Going to Paris is always fun, and it’s even more fun if you get a chance to snag something a couple of months before it hits our lovely shores, and when I visited Frederic Malle, hoping the new Gardenia room scent was now in the big scented guns (it wasn’t, boo-hoo!), what did I spy, but the new Frederic Malle Dries Van Noten, or Dries Van Noten par Frederic Malle, as it’s listed on the bottle, that had arrived just that day!
For a perfume that’s not even available in the United States yet (launching in April), there are a ton of reviews already. Hmmm, I thought I might be early on this one.
Notes listed – citron, sandalwood, guaiac wood, saffron, Spanish jasmine, nutmeg, clove, violet wood, tonka bean, Peruvian balm, Cashmeran/blonde woods, vanilla and musk (I combed several sources to get this list, and from what I’m smelling, I think it’s the most complete). Victoria noted “The sandalwood used in Dries Van Noten is santalum album, an Indian variety of sandalwood grown in Australia by a company called TFS.” A nice touch to find a source of sustainable sandalwood .
Dries Van Noten is really cuddly. The interplay with saffron, tonka, vanilla and musk is warm and inviting, with this weirdness that keeps developing the longer the scent is on, how the sandalwood mixes with something else – it’s cool, odd and never fails to amuse me. Denyse and I talked about the projection and lasting power in Paris. Like she does, I don’t find it to have a lot of projection as I lean into it. What I did notice, it has a great waft as you move. That quality is one of my favorite things to find in a perfume I really like that I think disappears too quickly. Don’t get heavy-handed with this, it has great movement sillage that might surprise you and persons around you. You’ll keep catching whiffs of something delicately balancing on the verge of gourmet, like a memory of gramma baking your favorite goodies in the kitchen – not real, better than real.
Malle wanted to embrace “the sober warmth of the Flemish people.” And I think he did that.
This isn’t a frivolous scent, but it’s not overly serious, either. There’s a comfortable eclectic sensibility in Frederic Malle Dries Van Noten, letting you feel cozy with your own weirdness. What I also admire is Dries wound up bailing on a designer fragrance with a company that does a lot of those (from Denyse’s post, and I do remember it being slated for a future release) and went with Malle to do his scent instead. And this fits him, Malle’s sensibility fits him. I’ve found myself spraying on Dries Van Noten every day since I got it. It is so easy to wear, but it has an aching tender vulnerability that makes me just want to hug it a bit and tell it not to worry about having three ears and Size 15 feet.
I’ve missed you guys! It feels like I’ve been away forever. Paris was wonderful. Seeing my family there was even better. We took in a day trip to the Champagne region. I also found a great scarf at Bon Marche, and I had to restrain myself from buying 30 of them. Ack, they were stocked up on beautiful, soft scarves this time. We finally go to the Louvre, also did lunch at the d’Orsay, met up with Denyse for drinks, and it was lovely. We really need to do a Posse trip over there one of these months.
So let’s do a giveaway for some Frederic Malle Dries Van Noten! I’ll give away 10 samples to randomly drawn comments on this post. Tell me what you’ve been up to while I’ve been away or did you get a lot of snow? We got another snowstorm – our third in a week – Sunday. I hadn’t made it out to replace the Tacoma that got totaled before we went to Paris, so I had to talk my youngest son into coming and getting me and driving me to the dealership to buy a car so I could go somewhere. My Barbie Car is very delicate and refusing to go in the snow, and I refuse to be sensible and trade it in on a sensible car, so I leased a sensible car instead. Well, sensible is relative. It’s more sensible than my Barbie Race Car.
No snow, but lots and lots of meetings.
Gray skies for days, but no more snow. May be it will all be gone in a another week. That first snow of the winter is so pretty, but by now it is icy and dirty. Where is spring? Would love to smell this new Malle.
Not that snowy in Cali, and even temps in the 70’s!
I’m trying to get used to the cold again, after relocating from NC to Chicagoland in January. When I look at the weather forecasts and see that it’s been in the upper 50’s in NC while in the 20’s-30’s in IL, I sigh. Oh well. Gotta go where the work is, eh? This new Malle scent sounds like it would be just the fragrant “hug” that makes it all better…. 🙂
I am wishing winter would last longer here. I had to turn on the A/C cause it was getting too hot! I would love to try this new scent, it sounds right up my alley!
The snow is finally melting – I sooo hope the sun will come out soon. This winter was the darkest since over sixty years here…
Glad you had fun in Paris!
sandalwood, citron, tonka bean… smell this i must!!
I thoroughly enjoy the international flavor of perfumista-hood, but after several years I’m still occasionally caught by surprise. (“What does she mean, did we get a lot of snow? OF COURSE there’s a lot of snow….. oh wait – accompanying head-slap – not everyone lives in the Canadian Rockies.”) I’m still recovering from my trip to Mexico – NOT going to go into details – but it was such a faboo time, I consider it totally worth it.
Welcome back Patty! Paris sounds completely wonderful, I’m glad you had a good time – you earned it! and I bet you smelled wonderful the entire time. The great Northeast has been: snow, rain, snow, rain, rain, snow, ooh what’s that big yellow thing in the sky?, snow, rain, snow, rinse and repeat. C’mon April, I am so DONE with winter!!.
No snow in the south but I would love enough of it for a snow day. And then watch it melt. It’s been overcast WAY too much this winter. I’ve been wearing a lot of comfort scents.
For those of us who can’t wait to try it, my sales lady at Barneys NY (Chicago) texted me they just got it in.
Spending time reading about perfumes and ordering samples!
Went skiing while you were in Paris. Lots of snow here in Canada:)
New Malle sounds intriguing, would love to try it!
I have been spring cleaning and reorganizing. Dries is one of my favorite designers and i have noticed if you like a designers esthetic, you usually like his fragrance
No snow in Texas, that’s for sure! I’ve been up to the usual. Just got a promotion at work. YAY!
Paris…Bon Marche…a new Malle…lunch at d’Orsay…I want to be Patty when I grow up. Plenty of stress these days on so many levels in so many areas of life. But at least we’ve skipped the snow for the most part around here. The snowdrops are in bloom and the daffodils are just starting to show–spring is so close and yet so far away.
It sounds dreamy. As far as what’s been happening in my corner of the world, I’m just thankful my son finally found employment after looking for so long. And I’m heading to NYC this weekend … sadly, it’s for a funeral but my siblings and I will try to wander about the streets of New York for a little bit, at least. Thank you for the generous draw, Patty … and welcome home! 🙂
Oh!! Paris is lovely and I am planning a trip there too next month! Here in Londn we have cold, cold and some more cold! So great to snif the new DvN-FM perfume and the scarf must be gorgeous!! I love scarves!!
Welcome back, Patty. It sounds like it was a great trip.
I hear there was snow in Paris, too–did you get hit by that?
Too much snow here in CT–everything is so grey and grim. I’m ready for spring!
Over the weekend, the National Weather Service site for my area had a bit of a glitch, and it said the temp was 201 F or 94 C!
Not sure how that happened–wishful thinking? Or really scary global warming.
Thanks for the opportunity to try this intriguing scent.
Welcome back Patty!
I’ve been contemplating an un-sniffed fb of Mito. Too afraid to pull the trigger so I ordered this pretty-ugly LuLu Frost necklace instead:
http://lulufrost.com/item/icon-necklace
You’ve piqued my curiosity with the Dries Van Noten, and I hope you post a picture of your new scarf. I would love to see it.
its been cold here in nyc and according to the news it will get rainy tonight which is terrible. here it usually rains with winds so no umbrella can protect you against the horizontally furious drops of water.
i cannot wait to sniff this fragrance. it sounds like something i will love 🙂
Nope, here in South Africa it is mid-summer and HOT. I’v been sampling some Malle’s lately so I would love to try this one too!
Welcome back! I have had the most wonderful month. I treated myself to a massive order of samples from STC and a bottle of l’Heure Fougueuse for my birthday; I found out that I will be spending two weeks in Venice in the spring to help with a friend’s installation for the Biennale; AND I got engaged to my fella (speaking of snow, it happened the day of a massive snowfall here in Toronto)!! I’m already thinking about my wedding perfume… I’m pretty sure it will have to be Carnal Flower – the most radiantly beautiful fragrance I know. Thanks for the draw! I’ve been dying to try this. I’ve been hounding my poor FM SA since I heard about its release.
Congratulations, CJ!! So very happy for you! And you will be stunning in Carnal Flower, no doubt about it! Wish it had been around when I got married back in the dark ages (20+ years ago).
No snow here in the desert, but a cuddly scent would make it feel more like winter “should” feel like!
Glad you had a wonderful time in Paris! This perfume sounds so great, and right up my alley–I’d love to be entered in the draw (lord knows I’ll seek out a sample eventually, regardless 🙂
I can’t wait to try this one! Love cuddly and weird things. Glad you had such a good time in Paris!
Flu season is finally over. The daphne are blooming. The crocuses are up. Please enter me in your draw.
Oh my goodness, I have been dying to try that, ever since I heard about the release. Love most Malles, my hopes are high for this one.
I wish I was in Paris right now, or at least had a trip to Paris in my future… This New England winter has been cold, plentiful with snow, but worst of all, cold after flu after stomach bug have been pummeling us to no end… The disease du jour is strep…. Spring cannot come fast enough.
Your time in Paris sounds lovely. I’ve never been to the Champagne region, but we did get to do a long weekend beer (for him) and (wine) for me in the Santa Rosa area earlier this month.
Hooray, You are back. I would love to hear more Paris stories ( living vicariously ). All is gray, wet and peaceful in the PNW. Between your review and Victoria of boisdejasmin I have been dreaming of trying this scent. Thanks for hosting a draw.
Glad you had a wonderful time. Welcome back! Usual wintry mix of cruddy weather here in Cleveland. Actually had some sunshine yesterday, which is quite the exception. Would love to smell this. Thanks for sharing.
Jealous that you’ve been to Paris, but glad you had a good time. No real snow here in North Texas (a little sleet) but very weird weather: warm and spring-like one day, and icy cold and nasty the next. Sometimes in the same day. At least we’re hardly ever bored…
This new one sounds really interesting. Same old grind here in Dallas. Glad you had such a great trip to Paris
Welcome back! I’ve gotten a few vintage frags and cussing out mother nature. By February, I am really sick of the biting cold and snow. It’s biting cold (10-15 degrees) for a week then for a day or two it’s in the 40’s. All topped with freezing rain.
Hope you had a fabulous time in Paris! I have Paris-envy right now lol. No snowstorm here, but the dry season is coming up (too early in my opinion). Been spending my days lounging in my favorite cotton shirts and whatever book I have in hand. Cold coffee is a welcome addition to the increasingly warm days. I do think the Dries Van Noten scents will carry extremely well here because of the heat. 😛 Can’t wait to find me a bottle (or two) of my own.
Dying to try this one! It’s grey and snowy and rainy where I’m at. Trying to keep the fog out of the brain with some nice smells…
Welcome back, and glad you enjoyed Paris. It has been snowing every few days here in Wisconsin, and I have been craving a cuddly gourmand scent. Looking forward to trying this scent a lot; it sounds lovely.
Lovely to have you back! No snow here yet bitter cold. I’ve been writing a long overdue book.
We’ve had smatteringd of snow here in WY, but nothing big. Wish it would dump a foot or two!
We had about a foot of snow in the NY area a couple of weeks ago, but at least it fell from a Friday evening to Saturday morning. Since then, we’ve had just chilly rains. Thanks for entering me iin the drawing.
Glad you’re back safe and sound, Patty. To think that earlier this month I was considering pruning my climbing rose and a couple other shrubs because we were having such a mild winter here in KS! In the past week we’ve had two whopping snowstorms, with thunder and lightening no less. My back objects to my thoughts of breaking out the snow shovel, but shoveling snow is going to happen sometime today. So anyway, please think of me when choosing the ten lucky winners of the Dries Van Noten samples.
Welcome back, dear Patty! We missed you but are so very happy that you had a ball! Can’t wait to hear more of your tales from Paris. This scent sounds wonderful; especially the saffron and guaiac wood. And I love the idea of weird and cuddly vulnerability (no draw for me, of course.) Thanks!
Just rain and cold temps here in the deep South. No snow, thank heavens, as everything around here just shuts down and everyone goes into panic mode when we get any snow or ice, ha!
I think going to Paris with a fellow Perfume lover would be a blast! My hobby bores my friends to tears of ennui. I have wanted for years to go to Serge Lutens in Paris. I have been enjoying a new or forgotten sample a day, first thing while sipping coffee. Sometimes, the Best part of my day. This morning Humaniste by Frapin. Whoa! hold on to your Juniper Berries!!! Anyway, here in Florida, it is muggy and overcast, a good day for putting in the spring vegetable garden if I didn’t have work…….
Your trip to Paris sounds wonderful, Patty, but we are all glad to have you back home. I missed reading your posts. There’s lots of snow here in northern New England, more this month than we’ve had all winter. About ten inches fell over the weekend and another foot is expected tomorrow. The up side is that the days are getting longer and all that white snow radiates an amazing amount of light when the sun shines. I think that this would be the perfect weather to try the new Dries Van Noten. Thanks for the draw.
welcome back- we missed you too
wonderful time you had and I am glad you did
no snow here, just a russian mountain for the temperatures- having horrible migraines and wishing for something new to sniff in between
Welcome back Patty! I wish I had been in Paris, but I got to go across the country to California to see grandma (and visit Scent Bar for the first time). I bought Philosykos (finally!) and was gifted some of my deceased great grandmother’s L’Aimant, by my grandma.
Your time in Paris sounds great! Welcome back!
We got mostly rain instead of snow recently.
I would love to try this! I love saffron, woods, cuddly vulnerability and weirdness.
I wish Frederic Malle would put out a new masculine scent. He seems to neglect us.
Supposed to have a snowstorm starting today here in Michigan. Winning a cuddly sample of this FM would be great!