Edouard Flechier: 3 posts

Poison:  Nearly 30 years after its debut, the name still causes a chill up the spine or a frisson of fear among those whose nasal passages were assaulted by Christian Dior’s titanic fragrance.

Launched in 1985, Poison entered a world of big perfume.  It was the era of flamboyant, often bombastic scents.  Even in this context, Poison made an immediate name for itself.  Whether this was cause for celebration or not depended on who was doing the smelling.  Poison, like Giorgio Beverly Hills, had as many vocal fans as it did vehement opponents.

I remember the first time I smelled it.  I had recently started wearing Obsession, Calvin Klein’s new-at-the-time Oriental that had a hair tonic note in the base.  But during a holiday gathering a cousin arrived, or Poison arrived with the cousin, shrieking in like a comet to the Thanksgiving dinner table.  Gone were the typical holiday aromas:  chestnuts, turkey, and pumpkin pie.   We were served Poison alongside roasted yams and it was all anyone could talk about; even the old aunts clucked—in appreciation.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Lys Mediterranee is a lily in the floral bouquet of Frédéric Malle Editions de Parfums, which includes two lush roses (Lipstick Rose and Une Rose), indolic jasmine (Le Parfum de Thérèse), rain drenched lilac (En Passant), elegant iris (Iris Poudré), sensual tuberose (Carnal Flower) and powdery mimosa (Une Fleur de Cassie). Woven by its creator, Edouard Fléchier, from several different lilies, it shines like dew drops on a large white flower floating in a bowl of water. Its heady sweet aroma is underscored by the succulent verdancy and aquatic transparency, giving a sensation of a cold waxy petal and golden pollen that spills leaving a dusty trail.

The linear nature of Lys Méditerranée and its static crystalline beauty are liable to leave me cold. On the one hand, it makes me think of lily symbolizing purity and, on another, of its funereal associations. Lily as a dominant theme has an effect of a cold crispness, which I find lovely but distant, wishing for a soft velvety touch to balance out the chilliness. …

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Une Rose was created by Edouard Fléchier for Frédéric Malle Editions de Parfums in 2003, and it is a fragrance that hides darkness of woody amber under the sweetness of crimson roses. Its utter lack of sentimentality and preciousness that are common in rose fragrances is akin to Degas’s sympathetic, yet honest treatment of ballet dancers. Beauty with a sinister edge is how Une Rose can be characterized.

The top notes spill into luscious red rose petals, touched by dew. Rose is accented beautifully by geranium, which emphasizes the voluptuous quality of the central accord. A dark honeyed aspect is thrown into relief by the vividness of the rose as it unfolds slowly. The petals can almost be felt against the skin, their silkiness contrasting with a distant dark whisper. This whisper grows louder until it is strong enough to scatter the unctuous richness.

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