New Niche Fragrance Review: Histoires de Parfums Make Perfume Not War + Child’s Play Draw

child-with-bubbles

Perfume is produced for so many banal reasons not the least of which is to make money. It is why it was nice to see a niche brand producing a perfume where a significant amount of the price would go to a charitable cause. Gerald Ghislain the creative force behind Histoires de Parfums is releasing a 1,000 bottle limited edition called Make Perfume Not War. M.Ghislain, like so many, believes that it is the children who have the power to impart lasting positive change. To that end $50 of every bottle sold will be earmarked for one of five initiatives Play, Education, The Arts, Technology, and Health. When you buy a bottle you get to decide to which one of these categories you would like your $50 to go towards. For more information on the specific initiatives you can go to the website www.makeperfumenotwar.org which is where the perfume is for sale and you choose where your donation is headed.

children-play-hold-hands

When I wore Make Perfume Not War I was very much reminded of Histoires de Parfums founding principles. Back in 2001 when I discovered the line M. Ghislain explained to me he wanted to bring quality back to perfume and to combine the two sides of his life; being born in France but raised in Morocco. He was a true child of the Mediterranean. Make Perfume Not War feels like a bit of a nod to that childhood as it is full of high quality ingredients all with a sense of innocent child’s play. An opening of every citrus note you might name turns in to a fruity floral heart before becoming sweetly woody at the end. Make Perfume Not War is like morning at the beginning of a day off from school as you decide how to spend your day, something fun is just ahead.

children-playing-outdoors

As I mentioned M. Ghislain takes lemon, grapefruit, orange, tangerine, and bergamot to begin Make Perfume Not War. This is as easy breezy as you can ask from a fragrance, it feels comfortable as the citrus overload works to impart a sense of fun like using every crayon in the box to color in your coloring book. For the heart M. Ghislain goes from the citrus grove and heads over to the tropical fruit stand as mango and pineapple provide the framework around a bouquet of freesia, lilac, and cyclamen. It is the lilac which is most prominent of the florals and the pineapple mango accord is so juicy I kept feeling like I wanted to wipe a drop of juice off my chin. The base is a trip to the candy store as vanilla and tonka turn the final phase lightly sweet. There is a bit of cedar but the vanilla is where Make Perfume Not War comes to a close on my skin.

Make Perfume Not War has average longevity and average sillage.

Children-playing-001

Make Perfume Not War is uncomplicated and in that simplicity it does capture the innocence of children and the reason for this fragrance to be created in the first place. If you sometimes want a fragrance which asks no more of you than to let it be your companion for a day Make Perfume Not War is a great choice. It will help you remember those days off as a child all while helping the current children look towards a brighter future of their own.

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by Histoires de Parfums.

mpnw press sample

Thanks to Histoires de Parfums we have a 5mL press sample to giveaway. This is a US/Canada draw only. To be eligible leave a comment on what your favorite activity was as a child when you had a day off. Remember to tell us whether you are in Canada or the US in the comment, too. The draw will end September 18, 2013.

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

Editor’s Note: If you are in Paris from September 18-November 20, 2013 there will be a Make Perfume Not War pop-up shop located at 11 Rue du Roi Dore, 75003 Paris. Make Perfume Not War will make its debut at the Paris exhibition Rives de la Beaute which runs from September 18-22, 2013.

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31 comments

  • StaceyW says:

    I am in the U.S. and my favorite pastime was trips to the library or drawing in my room. Miss those days! Thanks for the draw!

  • taffyj says:

    We had a lot of fun as kids. Couldn’t wait to get outside after school and play softball or tag or any activity which involved running and screaming our heads off.
    I live in the U.S.

  • PatriciaC says:

    I lived outside in the summer when i was a kid, we were poor. Every spring,we had kittens in my fathers shed. I would help the mommy cat raise her kittens then find them homes. I live in the USA

  • Fazal Cheema says:

    my favorite activity as a child was always to dream as to how one day i will make a difference in the world..i kind of realized early on we live in a world with lot of challenges. i am based in the U.S.

  • Darilyn says:

    I loved riding my bike, but the best day was when I had money to go
    to the local amusement park and go on the rides and eat cotton candy!
    I live in the US.

  • Steve Porkpie Hat Johnson says:

    In the US and when I was young, it was all about Legos, riding bikes and organizing my top-secret band of spies.

    In the spirit of this draw, if I get picked, I give my win to PatriciaC, for a great answer to this question.

  • Gypsy Parfumista says:

    My very favorite activity as a child, on a snow day or day off from school, was to take to the forest with my best friend and our dogs where we assumed the identities of a warrior and a wizard fighting evil on faraway planets! 🙂

    US resident

    Thanks for the great review! How beautiful this fragrance sounds. Thanks to Histoire and Cafleurebon for the groovy draw!!

  • helical gnome says:

    My mother made me study on my days off but I always managed to end quickly and run around the block with my brother. My favorite show to watch was Gumby so that was what I did most of the time.
    Thanks for this wonderful post. I am in the US

  • Melissa says:

    We lived in an area with many wooded paths and great hideaways. We traipsed all over the woods, taking on different identities and making our parents crazy trying to figure out how far we had wandered. (The answer-pretty far.) We also rode our bikes at ridiculous speeds down the steep hills in the neighborhood. I live in the US.

  • Suzinn says:

    When I was very young I loved wandering for hours in the woods behind my childhood home where I encountered woodland flora and fauna of all sorts. The smells were wonderful too! I loved the mosses and the tiny streams that changed with the seasons and in some winter the pond would freeze over enough to ice skate upon. It was these forest wanderings that helped me grow my imagination and independence (In those days kids were allowed to be outside ‘alone’). I feel fortunate to have learned the value of solitude at such a young age.

  • ringthing says:

    I live in the US and applaud Histoires de Parfums for their charitable initiatives. My favorite childhood activity was to climb up a comfortable maple tree and read, read, read.

  • wefadetogray says:

    I am in the US
    My favorite thing was to collect flowers and leaves with my sister for our “flora” book as we called it. I miss those days.

  • Chris Schaefer says:

    I am in the US. I was a bike rider and hiker from way back! But I think my passion was climbing trees!

  • Annabel Rivera says:

    I live in the us and I grew up in NYC. Summer memories entail games of the kick the can, playing in the fire hydrant and chasing fireflies.

  • Steve A says:

    As a child I liked staying in and watching television. Come to think of it….

    In the U.S. Thanks for the chance.

  • breathesgelatin says:

    My favorite activity when I had a day off was running through sprinklers or turning a hose into my turtle sandbox and making a ‘beach’!

    I’m in the US, thank you for the draw. this perfume sounds right up my alley!

  • Mary K says:

    When I had off from school, I used to like to spend time outdoors with my friends, playing kickball or hide and seek, or riding bikes. I am in the US. Thank you for this drawing!

  • Holly F. says:

    As a child, my favorite activity was reading. I would spend hours that stretched into days and weeks, it seemed, becoming a part of the world that the novel created. A more “active” activity that could steal my attention away for whole days was swimming, which also exercised my imagination as I would dip in and out of the waves pretending to be a mermaid. Thanks so much for the draw. I am in the U.S.