New Frederic Malle: Contre-Jour

While my lemming days might be over as far as jumping through hoops of fire, spending more than I do on insurance, or browbeating friends into inconvenient trips involving the post office (aren’t you glad I’m not your friend?) there really wasn’t a reason not to stop by the Malle shop to try out the new offering. What with the shop being a 15 minute walk from work and that day almost disgusting in it’s perfection. And they promised me “everlasting flower.”

I am assuming that means immortelle. There are several scents that I love and own that feature this flower, which to some smells a bit like pancake syrup. In scents like Annick Goutal’s eponymous Sables the immortelle is as warm and cozy as a banked hearth fire: without resorting to Cashmeran (that I know of) to make literal the woolly warmth.

A “contre-jour” photo

Contre-Jour in photography or painting is when the subject stands between the painter/photographer and the source of light. This Contre-Jour skates over that warmth- there’s something in it’s decidedly chilly opening that reminds me of candied violets, and while they refer to the rose as “punk” it’s not exactly pierced nose time. Nothing is piercing in this. Not piercing, but perfect. When the sandalwood in the base kicks in you get a taste of the Annick Ménardo who gave us Bulgari Black and Le Labo Patchouli 24 and that is a very good thing indeed.

Punk enough for you?

They only list three ingredients (everlasting flower, “punk” rose, and sandalwood) But each one in turn is given a chance to shine. Of the scents in the collection I think this one is slightly skewed masculine and certainly is very wearable. More unisex than French Lover but not as challenging as Musc Ravageur.

I am on the fence about this one. I like it, but it’s reminding me of something else out there (doesn’t that drive you bats?) that I am sure will come to me. I do have to thank Malle for coming out with these travel sizes. While it does sort of go against my ingrained “buy the biggest one since it’s a bargain” the reality is that I need another 100ML bottle of perfume I need like a hole in the head.

But thanks to FM it’s such a nice smelling hole..

It has the Torbin seal of approval..

Have you tried this one? Any thoughts? Let us know in the comments. Torbin, my neighbor’s very elegant standard poodle likes it a lot. Which is saying something.

Contre-Jour is available at the usual suspects for Malle, $90 for the 10ML, $295 for 50 and $470 for 100ML. I asked for an received my sample from the Malle store on Melrose Place.

Portia, Jin and a bunch of us a few years ago when Portia walked with the mayor. Then shopping,

And since I do nothing if not overshare I will mention that I am down 65 lbs over the past couple of years (I just bought new batteries for the bathroom scale.) I had gained a rather alarming amount during the lockdown. I was avoiding noticing it (amazing what you can ignore if you put your mind to it..) but over the last year I was trying- especially after a front-page photo of me waiting to talk to my friend the (then) mayor of BH. Sideways. Not pretty. I’m not where I would describe as “pretty” yet, but I am keeping on trying.

What does it say that I have a craving for beet juice with ginger? So delicious..

So if you have any helpful diet tips..

Photos: My iPhone, pexels and Wikimedia Commons