Frederic Malle Superstitious was launched in 2017
. Created by Dominique Ropion with notes of jasmine, rose, peach, amber, incense, vetiver and patchouli. Frederic Malle Superstitious was a collaboration with fashion designer Alber Elbaz (formerly of Lanvin).
I had been pretty antsy to get my hands on this. I loved Dries van Noten, it was Malle, but had an otherness to it where you could tell it had influence from elsewhere. With this launch, there is the bottle change-up – black with that eye-looking thing in gold.
Early on, what I was sure of is this would be a Big Girl Perfume and not something for little girls (thanks, March, for that post!) And it is. A floral aldehyde, it reminds me very much of the Lanvin classics with a modern slant. There is a more feral note snuggled underneath the aldehydes. A somewhat dark, smutty rose. It is big, y’all, and I don’t recommend wearing it to the office, but it is perfect for going out and when you want to make a statement. It’s beautiful and a modern classic. Which, of course, means, mainstream will hate it.
Speaking of mainstream, I also tried the new Guerlain Mon Guerlain. Listen, there is nothing wrong with it, but we have smelled this same thing from Guerlain in about ten different iterations. It’s pretty, a little gourmand, little sweet, inoffensive, mainstream. I don’t hate it, you really can’t hate it, but I wish they’d swing for the fences. I loved Ne m’Oubliez Paz because it was all of those things with a smutty base that made my toes curl. Do that, Guerlain, more often.
Winners of the Huitieme Aqaysos samples – spring pansy, diana and Jeanne. Just click on Drop Us a Note at the top, send me an e-mail, remind me of what you won and get me your mailing address. I’ll send you a quick e-mail to let you know I got your e-mail and it didn’t land in a spam filter and then get it on the way to you.
So giving away three samples of Frederic Malle Superstitious. Just drop a comment to be entered. Big girl perfume lover or just hand over the Mon Guerlain?
I’m curious to try this one. Aldehydes are hit and miss with me (though I like them more than I used to), but the rest sounds right up my alley.
Just catching up on my blog reading. This sounds so encouraging. I’m curious about this one. Love some classic Lanvin. I’ll have to see if this is available at my local FM counter. Don’t particularly like the sweet, little girl fragrances.
So happy to hear your review on Superstitious! I just got a scent card in the mail from Frederic Malle’s Editions De Parfums and this perfume (Ropion is my favorite) just blew me away. I’m still learning about the building blocks of scent and your description (incense! yes!) helps immensely. Thank you!
I couldn’t find anything intriguing about the Mon Guerlain. It was pleasant enough, but had no
secrets to hide. Alas! Tried it on two times in the store. Still cannot believe it is so vacuous. I haven’t given up yet, though. I do enjoy wearing the classics, Lanvin, Patou, Guerlain, No 5. I think they qualify as big. Curious about this one too!
I have not tried any Frederic Malle scents so would like this one to be the first. Mon Guerlain was a bit ‘meh’; after i finished the sample i did not wish to get another. Thanks for the draw,
Was disappointed with
Outrageous, no staying power, but have been keeping an eye out for this one!
I love big girl perfumes and I really like Dries von Noten. I am pretty sure I will like Superstitious as well and it is a good name for a perfume.
How lovely! Cannot wait to smell a new Ropion. He has the magic touch. Despite usually preferring gentle fragrances, I’ve found most of his scents utterly delectable. 🙂
With Guerlain I pretty much stick to the classics, although I do like Insolence edp. Would love to try this new Malle.
I’m another lover of aldehydes! Rive Gauche was my signature scent. I never fail
to get compliments on it. However, I’m not thrilled with the reformulizations so I’m hoping this will be my new signature! Please send me a sample – PLEASE!!!! 🙂
Love aldehydes, but I tiptoe around heavy hitter scents. Enjoyed reading and thinking about the juxtaposition of these two scents in the perfume-o-sphere. I hope Mon Guerlain sells well so that some other popular scents will be less ubiquitous.
would love to try these, too!
I am a woman and I like grown-up perfumes. Also I now have Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” running through my head.
Commenting again just so I can be notified of new comments. Sheesh. I do love Malle scents, though. This one sounds like a winner!
Sounds lovely! Got to try my first Malle, Portrait of a Lady recently. First try with about 1/3 of sample I liked it. Tried remainder yesterday, and fell in LOVE with it, made me happily swirled in roses all day!
I am super excited about this one. I think pairing with other designers brings out the best in FM – and Dres van Nolten is a good example
Aldehydes I like in some perfumes and not others, but I always appreciate a Big Girl perfume, even though some of them (Aromatics Elixir) wear me.
Enter one more for the Big Girl camp. I love Ne M’Oubliez Pas. Wish I had ordered a bigger decant when you had it at STC. Any chance you’ll be getting it back in stock? I see you have other Guerlains. Wanting to try Neroli Outrnoir, too.
I can hardly wait to smell this. I love Dominique Ropion, especially his work with Malle, I love grown up lady fragrances. And I love Alber Elbaz. I’ve missed seeing his romantic Lanvin frocks, and I hope this scent is as exuberant, feminine, and joyous as his clothes.
Interesting. I’m a suckered for amber and incense so I’d love to try it.
Interesting bottle. I’m a big girl perfume fan…but love Mon Exclusif and have high hopes for Mon Guerlain. Lavender is definitely NOT mainstream for “little girls” these days, even if it’s been done to death before. So I have to say Guerlain may indeed be stretching it a little bit.
I’ve been mildly curious about it but now really want to sniff it. I don’t have a problem with safe and easy scents: sometimes I just want to smell like shampoo. But, when I don’t feel the need to play it safe I really want to wear the big-girl stuff.
This sounds so much more interesting than Mon Guerlain (and I am a huge Guerlain fan) but I agree with Neva that it sounds like another LPRN flanker. I wish they would change direction already!
Oh I am so looking forward to this one- My absolute favorite perfume is L’eau Scandaleuse, so I think that puts me squarely in the big girl camp
This sounds freaking amazing! I’m definitely a big-girl perfume wearer — Carnal Flower and Un Fleur de Cassie from FM, Papillon’s Salome, Mitsouko, Coco, and Chanel’s Cuir de Russie are my jam. Thanks for the draw!
Ohhhhhhh Gimme Gimme GiMMMMME! I can’t wait to get my hands on this one!! Fingers twitchin!
I need a BIG GIRL grown Up, Punch “em in the face as you walk away Chanel No.5 Equivalent. Ropion & Malle are great together, I still adore Un Fleur du Cassie!!
Love aldehydes,love FM’s fragrances. Would love to try. Haven’t bought any samples lately. Must do a bit of research n get some. I have a craving to try something new.
What I end up liking is so unpredictable that I can’t say I’d fall into either the big girl or little girl camp. More like the majorly eccentric contingent? Some years back I thought I didn’t like aldehydes and many of them I still don’t. However, I’ve come to adore Guerlain Vega and Catherine Deneuve. Since they’re both discontinued I need something new to fill that slot. I’d love to try this.
Just discovered my LOOOOOOVE oder aldehydes over the weekend, adventure-sniffing w/ NSTers, and definitely love/want/NEED the big girl perfumes, so I’d love to try this!
Thanks for the draw!
Big girl here!
With a penchant for big perfumes!
And all things big, if I really must say it 😉
Big girl here! Thank you for the draw, Patty!
Ooh, this sounds interesting! Office scents have their place in my wardrobe (I’m wearing AG Eau d’Hadrien today, trying to keep awake after three nights of severe storms and little sleep) but I also like the Serious Statement Scents (OJ Woman, Amouage Lyric, Samsara…) Some days, I just want to be a force to be reckoned with! Would love to try this.
This sounds amazing!!!!! My perfume style varies depending on my mood but I do love the heavy hitter perfumes 🙂
Life is too short for insignificant perfumes, give me the big ones every time.
I have been waiting and waiting for this. Thank you for your review. I love the bold statement fragrances FM did so far!
I’ve been waiting for this one to be released! I love Malle and aldehydes so Superstitious sounds perfect.
Dries von Noten is one of my favorite Malle scents…I am looking forward to trying Superstitious.
Thank you for the draw.
Big girl? That’s for me! The places I can’t wear it I can’t wear Mon Guerlain either. A Lanvin vibe? Whoo hoo! Bring it.
Big Girl Aldehydes!!! Oh that makes me so happy. Oh it sounds wonderful Thank you for the draw!
Superstitious sounds good to me!
I’m curious about both of these. I love the idea of a big bold scent but many days call for easy to wear and pleasant.
Agree. That’s what the Mon Guerlain is for. 🙂 It really is nice, but it’s the 10th iteration of the same scent. But completely easy to wear and pleasnt and comforting, too, I think. Superstitious is none of those things for sure. 🙂
Can’t wait to try. So tired of new scents that don’t last more than a few hours. Is my body chemistry changing that much as I age???
Well, one thing this won’t do is last a few hours. 🙂 I can still smell it on my hand this morning.
I am so curious about this, thanks for the review
You are welcome, good luck!
Big girl perfumes for me… Paloma Picaso, Aromatics Elixir, etc. Thank you for this opportunity to try a fascinating fragrance.
yeah, with those faves, this is a must-try for you.
Ooh, I’d love to try Superstitious! I do think Ropion’s previous florals for Malle, Carnal Flower and Portrait of Lady, are two of the finest florals ever created! Big girl all the way – I have no wish to be bland…
Ropion Rules All. If he makes something, I’m in for a sniff.
Love perfume for grownups, and enjoy two other Ropions from this line, CF and UFdC. Peach and patch are giving me pause–they can be tricky for me–but gotta try it.
The peach and patch shouldn’t bother you too much, I don’t thinjk. If you hate aldehydes, i’d give it a miss.
I’m not superstitious… or am I ?
I’d love to find out. Sounds lovely. I really enjoy scents that aren’t mainstream.
But this would have bee mainstream about 50 years ago. I think they did a great job with the modernization of that type of perfume.
I have been waiting with bated breath to smell this!! Yummy!! Big Girl!! Malle!! Elbaz!! Amazeballs!!
That was me dancing around here yesterday waiting for the Fedex guy to deliver it!
wait. What? WHAT? This vintage Lanvin Ho ……..omg. Are you KIDDING ME? Okay – off to bug the Malle Folks! DNEM because you KNOW I am AWN this!
xoxoxoA
How did you miss paying attention to this? Floral aldehyde created with the former designer for Lanvin. Duh, big floral aldehyde that projeeeeects.
I’ve been in Shingle Hell plus mostly in dirt. So I’m out of the loop. Until NOW!
xoxoxoA
As a big girl perfume lover, this sounds an enchanting.
This falls in the – even if it’s not a personal love for you, you will absolutely appreciate what they did here.
I love the big girl perfumes but they remind me that we need more date nights! My work is with preschoolers so I have to be pretty gentle during the day (although I have one little girl who always compliments my perfume- a future perfumista!)
Girl, get yourself a date night to wear something like this!
Classy lady, big girl–I am intrigued and I love the Lanvin vibe thing. Thanks for the drawing.
On first sniff, it really has the classic Lanvin perfume feel. That does fade a bit, but Lanvin lovers will appreciate that.
This sounds just beautiful. I also love Dries van Noten – this one sounds a bit more daring. Would love to try it!
It is that. I love Dries van Noten, too, it’s one of my personal favorites from the line, but it is more subtly odd.
Would love to try this gorgeous sounding fragrance. A combination of Malle and Lanvin surely can’t disappoint!
It was an exciting pairing! 🙂 I hope they continue doing more of these, but making sure it is selective with designers with the right sensibility about perfume.
Another vote for big and bold. I am a Tuberose Criminelle,/ Carnal Flower / Bandit / Shalimar woman.
I have quieter scents that I wear when I am in the mood, but the 90’s created all of the subtle-don’t-offend – scents the world will ever need.
Make a choice and have people love or hate – trying to be all things to all people rarely works.
so agree with this. I’d rather wear nothing than only seek to find something that is inoffensive. My only exceptions are other people’s weddings and funerals. so normally I opt to wear nothing to both.
I’m still waiting for Malle to go hard on a gardenia perfume. I love his room fragrance Un Gardenia La Nuit so much, and I know it’s possible and can’t figure out why they haven’t done it yet. clearly their customers are willing to pay for it. Same with their Rubrum Lily room fragrance (spiced lily_, I want that made more complicated and put in a perfume. I admit to dabbing them on me at times. 🙂
I’m not a big room fragrance person, but spicy lily? I may need to seek that out. I would also love to see that as a perfume. Lys Mediteranee is great, but surely there’s room for another lily in the line.
Wait – a Malle Gardenia ?? I must try on skin.
Sounds wonderful! We’ve been waiting for one such as this, which you’ve beautifully described.
Well, it was a short description. Yesterday was one of those days, plus I think i’m getting a sink today!
So glad you reviewed this and that it did not disappoint you. Yes to “big girl perfume”! Mon Guerlain is Le Petite Robe Noir’s Xth flanker. Mercy…!
Yup, and I liked it the first time around, but it grows old as a “new release” the 10th time. I love Thierry Wasser’s work, but I need some thing fresh, or is this all he can do?
For a Rive Gauche fan, Superstitious surely sounds great!
Hope you love it!
I am one of the few who actually like aldehydes.Why is it “big girl?” I don’t see Lanvin as being.that way….more like a classy lady in the same. Vein as 24 St.Fouger.
I don’t know if you read March’s post last week. She talked about how so many modern releases (coco Noir, Black Opium) that were updates on great grown-up girl perfumes are just insipid and seem geared to little girls. So I think I mean more grown-up girl.
A new FM – must have to try!
Yeah, I’m always in that camp. new FM is a must-try. Some of them take me a while to warm up to, and a very few I have no personal love for, but admire. But they are always interesting.
Im in! Lets hope this big league can change the gourmand landscape
Yeah. I finally came around to appreciating a great gourmand, but Lord, do we have to have 7,000 of them a year?
I love the name, Superstitious, and that it is a big floral with PEACH! It’s got everything I like.
You know, the peach is in there, but it takes a while to assert itself, so be patient.
You had me on “Big Girl Perfume.” Love Malle’s Dries Van Noten, Une Rose, and still navigating POAL. Would love a whiff of this one.
If you love those three, Superstitious is a for sure, I’d think.
Love big and love aldehydes and love Malle and love Alber Elbaz. Even love that eyeball on the bottle. Cannot wait to get a whiff of this!
the eye ball is cool. The whole bottle is cool.
Like the sound of this new Frederic Malle. Will be interesting to see if Mon Guerlain is the blockbuster Guerlain wants it to be.
Mon Guerlain will be incredibly commercial. It’s become a familiar Guerlain smell, and it’s one I find comforting and pretty, and they do it wel. I really want them to stretch a little, I’d love to see them do something like Superstitious with their own retro slant. They are certainly capable of it, but I suspect like all things, making a profit becomes more important.
Yes I did love Ne M’Oubliez Pas! Please bring on the big vintage-like beasties. They are my favorites. Wearing a very vintage Shocking just now and wishing I had lots more of it.
I keep hoping it will enter their permanent line. It has their modern sensibility with a nod to their ‘ho past. 🙂
I always enjoy the big girl bang. Thankfully I WAH so I don’t have to worry about offending others at work. Only myself. LOL
It’s actually great and not offensive, but it projects with the old-school aldehydes treatment. But you can spritz with abandon. I did, and then I had to run out to my writing class and puppy kindergarten. I’m oblivious to others’ annoyance, so I’m not sure if I offended them all or not.
Go big or go home! Can’t wait to smell Superstitious.
Exactly!
I am so curious about this hopefully enchanting parfum! Thank you for this opportunity!
If you hate retro aldehydes, it may not be your dream perfume. 🙂 If you love them, it’s got a shot.
Yup, I am so ready to love this one! And a Lanvin vibe? Sign me up!
I think it’s the treatment of the aldehydes, it just feels retro. It’s good to hope for something great, huh? Mon Guerlain was such a letdown from a creative standpoint.
Yeah, I mean… I don’t HATE MG as such. It’s a perfectly fine mainstream, and as a business owner I understand the need for a product that drives those “bread&butter” sales. It’s certainly a step above the horrible (to me) La Vie, which smells like a combo of bug spray and a coach class scented bathroom. Blurrrrg!!
I’ve been waiting for this for so long! I wear APLS to work, this one doesn’t scare me, LOL!
NOT in Canada! Don’t know why it thinks so.
Weird. I don’t know how that country dectector plug-in works. 🙂 If you like them big and grown-up, I think this has a decently fair shot at earning your love.
Let’s hope so, I just scored a bottle off EB for a song…
High hopes for this!
I think even if you don’t love it personall, you will admire what they did. I fall in that camp. It’s not my personal kind of perfume that I’d wear often, but it is beautifully retro and fun to wear. It feels like a cross between retro and modern Lanvin with a Malle touch.