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Favorite Niche Fragrance Houses – Frederic Malle

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A Brief History of Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle

Frederic Malle, born in Paris, is a name that is well-known in the niche fragrance industry. Having a nose for fine scents runs in his family’s blood, as his grandfather founded Parfums Christian Dior and his mother was Art Director of Parfums Christian Dior. Frederic had his first professional job while working as an assistant at Roure Bertrand Dupont, which is a company that produces raw materials used in the fragrance industry. Then in the year 2000, Malle launched his company, Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle. What makes his company unique is that Malle does not personally create the fragrances himself, he instead hires some of the finest perfumers in the world and acts as an “editor” or advisor to the perfumers who he considers the “authors.” He sometimes is very involved in the creation of a fragrance and other times he is practically non-existent. One thing that I respect Frederic Malle for is that he features the perfumer’s name on the bottle and a picture and brief bio of the perfumer on the back of the packaging box, which most houses do not do. At the time of this writing, Frederic Malle has produced thirty two fragrances.

Frederic Malle is truly passionate about the fragrances that bear his name and has said a couple things in one of his interviews that really stood out to me. He said “wearing a perfume is an essential part of elegance” and that “it sometimes takes 1-2 years to produce a fragrance.” That just goes to show how dedicated he is to his craft. He also said that a perfume should be “chic, timeless and very sexy.” But probably the most important thing I grasped from his interview was when he said that his grandfather (who founded Parfums Christian Dior) died at a young age and so his mother told him that perfume is important in life because it was her life. He goes on to say that “perfume was probably a way to maintain an exchange with her father.” That’s very powerful and you can tell that perfume not only runs in his blood, but he respects and is dedicated to perfume due its deep roots within his family. He goes on to say that it’s his “quest to create the great classics of tomorrow.” Well I can tell you that with his mindset and love for fragrance, he is surely on his way to achieve that quest and I absolutely adore his work.

I was first introduced to Frederic Malle at Neiman Marcus late last year. I happened to be returning a different fragrance and was approached by a sales rep from Frederic Malle. I was skeptical at first since I had not heard of Frederic Malle but after smelling various samples, I was awestruck. The fragrances were very unique smelling and lasted a very long time on my skin – a symbol of quality. I ended up purchasing Promise and Rose & Cuir and a few months later I ended up purchasing Music For A While after falling in love with the sample. I have been very happy with my Frederic Malle fragrances and even though my fragrances from this house are eau de parfum, they perform like extrait de parfum since they have a strong projection and last so long on my skin.

Music For A While

Music For A While, created by Carlos Benaïm, in my opinion can be categorized as a sweet oriental, although I can’t confirm this 100%, and can be worn year-round. To learn more about the different niche fragrance olfactory categories please read my intro to niche fragrances blog post that goes into more detail.

Pineapple and lavender really shine in this fragrance and it definitely gets a lot of compliments. I have read some negative comments though with the majority of the negative feedback around its sweetness and strong projection. As previously mentioned, Frederic Malle uses quality ingredients and the vast majority of his fragrances have a strong projection and this could be off-putting for some people, especially if you overspray. As I always stress, make sure to sample the fragrance before purchasing a bottle since it can be a sizeable investment. It’s best to spray the fragrance on your skin and let it sit for several hours to make sure you enjoy the top, heart, and base notes.

Top notes: lemon, mandarin and bergamot

Heart note: lavender

Base notes: patchouli, labdanum, vanilla and “tinted by a touch of pineapple”

Purchase Music For A While Here

Promise

Promise can be categorized as an oriental fragrance that has a strong apple accord, mixed with rose and woody tones. It’s a Middle Eastern-inspired fragrance that is best suited for colder weather or formal events. This is definitely a very sophisticated and masculine fragrance that is geared toward the mature man. Again, the ingredients used here are of high quality and this will last on your skin and clothing for a long time.

Top notes: Pink pepper, rosemary oil and apple accord

Heart notes: Bulgarian rose oil, Turkish rose absolute and clove oil

Base notes: Patchouli heart, ambroxan, labdanum and cypriol heart

Purchase Promise Here

Rose & Cuir

Rose & Cuir, which means rose & leather in French, as its name implies is a floral rose fragrance with leathery notes. The two notes pair very well together in this fragrance and this is one that can be worn by both men and women. I think it works well in warmer months during the summer due to it’s floral scent.

Top notes: geranium, blackcurrant and bourbon geranium 

Heart notes: vetiver and cedar

Base note: leather accord

Purchase Rose & Cuir Here