A La Rose Maison Francis Kurkdjian

This may have been inspired by Marie Antoinette but unfortunately history has painted Marie Antoinette as frivolous and excessive, two words that do not fit this creation. Instead A La Rose smells like something I would envision Juliet to have worn, being both beautiful and innocent. 

In A La Rose, the rose is young and sparkling like a fresh rose that just unfurled its delicate petals to marvel at the world through eyes filled with love and idealism. I do smell the citrus and powdery notes but the rose stands out clear, bright and unfettered, ever unchanging and staying true to its dewy pink colour residing in its signature Maison Francis Kurkdjian glass flacon. Linear and soft, this stands at polar opposites to sumptuous goddesses like Absolue Pour Le Soir or the heartbreaking rose of Lumiere Noire Pour Femme from the same house and feels more innocent than the chic and classic APOM Pour Femme, a soft beauty of orange blossom and woods.

Having failed to fire up any enthusiasm over the recent Feminin Pluriel, my faith in the artistry of Francis Kurkdjian is renewed by this exquisite example of femininity, a story of a starry-eyed girl standing at the border of naïvety and maturity, destined to become a well known and well loved Shakespearean character, a courageous, loyal and capable woman.   

Lumière Noire Pour Femme Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Desirability: Full Bottle

Source:luckyscent

One of my great loves that I file under "nostalgic", Lumière Noire Pour Femme (LNPF) is a heartbreaking/melancholic scent that stirs emotions in a similar manner to Guerlain's L'Heure Bleue. 

LNPF starts like a sweet fruity floral when applied then quickly loses the fruity sweetness and a greenish floral bouquet appears, comprising of wild foliage surrounding a heart of roses and narcissus with a tad of powder. 

The green notes gradually slip away together with the powder and LNPF enters the part I love best and which lasts for a very long time. It takes a darker path, with sweaty saltiness and a darker, more earthy rose, as if the petals turned from a pink blush to a dark red. I adore this gloomy and sensual drydown that is part beast part rose with an added air of dry spiciness, that manages to remain presentable for polite company while leaving no doubt as to what could go on in her boudoir if you play your cards right.

There are many beautiful rose/patchouli combinations in the market, Amouage's Lyric Woman (personally I prefer the spicier Epic Woman), Frederic Malle/Dominique Ropion's Portrait of a Lady( a fantastically dirty rose/patchouli but I prefer Noir Epices the best from Malle's roses), Tom Ford's Noir de Noir( lost a sniff off with Portrait of a Lady), Ex Idolo's Thirty-three which is another great love, an animalic rose/oud/patchouli combination in equal measures and Juliette Has A Gun's Lady Vengeance(not as badass as the name suggests, quite sweet actually), just to name a few. Which is the best is a personal choice and I ended up with Lumière Noire Pour Femme...I guess you could say the perfume reached out and took a firm hold on my heartstrings. 

Lumière Noire Pour Femme creates an atmosphere like Kristen Barry in Ordinary Life. For me that is.