from MDCI. Great review. Thank you for a chance at the draw.

  • amberosmanthus says:

    I find this review very refreshing. It is described as: “There is forest, there is soap, there is comforting darkness and fizzy light all at once. I am taken to my grandmother’s powdery dressing table, to my mother’s fine wool sweater I nuzzled as a child, to my father’s cigar box. Chypre Palatin smells like none of these things exactly, but conjures all of these things in my mind.” This is so beautiful, after all it is not the notes in a perfume that really matter, it is what memories are stirred and to what places we are transported that have us reaching for a particular bottle. For me, perfume is more experience than anything else. Thank you for a lovely review.

  • ElizabethN says:

    My favorite Duchaufour scent is probably Dzongkha, but I could also choose five others that are beloved- Al Oudh. Paestum Rose, and Baume du Doge. Please enter me in the drawing, and thanks!

  • I am a newby to this artist. Sounds delightful and I would be delighted to experience it. I do love the review….so descriptive and that is how I experience scents.

  • cheesegan says:

    I’m not familiar with any of MDCI. perfumes and I don’t know too many of Bertrand Duchaufour perfumes, but Aedes de Venustas Eau de Parfum is one that I love
    I like that in the article the author admits to not being able to discern notes except for the obvious ones and that she is more concerned with the overall impression she gets from a perfume. That’s how I feel about perfume and I’m glad I’m not alone.
    Thanks for the article and for the draw.

  • My fav MDCI is Enlevement au Serail.
    I like all MDCI fragrances. Very artistic and interesting.
    And also the best full note pear fragrance: La Belle Helene.

    Thank you!

  • I have read a lot recently about Duchaufour, especially due to the perfume lover and this site. A chypre that women would want to wear sounds intriguing as I found out after that fact that 2 out of the first three scents I ever bought were masculines.

  • smokeytoes says:

    Lovely (very lovely) article Tama. I was under the impression I didn’t like many BD perfumes but after checking, it turns out I adore and own many of his creations. CdG’s Kyoto and Avignon, Rhubarb, L’ Artisan’s Patchouli Patch, Al Oudh, Mon Numero 10, Mure et Musc Extrait and Oud Shamash. I can’t wait to try his newest creation!

  • Brooke baird says:

    This review is so beautifully written. This fragrance sounds delightful and is on my must-try list. Invasion Barbare is my favorite MDCI fragrance. I have to admit that I am a huge Duchaufour fangirl (Timbuktu, Baume Dauge, Nuit de Tuberose, and Kyoto) and this just sounds extraordinary.

  • Wow, Tama, you have made this new MDCI sound like something stunning and special. It’s hard for me to name a single favorite from the line, as I think they are really so well made and such wonderful creations. However, two stand out for me: Invasion Barbare, by Stéphanie Bakouche, and Un Cœur en Mai, by Patricia de Nicolaï.

    I hope to smell this one soon, so I’d love to win a sample!

  • I have not smelled anything by Duchaufour or from MDCI but this contest seems like the ideal chance to smell one. I am working on my own chypre, so this would be very instructive to see how a master does it. I liked reading about the opening symphony and the dry down to traditional oak moss, etc.

  • So hard to choose my favorite Duchaufour, but they say you never forget your first — Dzongkha was my first full bottle. The man is a genius.

  • I’m a relative newby to the world of contemporary niche fragrances, but there is no mistaking the genius of Duchaufour. I really enjoyed reading your impressions of this fragrance!

  • To be honest, I haven’t tried any MDCI and only a few Duchaufours, but I very much like Bombay Bling from the Neela Vermiere Creations line. Thanks for the draw!

  • This sounds fantastic and I’m most intrigued by the notes list and your description how the fragrance progresses. I’d love to win a sample.

  • marcopietro says:

    I never try MDCI’s fragrances but I love all Duchaufour creations. My favorite is Timbuktu.
    Thanks for the draw!

  • My favourite Duchaufour composition is Nuit de Tuberose from L’Artisan.

    Thanks for the draw! I hope to win.

  • I like that the reviewer does not get hung up on the single notes but instead talks about the whole scent. I don’t like it when art is dissected. After all, the perfumer combined notes and accords to make something new. Thank you for that!

  • I love it when you write: ‘too purple, too golden, to be completely green’! I often also have difficulties picking out single notes in a perfume, but when you put on colours, I’m there with you immediately! It sounds like a gorgeous number. Thanks for a great review.

  • Wow would love to sniff this one!!! He is trully talented I love all his creations (I have smelled so far) my favorite one being Traversee du Bosphore !

  • My favourite MDCI is Duchaufour`s previous creation for the house: La belle Helene…a gorgeous pear scent…fresh and elegant.
    Un chypre palatin sounds superb!

  • My favorite Duchafour are two: Timbuktu and Baume du Doge. They are msterpieces!
    And I love Traversée du Bosphore too. Now I wonder why I don’t have any of them in my collection if they are great! Well, too expensive for me nowadays, probably.

  • I am a huge Duchaufour fan, my favourite being 1697 by Frapin. I love how he uses notes to create a physical setting, a scene where the perfume acts upon. Thanks for the draw, Chypre Palatin sounds really interesting!

  • I am only familiar with Duchafour through my reading of him on the internet. I’d love to find out what the fuss is all about!

  • I have never tried any of the MDCI fragrances, but after reading your marvelous description I now am very anxious to do so. Chypre Palatin sounds amazing- please enter me in your draw. And thank you, not only for the chance to sample Chypre Palatin, but for your inspiring description.

  • My favorite MDCI is Rose de Siwa. I’m a bit of a rose junkie and I find it to be a unique and lovely rose perfume.

  • ringthing says:

    My favorite Duchaufour? So many! What stands out are the scents he’s done for Commes des Garcons, particularly the Red Series Harissa & Incense Series Kyoto & Avignon.

  • wonderful review!
    I only had the chance to try “La Belle Hellene”, I liked it but it’s not love…
    I very much appreciate Ms. Douchaufour’s work, my favourites are Avignon and Havana Vanille
    thanks a lot for the draw

  • Fantastic review! I absolutely love Bertrand Duchaufour. Timbuktu, Traversee du Bosphore, and Nuit de Tubereuse are three of my faves. I’m fairly certain that any of his creations will work on my skin and please me, and haven’t been proven wrong yet. I would love to try this one! Thanks so much for the draw.

  • noetic owl says:

    Although I am not familiar with this line I grew up on chypre scents and have been meaning to try Timbuktu for a VERY long time…
    Thanks for this draw!

  • I enjoyed the reviewer’s confession about not being able to tease out notes. It’s quite unclear to me that in a well-blended perfume we should be able to do such a thing.

    This perfume sounds great and I’d love to give it a sniff.

    Thanks for the review, and for having this draw.

  • Hi Tama! Interesting review. I would love to try this one! Oh, and I have too many favorite Duchaufours to list, but Timbuktu and Fleur de Liane and Bombay Bling are among the highest on my list.

  • I love almost everything in the MDCI line, but especially Rose de Siwa. This new one sounds like an excellent addition to the line.

  • I love this line, “If I met a man who smelled like this, I would peg him as a man with extraordinary taste and confidence. ”
    My favorite Duchaufour scents are Avignon and Kyoto. I would love to try this new scent.

  • +1 for Paestum Rose — simple, beautiful, versatile. Love all of Duchaufour’s work from the bottle or on paper, but I often don’t find them appealing on real live people — the “vinegar” notes of Timbuktu, Dzongkha, Sienne l’hiver smell too close to sour sweat/pickle-pimento juice…

  • My favorite MDCI is Enlevement au Serail.
    My favorite Duchaufour scent is Mohur!

  • stellaglo says:

    i love his work….especially nuit de tuberouse, kyoto, and (drumroll) the breathtakingly exquisite jubilation XXV. one of my favorite perfumers. combine that with the word “chypre” and i’m sold. must. have. this.

  • I’m crazy mad for Duchaufour lately. Four of his latest are on my wish list – the three Neela Vermeire fragrances and the new Aedes EDP. And the only FB of MDCI I own is La Belle Helene! Those MDCIs are sooo wonderful. Combo MDCI/Duchaufour? How can I stay away??? I’m excited to try this!!!

  • I have never smelled any of his fragrances. I do love that picture of the man & woman. I would love to try this fragrance, thanks for the draw.

  • My favorite MDCI is Rose de Siwa.

    My favorite Duchaufour’s are all L’Atisans:
    Nuit de Tubereuse
    Havana Vanille
    Al Oudh

  • I am a HUGE Duchaufour fan 🙂

    My favorite MDCI is La Belle Hélène.

    My favorite Duchaufour is Frapin 1697 Absolu de Parfum.

    Thanks for the review, and for having this draw!

  • Aimee L'Ondee says:

    Hi, great review! Had me drooling. My favorite Duchaufour is Kyoto, and my favorite MDCI is Enlevement au Serail. Thanks for having the draw!

  • I have never sampled the MCDI line, but have sampled some of B. Duchaufour’s fragrances, but don’t believe I have a favorite at present. But given his prolific number of creations, I’m sure that there’s one there. Maybe it will be Chypre Palatin??!!

  • I’m already clambering to sniff this new MDCI!!! Great review!

    Oh gosh, my fave Duchafour’s by FAR are CdG Series 3 Avignon and Kyoto. “Obsessed” doesn’t begin to cover it.

  • Thanks for a great review! Invasion Barbare my standard go to. I’m excited to try this new adventure, thanks for sharing with us!

  • What a great review, Tama!

    I have never yet smelled even one ‘MDCI’ scent…but it really sounds like Chypre Palatin would be a great place to start! *giggles*

    Favorite Duchaufour? OMG who can pick??! I love all these…

    -Timbuktu (L’Artisan)
    -Safran Troublant (L’Artisan)
    -Mure et Musc Extrait (L’Artisan)
    -Cipresso di Toscano (Acqua di Parma)
    -CdG: Rhubarb (Sherbet series)
    Seqouia (Red series) &
    Avignon (Incense series)
    -Fahrenheit Summer (DIOR) *sighs*
    -Amarige d’Amour (Givenchy)
    -Flora Bella (Lalique)
    -Amaranthine (Penhaligon’s)
    -Esprit du Roi (Penhaligon’s)
    -Sartorial (Penhaligon’s)

    The man is amazing!!

  • Haven’t tried any MDCI but have read great reviews about several of them. Favorite Duchaufour (and one of my favorite perfumes ever) is Dzongkha.

  • The only MDCI I have sampled is La Belle Hélène and I Iove it.

    My favorite Duchaufour? Traversee du Bosphore by L’Artisan.

    Wonderfully written review!

  • Thanks for the review and the draw! I liked this part of the review best, because it was very evocative:
    “There is forest, there is soap, there is comforting darkness and fizzy light all at once. I am taken to my grandmother’s powdery dressing table, to my mother’s fine wool sweater I nuzzled as a child, to my father’s cigar box. Chypre Palatin smells like none of these things exactly, but conjures all of these things in my mind.”

    My favorite Duchafour is Jubilation XXV, which is also meant for men but is exquisite on me.

  • Tourbillion says:

    My favorite Duchafour is Traversee du Bosphore. I haven’t tried any MDCI yet! I really enjoyed this review!