Monsieur. Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle (2016)

Monsieur. by Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle

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8.2 / 10 180 Ratings

Monsieur. is a popular perfume by Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle for men and was released in 2016. The scent is earthy-woody. The longevity is above-average. It is being marketed by Estēe Lauder Companies.

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Perfumer

Bruno Jovanovic

Fragrance Notes

Patchouli, Tangerine, Rum absolute, Vanilla, Musk, Cedar, Frankincense, Amber, Suede

Ratings

Scent

8.2 (180 Ratings)

Longevity

8.2 (156 Ratings)

Sillage

7.6 (158 Ratings)

Bottle

7.9 (158 Ratings)

Submitted by WiB, last update on 19.01.2020.

Interesting Facts

The fragance should contain an unusually high concentration of patchouli (50%).

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Reviews

10/24/2019

6.0 8.0 8.0 7.5/10

MajorTom
0 Reviews

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MajorTom

Very helpful Review 6

Expectations vs Reality

Enchanted by the many positive comments I made my way to the Frederic Malle Duftbar in Oberpollinger. And there, as one would expect from such a luxury temple, they do everything they can to bring the scents to the man or woman (and consequently the credit card to glow).

Monsieur. . . Note the point that seems to be so important that the nice lady behind the desk even put it on the test strip. But my high expectations were immediately disappointed. And admittedly left me a little perplexed. Shouldn't I be able to trust my nose anymore? First impulse: the smell of a ball as you know it from these chewing gum turning machines. Probably this highly concentrated Patchouli, which somehow obscures the start. Now I know from other Malle perfumes that it sometimes takes some time to make a serious statement here. What the sales lady, who apparently noticed my disgusted expression on her face, immediately explained to me, by the way: "You like to spend another hour in our house (and shop around for your annual salary - author's note), give the fragrance time to develop".

In consideration of my wallet, I left the house. And then to sniff at regular intervals. In fact, the initial "sharpness", which I find personally irritating, diminishes and the fragrance becomes more accessible to me. Nevertheless, this chewing gum-like initial experience remains with me. Hours later the fragrance becomes even finer, wood and leather can be recognized and yes, I also perceive an animal note. For guys, nothing for girls, that much is clear. Patchouli remains in the foreground until the end. Sillage: however, and not too little. Assertive and attention-grabbing.

It's hard for me to sort this fragrance as fairly as possible, it's multi-layered, somehow uncompromising in its way (which I usually appreciate), but somehow I can't get pregnant with it directly. The sharpness of the top note repelled me too much. Patchouli lovers and fans will love him.

Monsieur. I don't advise blind buying. I'll give him a second chance myself, though - someday. And then open the drawer into which I am currently sorting him again and possibly put him a little further up

3 Replies

08/19/2017

Pietros921
23 Reviews

Pietros921

2

Good, another frederic malle but nothing special

Well... this is a very earthy, mature, smoky , leathery patchouly, very solid and long lasting but it has that mature smell and the mandarine only makes this one smells more like a grandpa. Masterpiece ? No..but another Frederic Malle DNA composition ..with one note took to the extreme

02/22/2016

7.0 7.0 8.0 5.0/10

Drseid
689 Reviews

Drseid

Very helpful Review 7

Portrait of a Gentleman?...

Monsieur. opens with a very quick dash of orange-laced rum, as a slightly synthetic smelling vague wood infused smoky patchouli immediately emerges and takes control. Moving to the early heart the smoky, synthetic wood infused patchouli continues as star, increasing in strength while adding a slightly sweet vanilla and near soapy frankincense supporting tandem to the mix. During the late dry-down the patchouli remains, shedding its smoky facet, as a slightly animalic musk emerges as co-star, supported by smooth suede leather and remnants of the now dry vanilla through the finish. Projection is above average and longevity very good to excellent at around 12 hours on skin.

When I heard my favorite house was releasing a new composition that was supposed to be the “masculine” counterpart to my favorite perfume, Portrait of a Lady, I, like others got excited. While Portrait of a Lady certainly is “masculine” enough for me and most others who have actually worn it, sometimes macho gents need a perfume specifically marketed towards them in order to feel like they have the “green light” to wear the composition -- Enter Monsieur. Unfortunately, my excitement quickly evaporated when I found out the perfumer behind the new composition was not Portrait of a Lady's brilliant nose Dominique Ropion, but rather Bruno Jovanovic, easily the least talented perfumer in the Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle stable (with only one “passable” release -- Malle's own Dries van Noten). Uh oh... Enormous disappointment in perfumer choice aside, could Monsieur. prove that all of Jovanovic's many previous sub-par perfume outings were just learning opportunities for creating his first masterpiece (or even his first winner) in Monsieur.? Time to find out...

Monsieur. has been touted by Malle as containing one of the largest concentrations of patchouli in a perfume, and having now worn the composition on skin several times I can definitely believe it. Monsieur. is almost *all* patchouli, all the time. This would not be so bad in and of itself (if not a tad boring), but the patchouli presentation used in Monsieur is of the somewhat rough around the edges aromatic smoky variety. This is the polar opposite presentation of the ingredient to the one favored by this writer. One could have hoped for smooth sophisticated patchouli like the stuff found in Javanese Patchouli by Zegna, but instead we get rough and ready patchouli a la Patchouli 24 by Le Labo without the far superior perfumer's skill used on that one. It doesn't help that the composition is extremely linear, with the smoky synthetic wood-laced patchouli taking center stage throughout from start to finish, only adding significant supporting musk and a touch of softening suede leather late. In truth, suede in the late dry-down is the only thing that separates this perfume from being a total failure, instead salvaging it to the level of minor disappointment. What it *doesn't* do to this writer's chagrin is buck the trend of unfortunate releases by perfumer Jovanovic. One has to wonder when Malle has so many top superstar perfumers “under his roof” so to speak, why add someone to the fold who isn't anywhere near their talent level? The bottom line is the $290 per 100ml bottle Monsieur does nothing to buck the trend of disappointment after disappointment by perfumer Bruno Jovanovic, earning it a “below average” 2 to 2.5 stars out of 5 rating and a mild avoid recommendation. My advice is to stick with the *far* superior Portrait of a Lady and just call it “Monsieur.” if you must... This release only confirms a counterpart was never needed, nor wanted!

1 Replies