Martine Micallef is one of those perfumers who it seems does not get enough love from those of us who write about perfume. She has been making some extraordinary fragrances since she began in 1997. When I meet someone who has become a little jaded over the state of current perfumery I introduce them to M. Micallef fragrances like Avant Garde, Mon Parfum, Black Sea or Note Vanillee and usually watch them discover something that’s been missing for them. Mme. Micallef has an individualistic approach to her compositions and this gives her more of the artisanal feel instead of the commercial feel one might think you would encounter.

 

Many of her best fragrances take well known notes and pair them with unusual partners to bring out a new synergy. The pairing of cinnamon and rose at the opening stages of Red Sea is one of those moments, for me, as I enjoy both of those notes separately but together and in high quality concentrations they combine to create a completely unique accord both spicy and floral simultaneously. This is why I look forward to every new release by Mme. Micallef eagerly because when she finds these serendipitous combinations these fragrances are wonderful. In her two latest releases she has done this for incense in Shanaan and lily of the valley in Lucky Charm.

 

Shanaan is the latest fragrance in Mme. Micallef’s Time for Love series. The only previous one I have tried, Watch, was an excellent blend of jasmine and vanilla. Shanaan is at heart an incense fragrance but it contains magical surprises that elevate this to one of the best incense fragrances I’ve tried.

The opening of Shanaan is a typical dry frankincense but very quickly a bright tart lemon appears and that changes the opening to something unique. Most incense fragrances will start off light and slowly intensify. Mme. Micallef chooses to start with an intense incense note and up the ante with the lemon. The acidity of the citrus has the effect of reducing the heavy resinous nature and creates an almost luminous airy incense with unexpected depth. This opening phase is as good as it gets in incense fragrances.

 

The heart takes in labdanum and cedar in small amounts. The cedar adds a little structure while the labdanum makes things a little powdery, in a good way. The labdanum and cedar create a clear inflection point for Shanaan between the top and base. The move into the base starts with a briny ambergris followed by a deep musk.

As much as I liked the opening of Shanaan the final stanza with the ambergris, musk and frankincense is even better. This is also a case where the quality of the ingredients Mme. Micallef uses is apparent. There are many fragrances which have incense, ambergris, and musk in them; none of them smell as deep and subtle as Shanaan and that is all up to the quality put into the bottle. Shanaan has become one of my very favorite incense fragrances.

The other recent release from Mme. Micallef is for her new line Micallef Studios and it is also composed along with her husband Geoffrey Nejman who has produced some well-received masculine perfumes under the G. Nejman label. Micallef Studios concept is to produce a line of fragrance that will be “young and dynamic”. They produced an initial line of five fragrances and Lucky Charm is the latest addition to Micallef Studios.

 

Lucky Charm is centered around lily of the valley. The French tradition of giving a sprig of lily of the valley on May Day makes lily of the valley an almost quintessential spring fragrance. This tradition was begun on May Day in 1561 when King Charles IX received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm. Ever after he would offer a sprig of lily of the valley to the Ladies at Court on May Day and a tradition was born. In Lucky Charm, Mme. Micallef and M. Nejman take that core note of lily of the valley and, as in Shanaan, surround it with high quality ingredients and allow that central accord to shine.

 

The opening of Lucky Charm is lily of the valley and it is paired with a light dewy rose right from the start. The surprise comes when a juicy slightly sweet citrus note appears. The note list identifies it as tangerine I would call it bitter orange but in any case it adds a needed balance to keep the lushness of the rose and lily of the valley from becoming too much. The heart of Lucky Charm is where this fragrance soars. The lily of the valley stays in place and the rose slowly morphs into a deep indolic jasmine and ever so slowly a deep mix of plum and black currant join the floral notes.

 

 

The middle of Lucky Charm feels like a May Day brunch with a floral centerpiece and cut up plums and a pot of black currant jam present. The only thing missing is an accord of starched white linen. No matter because what is here is so well balanced between the fruit and the floral it is memorable enough. The heart of Lucky Charm is a class in how to balance a fruity floral and the key is to not let either aspect become too overwhelming and allow the notes to complement each other.

Mme. Micallef and M. Nejman accomplish this. A sheer white musk finishes Lucky Charm but it is the fruity floral heart that lingers in the mind. I applaud the idea to go after a younger market but when you make fragrances as good as Lucky Charm it seems a shame to keep it only for the young.

Shanaan and Lucky Charm both have outstanding longevity and average sillage.

If you have not become a fan of Mme. Micallef’s fragrances you are denying yourself the pleasure of experiencing high quality, envelope-pushing perfumery. Starting with Shanaan and Lucky Charm could easily send you down the Micallef rabbit hole, Alice.

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample of Shanaan purchased from Luckyscent and a sample of Lucky Charm provided by First-in-Fragrance.

– Mark Behnke, ManagingEditor