Hey, sorry, guys. I did plan a post for today. We were going to talk about the new Frederic Malle and The Night as well, but I wound up getting to hold a 2 month old infant instead. Duh, of course I played with the baby! There was still time, but I didn’t get much sleep the night before, am having anticipatory stress for doing that car trade-in thing today – have I ever mentioned how anxiety ridden I get doing anything with car buying/trading, etc? No? You don’t wanna know – laid down for a minute and, well, my apologies. And this morning is ugh because rain.
I only have a few minutes before I have to start said day that includes a visit to get my driver’s license renewed – they won’t let you drive a car off the lot without a current one, I found out a couple of months ago, and, no, you don’t wanna know – some time at work and then the afternoon doing that dreaded car thing.
Let’s talk about Frederic Malle because I will promise you I’ll talk about that next Tuesday in more detail. Do you have a favorite Malle? Have you not tried many? It’s probably one of my favorite lines in existence, and I still worry endlessly what Estee Lauder will do to it. First Carnal Flower flanker I see – Carnal Flower Eau Fraiche or Portrait of an Emo Girl – I’m done. What’s your greatest fear for change in the line with the new Malle Overlords?
I will do a giveaway of a sample of your choice of Frederic Malle to two commenters drawn at random.
Sorry to say that I have never tried ANY Frederic Malle. :-/ I guess I’ve got some sniffing to do! Thanks for the giveaway!
Like many here I love Fleur de Cassie and l’eau de Hiver. I think Angeliques & En Passant are beautiful, alas they don’t last on me.
There are only a few in the line I’ve tried. I am probably most impressed by Carnal Flower, it’s elegant without being haughty,
very nicely blended with a nice green padding. But then En Passant is very wearable and Parfum de Therese also beautiful. I know that at one point I have also sniffed Iris Poudre and Lipstick Rose in passing, but I cannot remember which one I found such a happy scent. I would love to revisit both. And I think that I once had Une Rose spritzed on and I loved its austere drydown…So it’s definitely a line I’m interested in exlporing.
EL-if it ain’t broke,don’t fix it. Let FM and Carnal Flower continue to sing.
Estee Lauder bought Jo Malone and they kept a lot of the established fragrances the same. I don’t think you will have to worry about it being morphed into Estee Lauder fragrances, otherwise it would be a rather expensive acquisition for them to just make more EL fragrances. If Malle stays on as a creative director or some such position I think it will not change at all. I don’t think EL will mess with Malle’s best sellers and established fragrances.
I’m worried that they’ll ‘break’ all of the scents through reformulation… Would be so sad to lose FM’s perfume gems.
I predict a similar price hike we saw with Jo Malone but my biggest fear is that they’ll screw up the scents and discontinue some “challenging” ones that do not have the potential to mass appeal (Une Fleur de Cassie). I am not so worried for Iris Poudre, l’Eau de Hiver, Dries van Noten etc, although in my darkest nightmare they’ll undergo secret cheapformulations. I hope none of this will happen, but I am scared…
Call me paranoid, but the minute I heard about this, I stocked up on POAL, UFDC and Parfum de Therese.
good luck with your car business : ).FM is probably my favourite line too.i own 4 bottles.. en passant,l’eau d’hiver,therese and lipstick rose.i am dying to read the book he wrote too.i am really worried about reformulation or even change in the quality of the ingredients.the quality is one of the huge differences between malle and other lines.i would really like to try outrageous! and if that isn’t available i would like to spend more time with iris poudre.thanks for the giveaway!!
Until recently I would have said I don’t love any of the Malles. Like, yes. Love, no. But every spring for the past four years I’ve gotten out my sample of En Passant thinking “maybe this time I’ll get it “. And what do you know?!? I fell in love! So, my answer is En Passant.
As for EL, I’m trying to be optimistic.
I’ve only tried Portrait of a Lady. It is gorgeous, but tends to bloom and takeover conference rooms so I don’t wear it to work!
You know, I’ve liked just about every Malle sample I’ve been able to get my hands on. The two that especially stood out to me were Lipstick Rose (seductive and deliciously inappropriate) and Dans Tes Bras (whole, warm, nurturing, slightly androgynous) the one I would be excited to try would have to be Dries Van Noten…it could be love. Thank you for the giveaway!
Musc Ravageur is the only one that I wanted enough to consider buying. I tried Lipstick Rose and Eau D’Hiver
Best of luck with everything you’ve got going on. Just remember to breathe and you’ll be OK :-). The only FM I’ve tried is the Eau De Magnolia, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I have several more on my “to try” list. I have my fingers crossed that EL won’t ruin the formulations. Maybe we’ll even be able to purchase the line more places. I’m hopeful anyway!
Also, good luck with the car thing! I hope it goes smoothly.
I have tried and love Eau d’Hiver and I really enjoy Lipstick Rose.. The two I would really love to try are En Passant and Une Fleur de Cassie.
Ooh my favorite is also Eau d’Hiver, and I just haven’t tried that many other FMs. I am a little worried they will be discontinued or reformulated before I get a chance to try them all!
I’m 4 years away from empty nest so just now getting to the point where I’d love to hold a baby! I’m worried they’ll cut the less mainstream and dumb down the rest. Sadly, CF gives me a terrible headache but I love Lys Med and Une Fleur. Would love to try POAL and PdT in current formulation!
I have lots of decants from the Malle line but never stumped up for a full bottle. I need to revisit them again. I love Dan tes Bra, Lipstick Rose, Le Parfum de Therese and Musc Ravageur – not so keen on the newer releases like Eau de Magnolia or Outrageous though.
EL has maintained integrity in their perfumes and I am hoping that they are simply adding jewels to their crown, showing their recognition of high quality and artistry. I love Lipstick Rose, Lys Med, Une Fleur de Cassie, En Passant, Eau d’Hiver, Angeliques sous la Pluie and would love to try Carnal Flower, POAL, Iris Poudre.
I just can’t make up my mind about this line. There were lots of loves at first sniff, followed by distinct cooling-off periods. Now I’m just a bit befuddled. I’m sure the takeover will only confuse me more, and there will be ‘vintage’ Malle up for auction, so help me. There are a few I’d like to try again, see if I can clear up any of this mess.
Ha! I have to revisit Lipstick Rose. I didn’t like it the first time but I think it was more an association. But I smelled it again recently and was surprised that I liked more than I remembered.
I love FM perfumes! The thought of reformulations gives me chills..So far, my favourites are En Passant and Angeliques sous la pluie. The warm touch of Dans tes Bras is also very comforting on a rainy day.. would love to try the new one in the collection, Cologne Indelible, the name of which i very intriguing)
My favorite is Musc Ravageur. I’ve never tried Magnolia, is it good?
Sorry, that posted prematurely. I also meant to say I don’t care for Lipstck Rose. Just don’t like rose perfumes.
I was surprised how much I liked L’eau d’Hiver, thinking it wouldn’t be my thing.
Noir Epices is my fav. Musc Ravageur and French Lover. I really, really like fleur de cassie but although I’m a guy that’ll push gender boundaries I feel Fleur is too traditionally fem for me. Never sniffed Carnal Flower yet.
En Passant was my first obsession. I’m loving Magnolia now. Carnal Flower FTW
“portrait of a lady” and “carnal flower” are my favorites! Good luck at the DMV.
Oh man, such a tough question. I haven’t tried them all but I do love Une Fleur de Cassie, Lipstick Rose, and Dans tes Bras. I like a few of the others but these are my absolute favorites. Swooooon!
OMG, where do I start? I’m a big Malle fan but ADORE Dominique Ropion! Anything he’s touched, I want! I have 9 10ml travelers, the Pierre Hardy travel case and a 100ml of POAL -my new signature! Even the body butter is divine! FYI, Aerin Lauder Evening Rose lotion is a perfect dupe for POAL butter. Its amazing (and much more affordable)!
I filled out the survey on their site and got three samples of Noir Epices, Portrait of a Lady and Musc Ravageur. They all fit me very, very well, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be Musc Ravageur. Now I’m dying to try Carnal Flower, but there are no FM counters where I live, so I guess I’ll just have to wait.
You HORRIBLE woman! “Portrait of an Emo Girl”. I now have to clean off my monitor….
Malle, despite its diverse perfumers, seems to work for me and I haven’t found a scrubber yet. Of course, some I love more than others-Carnal Flower, En Passant, Musc Ravageur-but I can happily wear all I’ve tried. I am hoping EL leaves them alone, but like you, I am on the alert for any sign of reformulation or repackaging.
I have only smelled two Malles – Carnal Flower and POAL. I loved them both and wish I had tried more before the EL takeover and probable reformulations. I am particularly interested in Iris Poudre since Iris is one of my favorite notes.
I also love the Malle and dread the DMV and babies trump just about everything. In fact L’eau D’Hiver smells slightly like new baby to me. I hope they don’t discontinue some of the scents which aren’t universally appealing like Dans Tes Bras and Une Fleur de Cassie. Or reformulate them. Those are 2 of my favs.
Total scent twins. Those are my two favorites as well!
My current surprise favorite Malle is the room spray, Un Gardenia la Nuit, which I spray around the bedroom and also use as a perfume at times. I am quite astonished how much I like it. I just blind-bought Russian Nights, which I hope will be good for fall and winter. I wanted to buy these two before EL gets their grubby little corporate paws on the formulations…
My favorite Frederic Malle is Musc Ravageur. I keep ordering decants and at this rate I should just break down and get a bottle. Have not tried the other jewels in the Malle crown, but would love to try Vetiver — I can’t believe anything could smell as good as Guerlain’s Vetiver (prior to 2000, although I haven’t tried the current incarnation; I assume it’s changed).
Just tried the incredible Indelible yesterday. CAn still smell it on my arm – wonderful. Didn’t overly love the bergamot-y first bit but the longer I wore it the better it got. I have Carnal Flower and it’s a fabulous, glamorous perfume that I only seem to wear on special occasions but irritates my skin so I have to be careful with it.
I know what you mean about car anxiety. For me, it’s kind of like a visit to the doctor. I don’t know what they are talking about so I just have to trust them, and hope that they do. Know what they are talking about I mean.
I’ve only tried 3 Malle scents, but I loved them all, especially the Vetiver.
Good luck with the car thing.
Oh, and babies!
I was fortunate enough to receive the Malle coffret for a holiday gift, and I am still working through the line. Carnal Flower was my gateway Malle, and L’eau d’Hiver is another favourite. I am adopting a “wait and see” attitude with the purchase/quality matrix. Hopefully….
DNEM please- I have Malle treats at home still to be tested.
EL will jack up the price even more than it already is! More importantly, the quality of the ingredients will diminish