Parfums de Marly Les Extraits

Heya Posse! Last year I dropped into Sydney’s Parfums de Marly flagship store in our historic and beautiful Strand Arcade. Michael is the manager there and I’ve known him for decades. He’s a lovely guy, still deeply connected to the beauty and fragrance industry. When I met him, he was trainer for L’Oreal here in Sydney. We have always had lovely interactions and when APJ was a big concern he’d always make sure I had samples of the newest and most fabulous releases. Anyway, I dropped in and he was really excited because the Parfums de Marly Les Extraits had been announced but they hadn’t arrived in Australia yet. We even talked of doing a big, fun launch at the store. Sadly none of that happened BUT when the sample set arrived he gave some to chat about. Of course, I misplaced them. They have come to light!

Parfums de Marly Les Extraits 2025

Mine is the 3 x 1.5ml Sample set but there is also a 3 x 5ml Discovery Set available. My initial thought was that these were extrait flankers to original scents but on looking it seems these are three brand new releases from Parfums de Marly. Let’s have a sniff. All notes lists are those supplied by Parfums de Marly site.

The bottles are bloody gorgeous. Hefty, comfortable and I really like the lids. These are expensive perfumes and the bottles feel luxurious enough to house that kind of outlay. It’s still a ridiculous amount of money to spend but al least you’ll be holding a beautiful container as you spritz.

Carios

Top: Bergamot, Pink Peppercorn, Red Mandarin, Saffron
Heart: Geranium, Red Thyme, Black Pepper
Base: Cedarwood, Ambrox, Vetiver, Roasted Tonka Bean

Open is sweet, sugar confectionary of sizzling citrus, musk sticks and pink pepper. Black pepper adds a dry rasp that cools and grounds the opening beautifully. It takes till the heart for me to be able to smell the saffron and it comes in with a green herbaceousness attributed to thyme but smells very vetiver-ish. Dry, slightly oily grassiness. The base, which is where we spend 90% of the Carios life, is a very sweet woodsiness. Tonka bean is in a heaped supply and there is still that musk stick backdraft, like marzipan but not. If you’ve not got one of the hundreds of scents that smell like this, and you’re rich, then it’s not a bad choice.

Eragon

Top: Bergamot, Pink Peppercorn, Cardamom, Mandarin
Heart: Cinnamon, Davana, Cypriol
Base: Leather, Tonka Bean, Vanilla Bean, Patchouli

This is much more what I hope to smell like. Eragon opens with a lovely hit of cardamom that is only tangentially touched by the citruses. It stays as the herbal greenery comes through in the heart. They name very specific Davana (Artemesi) and Cypriol and the scent I get is like wormwood. Sadly it doesn’t stay long enough and becomes a backing player. The base is an amorphous amber with an extra hint of sweetness. I’d like to smell this on someone who’d worn it for the day. I’m thinking it would be a very sensual remnant. Even after hours I still get little bubbles of greenery flashing through.

Valero

Top: Bergamot, Cedrat, Juniper
Heart: Bourbon Geranium, Lavender, Cypress, Nutmeg
Base: Patchouli, Sandalwood, Ambrox Ingredients

Greenery! A fragrant gin and tonic opens Valero. Citrus and juniper! Very nicely done. It’s joined by some floral aromatics and that singular crackle of nutmeg. For the first 15 minutes I’m madly in love. It’s the least sweet of the Les Extraits trio, has an interesting (though well worn) trajectory and creates some fragrant drama. All while maintaining a low key masculinity that would smell fabulous on a woman. I’m thinking Katharine Hepburn, Glenn Close, Kristen Stewart or Tilda Swinton. After the bells and whistles calm we are left with a very smooth woodsy base. It’s not groundbreaking or showy, rather it’s the base of a hundred other fragrances. It does last almost eternally and will smell just as nice at 15 hours as it did at one. Safe and friendly, but a lot more spendy.

Patty talks Parfums de Marly Oriana on Posse.

I know I’m a bit sneery. Truth is, these are all solid fragrances that, if you like how they smell on you, are perfectly fine choices. You will get a full days wear from them and probably compliments. They smell nice and are not combative.

Do any of these read like they’d float your boat? Have you tried any of the PdM oeuvre?
Portia xx