After reading Marina’s review and Ina’s review of MDCI perfumes, we were so dismayed when we thought these would be so exclusive and so expensive, only Paris Hilton could afford them. Then the elegantly charming Claude Marchal’s explanation that these perfumes will be accessible cheered us right up. Being the inquisitive and acquisitive rich mafioso’s moll wannabes that we are, we prevailed upon Mr. Marchal to send us some samples. Have we mentioned how charming he is and funny? Today we’re reviewing the first three scents in the MDCI line; these were done by Francis Kurkdjian (FK).
Now, before we begin, the names on these perfumes are just not conducive to writing a good review. Part of talking about a fragrance involves using its name. But saying FK1 and FK2 really blows the sexy name component every perfume must have. So we’ve taken the liberty of renaming them. You’ll be able to see fairly quickly why we aren’t going to get jobs in the fragrance industry naming perfumes. [March says: you invest all the time and effort in the juice, and those flacons, and you can’t come up with better names? Also, the FK nomenclature is alarmingly close to the FCUK scents, which is about as far at the other end of the class spectrum as you can get. I’m going to use the French phrases from your online catalog.]
Acey Deucy (FK1) has notes of mandarine, lemon, ylang-ylang, jasmine, sandalwood, tonka bean and vanilla.
Patty: As Marina noted, it does start off like Guerlain’s Attrape-Coeur. It doesn’t veer that far off of it for me, but something in it is easier for me to wear than AC. AC stays too stout or powdery or both, and this one seems to assert the tonka bean and vanilla in a different way that makes it pretty gorgeous. I prefer it to AC, which is saying a lot, because I think AC is pretty gorgeous to start with.
March: No. 1 — “pour le jour” — I love the opening, a pop of champagne fizz with some tart citrus on the side. I can definitely see the reference to Guerlain here. It’s the least sweet of the three — greener, with more of an emphasis on the sour fruits than the florals. Somehow I like this less than I think I should. Don’t get me wrong — it’s very nice. But the drydown goes a bit flat and sour; like Patty I find myself comparing this to Attrape-Coeur, only I think A-C is a richer, more pleasing fragrance, at least on me.
Pretty Princess (FK2) has notes of litchi, peony, hawthorn, moroccan and turkish roses, violet, cedar, musk and vetiver.
Patty: This one is supposed to be all pink or rose, sweet and soft, and Lord, it is. This is the softest of pink linens and velvet and satin with a blond-haired cherub sitting in the middle of it. If you say a bad word about this, you’ll make the Baby Jesus cry. It’s like soft, pink babies, you can’t stop sniffing it. At first, I didn’t think this would be for me, no matter how pretty it was, but I’ve changed my mind… this is the one I have to have. The sillage on it is just stunning. I waft through the world in the Ferrari Daddy bought me, trailing pink furs, pink pearls, and tinkly silvery-pink giggles. How can something so wrong for a grown-up woman of 47 turn out to be absolutely right?
March: No. 2 – “tout en rose” — I could smell the rose from the start, its sweetness cut perfectly by the slightly gamey, green smell of hawthorn and peony. I kept waiting for that moment when the rose smell makes my stomach lurch – but, shockingly, we never got there. I am having a really hard time describing this one, because I like it so much. There’s something dilute about the rose – watery in a good way – more like a rose under water? Gad, that sounds stupid. This is the smell of roses from a distance during the middle of a heavy summer shower, with you safe and dry under the gazebo. Watery, woody, green with a rose underlay. My clear favorite of the three, and I can’t believe I’m typing that. Patty, help me, I’ve been kidnapped by aliens!
Le Reste de L’histoire by Paul Harvey (FK3) has notes of bergamot, mandarin, ylang-ylang, jasmine sambac, tuberose, rose, wallflower, patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla and vetiver. (translation of The Rest of the Story provided by some free translation service, so it’s their fault if I butchered French — I don’t know enough French to be able to butcher it)
Patty: (pacing in front of credit card) No! You.may.not.buy.another.perfume. All I can say is: Hold Me, Betty, Or I’ll Buy Again! As much as I liked Isvarya from Indult, this one gives the complete story on that — it is like it takes that idea and finishes it. Must be the tuberose, which punches up from the bottom of it like a scalded cat about 20 minutes after application, and then it’s like Tuberose Criminelle dressed up in her best jasmine undies. Again with the sillage, I can smell me everywhere, but it is not annoying or intrusive, it is just right.
March: No. 3 – “parure por le soir” — I am not the first blogger to comment that there is something Guerlain-ish about this one as well, and you know from me that’s a compliment. It has the rich, baroque complexity of the sort of florientals I love – Apercu and Mitsouko spring to mind here – along with a bit of the soft powderiness that appeals in many Guerlain scents, like Plus Que Jamais and Attrape-Coeur. My overall impression is the well-orchestrated notes coming all at once, rather than sequentially. This isn’t a fragrance that’s going to turn your head with its wild innovation, but if you’re looking for an evening going-out fragrance that is as elegantly constructed as your dress (or dinner jacket – a man could wear this), without smelling instantly recognizable in the way that, say, Joy and Mitsouko often do, this would be an excellent choice.
Patty: The thing I am liking the best about the Mad Dogs (we have renamed the MDCI part of it too because we can’t remember it except to think of Mad Dog 20/20, the first two initials to get it started) is that they are not going to whack you over the head with a statement. At least these three (we’ll do the other two next Wednesday) develop slowly and beautifully, but I noted in trying all three of them that the sillage is really gorgemous. It is not linear, it catches you here and there as you walk through a room or move, and you just want to find that smell to try and get a little closer to it.
If you want to buy these, you can either get them in the stunning presentation for lots and lots of filthy lucre, or you can get them, for the time being, in the aluminum containers for 1.5 ounces for 130Euro or the 2.5 ounces for 150Euro (about 170 and 200 U.S.) by e-mailing the so very kind and charming Claude Marchal at parfumsmdciparis@free.fr.
Have we done a drawing this weeK? No? Well, let’s fix that. Drop a comment if you want in the drawing for a sample set of all five of the MDCI scents.
I think you can also get a sample set directly from the Medicis (as I know them) for something like 35 Euros. A bargain - 10mls of each one.
Okay, I dissed these. I feel bad. Throw me in the friggin’ draw wouldja? Otherwise I’m stumping up 35 euros. And I’m poor. But rich in so many other qualities.
Pls include me in the drawing. Many thanks
Oh dear, yes. You just generated another lemming, and my place is already full of them. Please do include me in the drawing.
Enter me in the draw, quick! You have me salivating with all that talk of complex sillage and better-than-Guerlain… What daft names, though. If I’d spent months labouring on some magnificent juice, I’d be pretty p*ssed if it ended up being named something that sounded like a spare part for a lawnmower, wouldn’t you?
Thanks for the review. It gives me a lot to think about as i sniff myself with a medley of different MDCIs on my various parts. No. 2 really reminds me of YSL Paris. Did either of you find that? I am still deciding on which ones I like and why…
Hi! Of course I’d love to be included in the drawing!They sound intriguing to say the least.
Well, now you’ve done it! Started yet another lemming(s). Please sign me up for the drawing.
Many thanks
These sound very nice! Please include me in the drawing. I love the reviews, and I will forever think of them as those Mad Dog fragrances which does take the glamour right out of them, doesn’t it??
Please, please, please, include me in the drawing
!
Having readso much about these scents, I really need to try them!!!
Mee too, the Mad Dogs label has been carved in my head now and forever. They sound totally fab, may I be included in the drawing pls ?
Leopoldo — the MEDICIS!!!! Of course!
(slaps forehead)
I’m not very good at making sense of those vanity license plates, either — the ones like “SPRLVR” or whatever. I drive along for blocks, trying to puzzle it out. Superlover? Spring lover? Spring lever?
Mad Dog Medicis? We may have a name now. I think you’ll like these, L, at least a couple of them.
Alica — will put you in!
Dinahad — sorry about the drive-by lemming, but Marina and Ina already smacked me with these first.
Nina — perzactly! But to be fair, after even trying to come up with the silly names, this naming of perfumes business is pretty rough. I have zero talent for it. I barely got my kids named!
But, even though I’m a no-talent hack on naming, these lovely concoctions should have names. I think Claude should have a contest to get them named.
Cait — 2 reminded me a little more of the Rosines and Lancome’s Mille rose, but still different from that. I was surprised to like this one probably the best.
I can’t wait to see which ones you like! I keep sniffing at the other two not reviewed here, and I like them too just from first sniff.
Christina and Jo, will put you in the drawing.
Christina, I think you would like at least one or two of these.
Kathy — yes, we have mucked up the name quite a bit there.
Luckily, our bit of fun doesn’t take away from the scents, I hope!
Please, please, please…add me !
I’m in agreement with you guys on these.
They make me want to weep [something I’m expert at, I might add !]…
Maybe, for my 53rd birthday, since I’m already scheduled to work 24 hrs. that w/e ?
Whjadda you think ?
Should I beg DH , or what ?
Malena and Silvia — will put you both in the drawing!
These are definitely well worth sampling.
Chaya, I think you so definitely deserve them! And especially for your birthday, which sounds like it will be a rough one!
I am busily running through my couch cushions for spare change to get at least Pretty Princess. I was prepared not to be so crazy about any of them, so it’s surprising that I’ve found all I’ve tried so far to be ones I’d happily like in my wardrobe.
A coffret set of all five of the perfumes maybe 1/2 oz each would be a great idea for them to do.
Once again a very entertaining review. I love to start my day with you two!
Please enter me in the drawing.
Another temptation to add to my growing list! Please enter me in the drawing
#3 was my instant, fall to my knees love. Drop dead gorgeous scent. But, the scary thing for me is that I also think I must have Pretty Princess as well. The authorities need to be alerted because I think the aliens got not only March, but me as well.
Claude Marchal truly is wonderful - such a great sense of humor!
Arg… that FK3 sounds glorious!!! What is it about tuberose… and jasmine…
So, please enter me in the drawing. Please.
Thanks, Sharon! Will put you in the drawing. We certainly aim to be somewhat amusing if not downright silly.
Will do, Rhonda!
At least these took the Indult temptations off the table for me.
elle, it is weird. 3 had me right out of the chute, but 2 wound up just wrapping its little pink tendrils all round.
That you and March like it this much scares me. I am thinking Pretty Princess has some skank hidden in there somewhere that is subliminal.
Ronny, it’s a great concoction, to be sure, and they do seem to need to go together, but I think it’s really difficult to put them together where they feel right.
Will put you in the drawing!
Please sign me up for the drawing, even though I’m hoping I won’t fall in love with any of them
Oh, yes, please, please enter me. The PP even sounds like a rose I might like.
Million Thanks!
I KNEW that Patty would love K/2. I am SHOCKED that March liked it as mcuh as she did!
Aren’t they all beautiful?
I am pining for a bottle of K/3…the simplest of bottles would do *sigh*
Oh my lords, they sound beautiful. I almost don’t want to be entered in the drawing because what if I get them and love them and need to drop a $1000 to have them all immediately.
Notice I said “almost”…please do enter me in the drawing. And I’ll give you my boyfriend if you manage to pull my name.
Thanks for the lemming-inducing reviews and please include me in the drawing.
Count me in for the drawing!
I’m always on the lookout for rose fragrances and you have certainly piqued my interest!
Please include me in the drawing.
Thanx!
Oh, dear. Now, bear in mind that no one ever, EVER asks me what perfume I’m wearing. But you can be damned sure that they will, as soon as I venture out of the house in Pretty Princess.
Even so, she said with a heavy, perfume-addicted sigh, sign me up!
Great reviews guys!
May I just say, dear ladies, that I am dying to test these! Just dying!
So, please, please, please…enter me in that drawing.
I thank you very much.
Hugs and love! Let me compliment you both on a great review.
I think the fragrance industry should give you jobs naming scents!
Please include me in the drawing. Thanks.
These sound absolutely gorgeous. Please enter me also. Thank you for the wonderful reviews.
I can’t stop laughing about making Baby Jesus cry if I say a bad word about FK2. Well, I’m not gonna. Please enter me in the drawing.
Does FK1 have greater persistence than Attrape-Coeur? AC is so beautiful, but it vanishes from my skin as quickly as a snowflake on a warm sidewalk.
Sometimes I think maybe my skin doesn’t hold on to scent very much, and then I think about the times when I’ve felt I was going to need an acetylene torch to get a nasty eau de toilette off me.
I wanted to let March know that I have now witnessed firsthand an adverse reaction to the Caron base. I put Poivre on myself; it smelled wonderful. I put some on my husband’s arm; oh, what an awful thing his skin did to it. My condolences.
Hey gals,
i would love to sniff em. You had me at Guerlain-ish.
morgie
Oh my gosh….these sound like just the ticket to fly into 2007.
Please please sign me up too for the drawing.
patricia
I don’t know that these would be quite me, but I’d love to sniff them. Please enter me in there too.
Those sound wonderful. Please enter me in the drawing.
Thanks!
Please include me in the drawing and please, ask Buddie to pick the winner.
Put you all in the drawing!
Marina, how does it triangulate if me, Marchand Elle love that one? And you tolerate it, even if you don’t want to own it?
I think you should have Fk3 in your collection, and the simple bottles are relatively reaonsable, in comparison to others! Think of the money are are saving over the more elaborate presentation.
Christine, I don’t think you will need them all.
The FK side are my favorites of the five, but the other two are more men’s scents, though I don’t really like that distinction.
Aim — it’s the Perfuming Sillage Rule. You could tell them FK2, but they may take it as an offensive comment.
Thanks, R! I have about gone through my more than generous samples of Pretty Princess. I was surprised that I liked these three as much as I did. None of them are ground-breaking in that odd SL kind of way, but all very well done and have much to be admired.
Iris — us naming scents? Not if they want to sell them!
Maria B — I’m not sure. I think it was a little more persistent, since the sillage seems to hang on a great length of time, but I didn’t have a problem with AC being short-lasting either. You must have perfume-sucking skin.
Put everyone else in the drawing (I decided to stop doing individual responses to just requests to go in the draw, so as not to clutter things up!)
OK, There’s definitely something wrong with me. I liked all of these, I really did. But I didn’t fall in love.
Maybe I tried them too fast, or maybe I need to spritz or just apply more. . .or maybe there’s something really wrong with me!
Will try again. . . . . .
I second Maria B. about Attrape Coeur vanishing. Sigh. Love all that pink stuff. Would love to be entered in the drawing.
Patty, plz put me in. I wanna smell that pink one. Thank you!
Hi Patty - please sign me up for this one.
They sound very lovely! Please enter me in your drawing.
March and Patty *both* liking Pink Pretty Princess? What’s the world coming to?
Well, since I hate pink but love rose, I must try this one. Please enter my name in the drawing, and thanks!
(And I was so briefly lemming-less.)
Lemming!
Please put me in the drawing, thanks so much!
Your descriptions are so very interesting. Please enter me in the drawing, thank you!
I shall not buy unsniffed. I shall not buy unsniffed. I shall not buy unsniffed. I shall not buy unsniffed…
I could go on and on. so I’ll have to put my name in the drawing.
Please enter me in the drawing. Thanks.
Oooh these sound very nice!
Count me in the drawing. Thanks very much!
Please put me in the draw, I need another rose to remind me that spring is going to come one day…
Wow - where have I been on these?
A rose under water sounds perfect and beautiful. And anything remotely related to AC is worth a try. I’m stunned at those with skin-eating tendencies on Attrape- I find a drop or two will swirl around me for over a day. In fact one of the most pleasantly persistent perfumes I’ve ever tried. Skin chemistry is fascinating - but did this line sidestep that factor with all the favorable opinions? Very curious - so, please include me in the draw - thank you!
Wow, I’m late to the party but the reviews are so wonderful that I have to add my own ‘Sign me up’! I thought for sure mere mortals would not have access to these scents. In a way, extensive exclusivity must bite the designers in the Butt eventually, since if #1 filthy rich friend gets the fragrance, #2, 3 and 4 will feel like they are copying #1 and will have to purchase another smell for a gazillion bucks. OK, so maybe the gazillion bucks covers the cost. oh well…
Enter me in the Mad Dog drawing, please.
Thanks!
You guys are so entertaining . . .and I need that until Project Runway’s new season begins!
Please enter me in the drawing (she says quietly under her breath as she hangs her head, turns, and slinks away)
Whoo, I’m late on this one. Please enter me in the drawing, thanks.
Please include me in the drawing, thanks!