Uncut Gem

Possedarlings!!! No… I promise I’m not two (now three years behind).  I’ve actually tried Uncut Gem on and off since it was launched in 2022 – but it’s not until now that I’ve felt I could give it the attention it deserves.  Created by Maurice Roucel for Frederic Malle (they’ve worked together on Dans tes Bras as well as the Musc Ravageur series (including Musc Ravageur Punk Edition which I didn’t even know existed!;  …::must investigate::).  Uncut Gem has that slightly astringent, acerbic tone I associate with a lot of M. Malle’s more masculine-leaning scents.  Saying that because, as a perfumista(ish) person I don’t follow gender assignments – and I doubt M. Malle* (nor M. Roucel, for that matter) does, either.  Perfumers and perfumistas are All About the Scent (and remember when Neil Morris told me to spritz El O in Fracas?  Yep!  He smelled deeelicious! and every female at that gathering thought so, too!

So… Uncut Gem!  I recently spritzed it apres-bain and pre-snooze – and it was a revelation!  It’s a cool, gingery-lemon with a warm base (the amber, I’m guessing) that reminds me of sipping a hot ginger tea with a slice of lemon…but in a Wedgwood china cup (with saucer, don’tchaknow).  The ginger is cooled down some with the bergamot, then roiled back up again by the angelica.  It was an easy sleep scent, content to play nice and not incite crazy dreams because, let’s face it, I’m already crazy enough – don’t need a perfume helping me attain EPIC status (ooops!  that’s another perfume altogether…sorry).   It’s a cool, green-adjacent scent that I could see wearing on a cool, faux-Spring morning, as I jumped off a conference call (thank FLOYD! my folks have consigned vidconferencing to the dumpster!  And may it stay there FOREVER!  I couldn’t focus on the topic for wondering if I looked like I have a double chin or … omgosh!  did I just stick my finger in my ear? ) and ran to the gym.  It’s not a sillage monster but be warned… if you’re going to wear it?  Prepare to WEAR IT! for a long time.  Y’all know I live for a good, hot shower, right?  and I shower twice a day.  So imaging my surprise when that beast was still stuck to my wrist a good 24 hours after application.  I kept wondering ‘what on earth am I smelling?’ as I poured my coffee; it reminded me of my mother’s lament that my dad would pour hot water in her cup before leaving for work – and the smell of his aftershave would linger on the brim of the cup.   This thing is a longevity BEAST!  It’s a perfectly good way to smell for 24 hrs, obviously – but so few perfumistas ant to smell the same for 24hrs….you need to know that you will have to scrub! to get it off.

I like this – but I don’t need more than my generous Malle sample.

• while doing some notes research on Uncut Gem I came across this scary June 2024 Fragrantica article !!!

apparently I have been living in my still-unfinished bathroom (without wifi, I guess)… because I Did NOT Know This!   Not altogether surprising; M. Malle’s focus on his perfumes was so… intense and personal… I cannot imagine that focus bowing to, well, focus groups!

Did y’all know about this?  Why didn’t you pull me out of the bathroom and tell a Musette?  Have you tried Uncut Gem?  What did you think of it?  Questions, Posse!  Questions!!!

photo: pexels.com

sample: Frederic Malle (courtesy of my beloved Andy @ N-M)