Frederic Malle Cologne Indelebile – orange blossom perfume

Frederic Malle Cologne Indelebile and its soaring sunshiny scent reminds me of some other orange blossom perfume, but which one?  I scurried over to my oversized Orange Blossom Perfume post to get some ideas.  L’Artisan Seville is gorgeous and a little naughty, and there are some similarities, but that’s not it.  Houbigant Orangers en Fleurs is sorta like it, but not exactly.

frederic Malle Cologne IndelebileWhat, what, what isssss it?  Oh.  Could Frederic Malle Cologne Indelebile be close to the much beloved and incredibly pricey Shalini?I found my little four mls I have left of it, and like all things that have been in a little bottle way too long, it’s gone off.  The agony of losing my little bottle of sunshine!  But is Cologne Indelebile as close as it gets?

I’m going by memory, and I’m thinking yes.  Maurice Roucel did Shalini and Dominique Ropion did Frederic Malle Cologne Indelebile.  Two of my favorite perfumers’ take on orange blossom perfume.  They aren’t exactly the same, but the effect is. They both soar and feel like the brightest burst of joy.  Cologne Indelebile is a heavier take on orange blossom, not as meaty as Serge Lutens Fleur d’Orangeur, but heavier than Shalini.  Shalini is an orange blossom hummingbird.  Cologne Indelebile is an orange blossom hawk.

So not Shalini, but a kissing cousin in some ways.  CI is something that feels like it should be airy and light, but it’s not really, and it sticks with great longevity, like how Carnal Flower sticks to you like an amazing Tuberose glue.  A great addition to the Malle line-up and now one of my favorite orange blossom fragrances.  It is perfect for summer, as is Frederic Malle Eau de Magnolia,

I owe some drawings!!  Frederic Malle pick winners – PrincessTonk and foxbinsf.  Winners of the Unum Lavs samples – Sonia, TheCatsMother, Bastet and edpgypsy.   Just click on Drop Us a Note at the top of the blog, send me your name and address and remind me what you’ve won.  I’ll send you a quick “got it” e-mail so you know it didn’t drop into my spam filter and then get it sent to you.

So drawing this week, let’s do a sample of Frederic Malle Cologne Indelebile to two lucky commenters.  Did you guys have a nice holiday weekend? Any exciting summer plans or a great pick for a summer perfume you want to snag?

  • Libby says:

    I’m on the hunt for an orange blossom scent for summer, and we will be staying in Seattle and traveling to the upper peninsula of MI in July, where hopefully we will have hot and sunny weather for lake swimming!

  • My fun summer plans include a trip to Houston followed by Seattle, with the 1 year old in tow and flying without my hubby. I’m not sure if that’s fun… 🙂 But I’m excited to see my family in Seattle, and I brought a whole slew of hopefully summer worthy samples to try on the trip, including California Reverie which is just so lovely. If I had some dough, I’d probably shell it out on that one. 🙂 Thanks for the draw, this one sounds lovely!

  • nicole says:

    My favorite orange blossom was VS Lace Orange Blossom but I’d love to try the two you mentioned.Best part of summer are the wonderful farmer’s markets & berry picking.

  • tiffanie says:

    Our house is collectively counting down the days of school that are left. It seems like agony, but summer break will be here (then over and done) in the blink of an eye. Every year during May I try to find that perfect bottle of citrus fragrance for summer. Chanel Eau de Cologne or Eau de Guerlain always tug at my wandering heart. Then June rolls around and I forget about them and make do with what’s at hand. So now my warm weather fragrance is Roger & Gallet Jean Marie Farina, and when it’s gone, it’s gone forever. Use it or lose it. Happy summer!

  • Winterlude says:

    Holiday Weekend = Work
    Summer Plans = Work
    Summer Scent = Who knows?! I have a tiny sample of Santa Maria Novella Eva and I have been huffing it like a madwoman! I have been doing the same thing with Ta’if and Eau de Protection, and I don’t want to choose. 😐

  • Kandice says:

    I absolutely love orange blossom and can’t wait to try this. Thanks for the opportunity! Funny but you mentioned one of my other favorite summer frags in your post – Eau De Magnolia. I’m out and must get some more soon!

  • Tiara says:

    No plans to travel but I certainly wish we were. This post reminded me that I need to find my stash of Jour d’Hermes. When you mentioned pulling out the Shalini, I realized I still haven’t done that. I need to explore orange blossom in perfume a bit more. Not sure why I haven’t but this sounds quite nice. Love when you do the work for us!

  • Vanie says:

    No traveling plans yet, but a very excited summer event: I’m getting married in August! Which means I ended to choose a fragrance for the day, which is very fun!

  • Jessi says:

    Had no idea FM had a new Orange blossom scent. I would love to try it. We are getting ready to leave on the Power Tour. It’s go go go season for us. Lots of traveling for work!!

  • Amer says:

    My plans for this summer is to visit Ireland for my mate’s wedding but couldn’t plan early and have to pay an arm and a leg for tickets now. So no plans on investing in perfume for some time… 🙁

  • Neva says:

    I’ve been longing to try Cologne Indelebile ever since I’ve read the first review. It sounds absolutely lovely. I’m also curious about the promised longevity. No chance to find Malle’s perfumes around here, so thanks for the draw.
    Summer weekends I spend mostly doing short trips in the countryside and the holiday on our lovely coast. Can’t wait for the next trip!

  • Mariann says:

    I love orange blossom and together with vetiver the two notes I reach for in the heat. Looking forward to two weeks in France and hopefully a week puttering around here when it gets too hot to go to the office.

  • karibub says:

    Just the other day I pulled out my small bit of Shalini and loved it all day long! It’s exciting to think I can get something similar without having to take out a second mortgage 🙂 Thanks as always for your generosity.

  • Nemo says:

    My summer plans involve finishing up my thesis and moving across the country with my geriatric guinea pigs 🙂 I am super excited! Thank you for the drawing.

  • Gigi says:

    No big travel plans yet for this summer, but since I’ve gone to part time work from full time, every week feels like I’m on summer vacation!

  • Artist says:

    Oh! Sounds perfect! Where I grew up we were surrounded on one side by orange groves and on the other side, eucalyptus! When the orange trees were in bloom and there was a rain, the scent combination was intoxicating,gorgeous. The only orange blossom scent I’m familiar with is the Serge. I’m in the studio working all Summer, I’d LOVE to try this, let the sunshine IN!
    Thanks for the drawing!

  • *Lainie says:

    Summer plans: work work work, and art whenever possible! This lovely scent would make those long days at the office easier. Have a beautiful summer, posse!

  • sunnlitt says:

    Well, this will be the first year that I travel with my son’s family as a grandma/babysitter.
    I am hoping that means that my son and daughter-in-law will get to relax and take a few breaths.
    I have 2 grandsons, ages 1 and 3—they are wonderful and exhausting!!
    I am looking forward to a week by the water with babies.
    Wish me luck!!
    Thanks for the drawing. The scent sounds amazing.

  • FeralJasmine says:

    Oh, how I do love me some orange blossom. This is one I haven’t tried.
    My summer plans revolve around staying home this year. We have two geriatric dogs, 13 and 14, and from now on we no longer leave home without them. I’m a permaculture-oriented gardener and a lot of my plantings are just coming to fruition, so I wouldn’t want to leave anyway! So we will take our dogs for walks along the river, cook and eat blissfully from our own land, and preserve for the winter. I think I will always remember these vacations.

  • Spiker says:

    I’m getting ready to head out to Yellowstone in a few weeks and can’t wait for the time out and away from work! The past few years I’ve been visiting various national parks and they’ve been fantastic.

  • Caroline says:

    no exciting summer plans yet…hope to get to NYC & finally check out the High Line. Thinking of getting some Eau de Mandarine Ambree for the warm days ahead.

  • Diana says:

    One of By Kilian’s Black Masterpieces is all about the Orange Blossom, with lots of sugar added of course. I mix that group of scents up all the time so can’t recall the name, but it was nice. The longevity of the scent was a plus, since most perfumes disappear from my skin rather quickly. Please enter me in the drawing as I’d love to smell the new Malle version of the flower.

  • joannawnyc says:

    Mmmm, orange blossom!

  • Cat McNeal says:

    Oh my!! That sounds divine!!! I would love to try that! I love so many of his perfumes, especially Carnal Flower, which I’m out of! Definitely need to get more of that as well.