Sandra‘s Closet

Rose scents are trending at the moment. According to Frédéric Malle, «Roses is to perfumery what the nude is to drawing». Whether pure, futuristic, sophisticated or even synthetic: each perfumer has his, or her, own interpretation of this flower, perfumery’s most conceptual theme. This is the opportunity for Frédéric Malle to showcase the wealth of styles of the artists he publishes and to propose 4 roses with strong personalities:

ROSE TONNERRE: The Darkest of Roses

Iconic and cult, Une Rose has joined the great classics of the Éditions de Parfums. Today, the Maison signs a grand premiere in the world of perfumery: Une Rose is changing to become Rose Tonnerre and continues its worldwide success story and the conquest of the Asian continent. A new name, carefully chosen, for a formula that remains precisely the same and reflects the strength of this earthy and truly unique rose.

Frédéric Malle‘s beloved classic, Rose Tonnerre is part of an exotic garden of exquisite rose scents at night: in the foreground, intoxicating, sparkling, sweet and fresh all at once, it reveals deep and warm facets. Dark and enigmatic, subtly gothic.

Within the context of this personal work, Édouard Fléchier showed Frédéric Malle a new base, a kind of olfactive sketch, reproducing the smell of a «Perigord’s truffle». This assemblage of dark notes, for the most part woody and animal, was destined to masculine perfumery, but the two friends had the idea – a priori paradoxical- to marry it to the feminine scent par excellence: the rose.
The idea was to take advantage of the semi earthly, semi animal truffle’s aspect to reinforce the «garden» side of the flower, and by doing that creating a link between the petal and the skin scent. All in all, this composition obeys to the precept that a flower alone is only a scent and that a perfume should emanates from the person who wears it.
Taking advantage of the release of an Absolue Rose Turque by molecular distillation, stemming from the laboratories Manes research, Edouard Fléchier created his perfume with a great amount of this unique raw material which he matched, with his usual virtuosity, to this unexpected bottom note. He had then to find the ideal concentration and, faithful to the compromising spirit which governs the Éditions de Parfums, the two friends did not hesitate to fix this last one on 25% weight/vol, in order to show this magisterial composition’s worth.

In the hands of the master perfumer, the classic rose aroma becomes dark and sensual.

PORTRAIT OF A LADY: Rose Overdose

Once upon a time was a woman. Inimitable. Portrait of a Lady.

The original sketch was ambitious: to reinvent the genus of amber perfume. From the heart of a flamboyant masculine perfume, Géranium pour Monsieur, is extracted the basis of a sumptuous feminine perfume, like a flash of heat across the skin.

In the foreground, Dominique Ropion proposes an orgy that defies the limits of reasonableness, daring excess and covering the formula of opulence with an indecent and endless number of petals of Turkish roses – about 10%, the equivalent of 400 flowers per bottle of 100 ml.
The most classic of ingredients, which, in such proportions suddenly takes on unimaginable dimension, strength and character. Striking in its abundance of roses, the fragrance expresses its dramatic power through the contrasts of incense and sandalwood. A clove, blackcurrant and raspberry accord binds the whole together to give this great perfume its final touch. It took Dominique Ropion and Frédéric Malle months to create this fragrance. Months of sketches to finally compose this Portrait.

Mystery and refinement, Portrait of a Lady is an ode, a song to universal beauty, the one shared indistinctly by all women and in which each expresses her own ideal.

ROSE & CUIR: The Chimera Rose

The calm before the storm. Inspired by the storied Mistral wind that blows through the South of France and embodies the irresistible elegance of a silent storm, Jean-Claude Ellena signs with Rose & Cuir a purified perfume to the extreme, built around very selected ingredients.

The fragrance opens with a crystalline rose: pure, streamlined, modern and uncompromisingly.
A brilliant blackcurrant, followed by Timut Pepper and Geranium Bourbon extractions, creates the illusion. The airy and solar first feeling gradually reveals a leather in its raw state, both elegant and mysterious.

This base is built around IsoButyl Quinoline, a forgotten molecule discovered at the turn of the 20th century and then popularized by the very daring perfumery of the 1950s.

This nearly whisper, takes on a new, more assertive tone, that of a tumultuous but disarmingly sober drama.

LIPSTICK ROSE: The Glamourous & Pop Art Rose

Lipstick Rose expresses an exacerbated vision of femininity. That lipstick’s smell reminds the intimate moment when a star, in the hushed comfort of her dressing room, slides her stick over her upper lip.

Grapefruit and violet enhance the fragrance’s rose note, while iris, raspberry and rose combine with vanilla and white musk to create a glamorized femininity in technicolor.

Ralf Schwieger, a young perfumer whose architectural writing and desire to create extraordinary products have seduced Frédéric Malle, has composed a fragrance that is somewhere between Hollywood Glamour and Pop Art. My favorite!

TO SHOP Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Malle ONLINE, CLICK HERE PLEASE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Malle
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Lately, I was invited by Perfumery Osswald in Zurich and had the amazing honor to have dinner with Frédéric Malle, a very captivating and inspirational gentleman, a father of four, and the man behind the niche fragrance house Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle. Born in 1962, he grew up immersed in the world of perfumery (his grandfather Serge Heftler-Louiche founded Christian Dior Perfumes, and Frédéric’s mother later worked as an Art Director for the same perfume house) and has a deep knowledge of raw materials, fragrance structure and accords that he shared with me that night. His ‘Editions’ collection includes scents by distinguished noses including Dominique Ropion, Jean-Claude Ellena and Pierre Bourdon.

With Frédéric Malle at dinner at the Widder hotel.

Malle studied art history and economics at New York University. In 1988, he began his career at Roure Bertrand Dupont, the prestigious perfume laboratory. After working in the industry for more than 12 years, Frederic was ready to embark on a new adventure.

4 of his first launched perfumes in 2000: Lipstick Rose (Ralf Schwieger), Musc Ravager (Maurice Roucel), En Passant (Olivia Giacobetti) and Une Fleur de Cassie (Dominique Ropion).

In 2000, using his connections and experience in the industry, Frédéric invited nine top perfumers to design their own original perfumes with no restrictions, not even financially regarding their ingredients they chose. Thanks to Frédéric Malle, the return to luxury perfumery took place at the beginning of our century. In an era in which most companies put more importance on brand names, Malle brought the attention back to the product itself: perfume.

Until today, through a simple “back to basics” approach, Editions de Parfums is challenging all prevailing trends. Frédéric Malle’s contribution to the creation of the different fragrances sold under Editions de Parfums varies depending on the perfumers’ desire. Perfumers appeal to him to assess their work in progress and to share ideas.

These fragrances are packaged in bottles that feature the name of the perfumer—a first in the industry, where the perfumer is traditionally behind the scenes and credit for the scent is given to the fashion house or celebrity on the bottle. While we were talking during dinner, I could sense that Frédéric Malle is very fond of Dominique Ropion‘s work. The two of them seem to build an amazing team.

The development of a signature scent is a lengthy process, generally lasting between 6 and 18 months. Each fragrance starts with an idea, an “olfactive sketch,” which can either take the form of a material base – the mix of two or three raw materials, like colors in an abstract painting – or of an initial feeling, the desire to translate or convey a specific emotion. From there, the perfumers gradually build a full-scale composition, tinkering and problem-solving until a perfect balance is achieved. The challenge is to polish and perfect without losing the impact and personality of the original idea.

“Eliminate all that is superfluous or merely decorative” – this, Frédéric Malle’s credo, is the only rule imposed on the house perfumers. Malle requests that each fragrance be designed to uniquely merge with the wearer’s skin rather than to just be a “pretty scent.”

Designer Frédéric Malle has more than 25 perfumes available at the moment, made in collaboration with perfumers Jean-Claude Ellena, Dominique Ropion, Maurice Roucel, Bruno Jovanovic, Carlos Benaim, Olivia Giacobetti, Pierre Bourdon, Edmond Roudnitska, Ralf Schwieger, Edouard Flechier, Michel Roudnitska and Sophia Grojsman.

New investments under the new helmet: Frédéric Malle’s London store at 14, Burlington Arcade.

Two years ago, The Estée Lauder Companies acquired Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle.

Frédéric Malle said about his decision to sell part of his company: “The Estée Lauder Companies has great respect for the art of perfumery and for the creativity, dedication and mastery required to create truly exceptional fragrance experiences. The company’s commitment to a high standard of excellence and ability to support the growth of entrepreneurial concepts in a way that preserves all that is unique and special makes The Estée Lauder Companies the ideal partner for us.”

A truly inspirational creator and a real business man!

TO SHOP FREDERIC MALLE ONLINE, CLICK HERE PLEASE.
In Switzerland a large selection is available at Perfumery Osswald in Zurich.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Frédéric Malle and © Sandra Bauknecht, via Mr Porter