Frederic Malle courtesy of Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle
In the 21 years since M. Frederic Malle showed the fragrance world how independent perfumery is done — hire the best, give complete artistic freedom to your perfumers, sign their names to each bottle and produce elegant, exceptionally high quality works housed in elegant, simple, eloquently branded bottles – Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle has remained a touchstone of creative perfumery. While the brand was sold to Estee Lauder in 2015, artistic control was, and is, maintained by M. Malle, and continues to produce some of the most gorgeous fragrances on the planet.
The title of this article may elicit some murmuring and even a bit of harumphing. What, no Portrait of a Lady, Musc Ravageur or Carnal Flower? These fabulous names are already celebrities; writing about them at this point seems a point like gilding the lily (or the rose, musk and tuberose, more exactly). But there are others in the line just as deserving of the limelight. Here are three entrancingly beautiful fragrances from this superlative house to put on your radar, including my personal favourite.
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Dans Tes Bras by Maurice Roucel (2008)
Master perfumer Maurice Roucel’s sensual fragrance is sweepingly romantic and the sexiest violet I’ve ever worn. “Prend-moi dans tes bras” – take me in your arms — suggests a fragrance for pulling closer. And so it is. As it unfolds, Dans Tes Bras feels intimate, like a shared language between two lovers. Roucel teases different facets from his violet – velveteen flower petals and wild green leaf, a touch of raspberry, even, that deepen into a winey syrup as it tangles with heliotrope. The cashmeran is pronounced in the middle section; fuzzy, musky, smelling like a skin-warmed angora sweater. Notes: Violet, cashmeran; heliotrope, sandalwood, white musk.
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle En Passant by Olivia Giocabetti (2000)
Olivia Giacobetti’s haunting, drizzly lilac is a lovely and ephemeral as a flourish of lilacs on an April day just after the rain. Smelling En Passant even on the hottest, most blaringly sunny day still brings to mind rain-shook blooms, the sound of slosh and patter, and the shimmery palette of Monet’s Nympheas. Giacobetti is one of the great Impressionists of modern perfumery and she couples her unique white lilac accord – one of the most realistic presentations of that elusive flower in perfumery – with the gelid, watery snap of cucumber and a rain accord that hints at damp pavement, green crushed stem and soaked ground. This gives En Passant its misty quality while keeping the flower in clear focus. While most of En Passant’s loveliness is evident in the top notes, as it wears, an inspired wheat note adds an aerated lightness and touch of bready sweetness, and the orange leaves, which swell slowly in the background like jubilant cellos, add a smile behind the clouds. En Passant is one of the most beautiful lilac scents since Patou’s breathtaking Vacances.
Notes: White lilac, rain accord, cucumber, wheat, orange tree leaves.
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Le Parfum de Therese by Edmond Roudnitska (2000) © photo used with permission by Michel Roudnitska
I could not possibly conclude without an appreciation of my favourite Malle of all, Le Parfum de Therese. There has never been a more beautiful love letter than the great Edmond Roudnitska’s signature creation for his wife, Therese, and from its creation in the 1950s, it was produced for her alone. It was only after Roudnitska’s death in 1996 that permission was granted via Roudnistka’s son, Michel, for Malle to produce it as part of the inaugural release of Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle. I am so grateful the Roudnitskas shared this stunning, singular gift with the rest of us.
A complex, multilayered composition of classic notes such as jasmine, violet and rose and woven into a shimmering orchestration alongside a more eccentric – and extraordinary – ripe melon, tree fruit and darker notes of leather and cedar. Le Parfum de Therese transports you to the South of France in late spring. The top is a burst of herbal, sunny mandarin, sweet, sparky juice practically dripping from the bottle. A gorgeous, velvety violet embraces silky rose and a full-bodied plum reminiscent of Roudnistka’s voluptuous Rochas Femme, and then dots of sharp and sweet spice, round out the symphonic progression of aromas. At the very center is the luscious ripe melon, decadent, perfumed, unlike anything else. It, above all else, gives Le Parfum de Therese its ambrosial garden feel. A truly special fragrance, and one that always feels like a carefully kept secret I’ve been fortunate enough to be let in on.
Notes: Mandarine, melon, jasmine, pepper, violet, rose, plum, nutmeg, cedar, vetiver, leather.
Frederic Malle won the Game Changer award in 2018 by The Fragrance Foundation photo by Max Forti who attended on behalf of CaFleurebon
Frederic Malle has deservedly become synonymous with groundbreaking perfumes of exceptional quality. No one else has assembled such an extraordinary roster of talent nor edited such an extensive collection with such unerring skill. May Les Editions endure forever.
Disclaimer: samples of Dans Tes Bras and En Passant kindly provided by Editions Frederic Malle, New York. Bottle of Le Parfum de Therese from my private collection.
All photos courtesy of Frederic Malle unless otherwise noted
Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
Les Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle boxed samples, photo by Lauryn
Thanks to the generosity of Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle boutique on East 72nd Street in New York, we have a boxed sample of each of Le Parfum de Therese, Dans Tes Bras and En Passant for one registered reader in the U.S. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about the three Malle fragrances Lauryn discusses and whether you have a favourite from this house. Draw closes 11/7/2021.
Please read the true story of the creation of Le Parfum de Therese here written by Michel Roudnitska for CaFleureBon in 20211.
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