New Niche Fragrance Review Memo Quartier Latin + Pay It Forward Draw

Quartier Latin, Paris by QT Luong (2003)

One of the benefits of writing about perfume on CaFleureBon is that my piteous begging is sometimes answered from afar. Back in July I reviewed the magnificent oud fragrance from Memo Paris, Shams, which had actually come out late in 2011 but it took me nine months to get some to try. At the end of that review I sent up a plea to the heavens for someone to hook me up with the upcoming release for 2012, Quartier Latin. Clara and John Molloy, the husband and wife creative team behind Memo Paris, heard my sad story and, with an assist from EIC Michelyn Camen, took pity on me. They not only sent me both of the new 2012 releases but a complete sample set to help me fill in the holes in my knowledge of Memo Paris.

Bon Marche Department store

The first piece of knowledge I gained is the entire line is composed by perfumer Alienor Massenet. In the past I have waxed poetically about the unknown perfumer who manages to illuminate and explore a central note in every Memo fragrance. Now I know the answer and I am very pleased to give this talented perfumer her due. The second piece of information is the collection has a collective name “Les Echappees” (The Escapes) which is meant to form an olfactory map of the world with each new release. So for Quartier Latin we head to the Left Bank and to the 5th arrondissement. The Quartier Latin is home to one of the great department stores in Paris, Bon Marche. Quartier Latin was created in honor of Bon Marche’s 160th Anniversary. The most famous institution in the Quartier Latin is La Sorbonne. It was La Sorbonne which gave the Latin to the quartier as the name sprung up because students in the 12th century walked around speaking in Latin which was the language they were taught in. In the 21st century the Quartier Latin is influenced as much by the shopping and cuisine as the students. Mme Massenet focused on a particularly unique note you are likely to run into in the Quartier Latin where the students hang out; that of clove in the presence of Kreteks being smoked. She has taken this scent of clove and wrapped it in a sweet and spicy cashmere scarf to make a uniquely chic and beautiful perfume.

Kreteks

The clove is present right from the start but it seems to have a softer impact than clove I am used to encountering in fragrance. One of the reasons is that Mme Massenet lists clove leaf as the note and that explains the touch of green also present. It really does smell much like a Kretek clove cigarette and it is something I truly enjoyed. Sandalwood and cedar wood add a sweetly woody contrast to the clove and it makes Quartier Latin feel creamy and thick. The base is tonka, which adds its unique hay-like facet of sweet, along with a warm spicy amber. At the final stage everything is mixing together, perfectly balanced, and was something I just kept wanting to experience over and over again.

Quartier Latin has outstanding longevity and average sillage.

So when last I was at the end of a Memo review I pleaded for help to experience the new releases and the Molloys heard my entreaty and granted my wish. Inconsiderate man that I am I have another plea for the Molloys, “Please, please, please find a distributor in North America!” These perfumes are much too good not to be available to every perfumista and the newest, Quartier Latin, fits right in.

Disclosure: This review was based on a bottle of Quartier Latin provided by Memo Paris.

Please Clara & John May I Have More Memo?

I just have to pay my good fortune forward and so thanks to the generosity of Clara and John Molloy of Memo Paris I am going to offer a 2.5mL decant of Quartier Latin from the bottle they sent me for review. To be eligible I am going to use you to amplify my begging voice; leave a comment asking Clara and John Molloy to pretty please bring Memo Paris to your town or country. Cherries on top and fanciful garnishes are encouraged. We will draw one winner from all comments on October 14, 2012.

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.

-Mark Behnke, Managing Editor

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49 comments

  • HeatherP says:

    Mr. and Mrs. Molloy, please, PLEASE make your scents available in the USA. (I would plead for them to be sold in my town, but I live in a relatively small corner of Wyoming. Unless you were also going to market to wild horses and pronghorns, I can’t imagine that you’d find being here worth your time.) to an online purveyor of niche fragrance might be a wonderful fit for you, perhaps?

    I will especially make my plea based on the review above. As a former student (and current professor) of literature and writing, many of my most treasured recollections of my sordid, coffeehouse-laden past are laced liberally with the siren scent of Kreteks. I miss them so much, but my respiratory system is now far too touchy for me to smoke them without going into a hacking fit. If I could buy this scent domestically, I could enjoy that scent without sacrificing my lungs on the altar of the clove cigarette. Please, think of my poor lungs, and distribute in the USA!

  • Liz K says:

    Texans like to smell good too. Please bring Memo to the USA! An online retailer that would ship all over would do nicely since there are no perfume shoppes near me.

  • Julz says:

    I’m happy to announce that I’m one of the lucky ones who need not beg the ‘Molloys’, as MEMO’s already available where I’m at (i.e. London). But I’ll beg in solidarity with the less fortunate. 🙂 … I’ll also unashamedly beg for that decant on offer – yes please. 🙂 … (& thank u !)

  • Lorraine says:

    My credit card just told me that you should stay far far away
    But I would sing ain’t too proud to beg by the temptations very loudly and drown out their dull voices if Memo was available in the US

  • Francesca says:

    I think Memo should be in the deep south of the Pacific, Aotearoa. It should begin at either World who have a niche fragrance store here in Wellington or our classiest department store Kircaldie & Stains where they have Serge Lutens and the like. Do it!

  • Irina says:

    Hi, Clara and John
    I’m begging…
    will you, please, please, bring Memo to Israel?
    just think about it, we have here only 1 boutique selling old l’Artisans and several EL d’O available on-line
    except that….nothing, desert, nada
    you can change this miserable situation

  • CCC says:

    Everybody thought about the artist aspect. I am going to use the economical aspect.
    “Clara and John bring your fragrances to US, they are really great, many of us love them and even more will fall in love once they are accessible here, so you have a huge market “

  • MariaA says:

    I too will join the begging to make MEMO available throughout the world!! I live in Greece and am under the suspicion that I could order online from Paris but haven’t tried to make sure. Would love to have them available in a shop for extensive sniffing though!!
    Thank you for the draw!!!

  • ana says:

    Dear Clara and John Mollo, Dublin is a poor city in terms of fragrance! We NEED more Parisian chic in our lives!Please bring your other french friends too!A fine fragrance boutique here in Dublin, Ireland is something we sorely miss!

  • Jan says:

    Aw, c’mon, Clara and John, Madrid is so close to Paris, please bring a Memo shop to us! We have a growing market of niche perfume enthusiasts here, and us Spaniards have good taste!

  • Tami H. says:

    It would be EVER SO LOVELY if you could bring Memo here to the U.S. It sounds FABULOUS!!
    Thank You!!

  • Dana says:

    Well, let me chime in with everybody else and say that your presence in the U.S. is obviously requested.

  • Gabry says:

    Dear Clara and John, please bring Memo in Modena, Italy…. In Modena we love fragrance because here is the city of balsamic vinnegar and tortellini pasta. We loved the fragrance of high speed because here is Ferrari cars. And, last but not least, we love the fragrance of music, because Modena was the home town of Big Luciano Pavarotti……

  • Kathryn says:

    Clara and John, first I’ll ask you to please bring Memo to Australia, and secondly to give those in more obscure countries a chance to get their hands on your niche fragrance offerings. There is such a major difference between niche/artisan fragrances and those that are available in local department stores, sold as mainstream. The variety is dwindling. The more fragrances that are available the more tempting it is to be unique.

  • FearsMice says:

    Clara and John, I beg you to rescue Washington, DC from the foul stench of partisan politics by bringing your gorgeous fragances to us ASAP! Really, please!!!

  • Maureen says:

    Dear Clara and John, I beg you to bring Memo to Philadelphia, PA…the city of Brotherly love, and boy. would we love to experience these fragrances. PPPPPPLLLLLEASE!!!!

  • Musette says:

    I would ask you to bring Memo to Wyoming IL, population 1,300 (yes One Thousand Three Hundred) but you would probably expire from laughing! So…please bring it to NY, which will allow me to get the heck OUT of Wyoming IL population 1,300, to try this intriguing line.

    xoxoA

  • matildaben says:

    Dear Memo:
    I think Shams is one of the best oud perfumes out there, and would love it if you would find a distributor to bring your fragrances to the Pacific Northwest. Vancouver, BC has a Shoppe where your line would feel at home among distinguished company. Seattle has many wonderful independent perfume shops and Portland

  • Karen says:

    M & Mme Molley, s’il vous plaît apporter MEMO Paris aux États-Unis (en particulier New York). Je vous prie, si tu veux!

  • Isayah says:

    Ah! quelle joie ce serait si vos parfums étaient disponibles à Montreal!
    Oh! you’d be so nice to make your fragrances available in Montreal, what a joy it would be!

  • Shelley says:

    Mark is right, Memo is way too nice not to bring to the rest of the world not fortunate enough to already enjoy the perfume. Please, please, bring Memo online! I’d definitely buy it!

  • Connor M says:

    distance is but a simple barrier considering the world we live in today.

    bring your creations to another corner of the world. S’il vous plait.

  • Victoria says:

    Bonsoir, M. et Mme Molloy, Ma profonde gratitude pour vos parfums Memo belles. Je demande humblement que vous envisager sérieusement la mise à disposition vos créations Mémo belles aux États-Unis, surtout dans mon état du Texas.

    Ma sincère merci pour votre examen de cette demande.

    Cordialement,

    Victoria

  • Nikki C says:

    Clara and John, pretty please won’t you bring Memo to Canada? Pretty, pretty please! I’m not above begging.

  • anamari says:

    I´m also pitching for Madrid – nice to see another person from this city on the comments board – we need more interesting fragrances here, thank you!

  • Kata says:

    Dear Clara and John! Please, bring Memo to Hungary! We need more accessible niche fragrances here!

  • lovethescents says:

    Dear Clara and John, another vote for bringing Memo to Canada. Our selection of niche is so poor, it’s embarrassing!

  • mim666 says:

    Dear Clara and John,
    Please, pretty please with a cherry cordial on top, bring Memo to Boston MA! There have been quite a few pleas already; Boston has less perfume quantity and selection than NYC but is still a major city with international draw and plenty of appreciative perfumistas!