10/31/2021

Schallhoerer
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Schallhoerer
11
The "Kurkdjian" slap in the face
Some fragrances are a slap in the face. Not because they smell so bad, different or flashy. But because one is annoyed by the sheer presence of a scent. In this case, we need to go back in time a bit.
MFK's Lumiere Noire Homme is, in my (and many others') eyes, one of, if not the most beautiful rose fragrance a man can wear. Here, the rose is so wonderful and stylish with tart supporting actors (patchouli, spices) put on stage, that this combination is simply a dreamlike symbiosis. Everything meshes, combines and in the end results in a tart-spicy rose fragrance that lives up to its name. And then you take this scent that is loved and adored by the community and discontinue it. And if that weren't bad and sacrilegious enough, when the community asks, you try hypocritical excuses (the perfumer wants to re-realize himself).
But what one then does is the aforementioned slap in the face. One releases a new rose fragrance that also squints at a male target audience. This is where L'Homme À la Rose comes into play.
For the L'Homme À la Rose it does not need many words. And for one or the other, this may now seem harsh, aggressive or even insulting. But we have here quite simply the worst rose fragrance of recent years. If MFK had marketed this scent as a "cucumber scent", they would have done everything right. Because that's exactly what it is. An absolute cucumber in the portfolio of an otherwise actually quite stylish brand. L'Homme À la Rose seems like the first work of a beginner in his first semester. A test tube accident. A fragrance that can't be surpassed in terms of arbitrariness and interchangeability, offering us a shallow, pale rose water with a bit of soapiness. If Francis Kurkdjian's goal was to create the exact opposite of Lumiere Noire Homme, then I bow to that achievement here. The fragrance lacks everything that made Lumiere Noire Homme. There is no profile here, no rough edges. Everything seems roundly sucked and without any depth.
And the worst thing is that you wouldn't give L'Homme À la Rose such a hard time if you didn't know that Lumiere Noire Homme was literally sacrificed for this fragrance. If both fragrances existed in MFK's portfolio, none of this would be a problem. Men who are aware that they are men would reach for the Lumiere Noire Homme. Real guys with quirks and profile. And the L'Homme À la Rose would have been picked up by slackers, yes-men and followers. But so MFK leaves us here with only a rose fragrance for "men", to which I just do not want to count with this fragrance.
Some fragrances are a slap in the face. And then there's L'Homme À la Rose. I will never forgive you for that, Kurkdjian.
MFK's Lumiere Noire Homme is, in my (and many others') eyes, one of, if not the most beautiful rose fragrance a man can wear. Here, the rose is so wonderful and stylish with tart supporting actors (patchouli, spices) put on stage, that this combination is simply a dreamlike symbiosis. Everything meshes, combines and in the end results in a tart-spicy rose fragrance that lives up to its name. And then you take this scent that is loved and adored by the community and discontinue it. And if that weren't bad and sacrilegious enough, when the community asks, you try hypocritical excuses (the perfumer wants to re-realize himself).
But what one then does is the aforementioned slap in the face. One releases a new rose fragrance that also squints at a male target audience. This is where L'Homme À la Rose comes into play.
For the L'Homme À la Rose it does not need many words. And for one or the other, this may now seem harsh, aggressive or even insulting. But we have here quite simply the worst rose fragrance of recent years. If MFK had marketed this scent as a "cucumber scent", they would have done everything right. Because that's exactly what it is. An absolute cucumber in the portfolio of an otherwise actually quite stylish brand. L'Homme À la Rose seems like the first work of a beginner in his first semester. A test tube accident. A fragrance that can't be surpassed in terms of arbitrariness and interchangeability, offering us a shallow, pale rose water with a bit of soapiness. If Francis Kurkdjian's goal was to create the exact opposite of Lumiere Noire Homme, then I bow to that achievement here. The fragrance lacks everything that made Lumiere Noire Homme. There is no profile here, no rough edges. Everything seems roundly sucked and without any depth.
And the worst thing is that you wouldn't give L'Homme À la Rose such a hard time if you didn't know that Lumiere Noire Homme was literally sacrificed for this fragrance. If both fragrances existed in MFK's portfolio, none of this would be a problem. Men who are aware that they are men would reach for the Lumiere Noire Homme. Real guys with quirks and profile. And the L'Homme À la Rose would have been picked up by slackers, yes-men and followers. But so MFK leaves us here with only a rose fragrance for "men", to which I just do not want to count with this fragrance.
Some fragrances are a slap in the face. And then there's L'Homme À la Rose. I will never forgive you for that, Kurkdjian.
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