Description
Le Parfum de Therese is an unique perfume with a composition that was way ahead of its time, made by Edmond Roudnitska in 1950s (1957-1965). He made it for his wife, and up until Frederic Malle was founded, it was in Teresa’s personal use only. After many years Teresa decided to give the formula to Frederic Malle to include it to the collection and to insure immortality and glory for this beautiful Edmond Roudnitska’s creation. Fruity aquatic accords, discovered way earlier than fruity and aquatic fragrances became common, open the composition with tangerine and melon and lead to the heart of rose and plum. Cedar, vetiver and leather finish the composition. This unique fragrance is modern and beautifully antique at the same time. Le Parfum de Therese was launched in 2000.
Grimkings – :
This is an Henri Rousseau painting in a bottle. Lush, fruity, floral, and sensual, but with a distinct simplicity. This may be the sexiest scent I own. It’s transporting. *sigh*
alexfire – :
Ah, this is genuinely from the realm of Dior. You can feel it. A vintage prelude for what was to come, Poison, and a signifier of what existed at the time. A claim could be made that this was the first aquatic, but it would be wrong: there were, in fact, many fresh aquatics before LPdT. This is just easily the most complex that I know of.
A delectable plum fragrance, truly reminiscent of vintage Diors. Love!
XГлебX – :
Very nice indeed, and a claim could be made that this is infact the very first aquatic. A watery melon mixes with the plum and tangerine beautifully. Although it was created over 60 years ago, it feels fresh and modern, and is definitely unisex.
PsiDemon511 – :
Melon, rose, and powder—a vintage delight!
AlenaDima – :
Fruity – violet – woody
Color impression: dark green to gold
Le Parfume de Thérèse is conceived in fertile imagination of master perfumer Edmund Roudnitska which he composed first for love of his life. This Kuh i-Nur of perfumery is a timeless classic but considering its birth era it considered an avant-garde stuff back in days. A fruity top composed of cantaloupe and juicy mandarin invites pepper and coriander, which both give birth to a plush floral heart of violet, rose and jasmine. The dry down is ornamented with plum, leather and cedar. Bronze and gold quality. Literally flawless.
★★★★★
dnn61727 – :
On paper I shouldn’t be liking this one, aquatic and melony notes usually put me off, but the fact is that I like it a lot, tart tangerines and sweet plums mix so well that I don’t notice the ripe melon-enemy anymore. Sophisticated but warm, retrò, out of time. Another one in the wishlist. [I appreciate Frederic Malle samples, 3.5 ml really allow to wear your perfume more days in a row and understand it better. Being generous is a smart move].
xlatoevace – :
Le Parfum de Therese has a wonderful vintage feel and I think it is a gorgeous example of 50s aesthetic in fragrance. This perfume is the most beautiful love statement I have ever heard of especially when you read the backstory. When I first smelled it I nearly shed tears, I’m serious! Composed in the 50s by Edmond Roudnitska, one of the most acclaimed perfumers of the 20th Century, it was never commercially produced and remained a legendary well-kept secret; Thérèse, Roudnitska’s wife, was the only person allowed to wear it and it would be hers and hers only. Far more precious than any diamonds or pearls which any woman could have.
This perfume starts off with juicy tangerine and melon top notes which immediately take center stage, and the background notes remind me of something herbal-soapy, almost like some of the most expensive and luxurious Kerastase shampoos. A very sophisticated aquatic, fruity chypre that alternately soon settles down into a lush, sensuous blend of rose, plum, vetiver, and leather. This stuff is just stunning and last all day with excellent projection. If this perfume was created in the 50s, then it was far, far ahead of it’s time.
gan354speagoessenda – :
This is a fragrance that I actually had forgotten what it smells like. So it was a real surprise when I sprayed it on today.
I was immediately met by a fruity sweet scent of plum and melon with a tart touch that comes from tangerine. It also has a beautiful rose, a dry and green vetiver, a soft leather and some cedar. As you can see there are a bunch of different scents all at once and I’ve got to say that I think that they are building a really interresting combination that is very different and feels sparkling/fizzy or how I should describe it. The notes that is sticking out the most is the soft leather, the tart tangerine and the fruity mix of plum and melon.
Then after a while the sparkling part and the tart tangerine disappears. After that this fragrance is very softly leatherish, a bit woody and has a pronounced fruityness. Very nice!
serg555557 – :
This is a overpriced version of Femme Rochas. I like it (because I love Femme), but as long as Femme Rochas is still available there’s no way I’m paying Malle prices for this.
Edit: I just read that this and Femme were created by the same perfumer…no wonder I thought they were so similar.
mks134JeomiWogkig – :
This smells like a picnic in a mossy forest. You smell the melon, sun warmed plums and peaches, your leather bag and jasmines to adorn your spread. It’s dense and fruity but manages to be dry and sparkling at the same time. The plummy leather notes bears resemblance to osmanthus flowers in the autumn in Japan.
BIBIk504 – :
awesome i love this fragrance! when it starts off i can definetly smell the tangerine and a very light and weak melon in the background, then when the top notes fade away the heart note of plum is definitely there.
Then the base notes pop up and it reminds me of mrs. butterworths syrup! and i don’t pickup the vetever or cedar wood or leather. But that syrupy smell is dominant in the drydown.
iwh052bedyWelty – :
I THINK ITS JUST ONE MASSIVE MAJSTER STUCK ITS AMAZING
TO ME ITS SMELL LIKE
INDOL INDOL INDOL
MIXED WITH
BERGMOTE MADARINE JASMINE ABSOLUE
LYING ON THE VETIVER LEATHERISH BASE
ITS AMAZING SPARKLING RADIANT FRAGRANCE
Mifody7777 – :
I think, I must be dreaming??! Did all the Malles go through a reformulation recently? I have the feeling the new sample of Le parfum de Therese is much more on the aquatic side (it smells totally unbalanced Calone/Helional-whatever-it-is now), much more diluted and the plum and jasmine reduced and the tangerine more strong. The whole plush juiciness and sirupy satisfaction is gone…and there’s a generic “fresh” vibe to it….I’m disappointed. Now I don’t want it anymore.
Nevermind, a contender less on my wishlist.
ugin-benk – :
Not a fan of this one. There’s something pungent about it. Perhaps the vetiver mixing with the melon and citrus. Just not a great combo sort of like the feel of oranges after brushing teeth. Scrubber!
dacyZoosy – :
I don’t understand the listed notes. For me, this might be the loveliest *jasmine* scent I’ve ever tried. I smell tangerine and melon but they are not sticky or syrupy. The fruits create the impressing of a sparkling cocktail or a gourmet jelly. Then the leather adds a beautiful, smooth base and makes the whole composition more restrained and classy.
vo-van – :
Fabric freshener, not more to me, white, clean, with no caractere like a blank sheet of paper.
I have purchased samples directly from the corporate site. Big big disappointment. For all. I have tested Portrait of a Lady (Got nausea and headache, had to wash it off immediately.), Dans te Bras (interesting scent but medicinal to me), Perfume de Therese smells like room freshener to me, Carnal flower was the best, tuberosey, however overwhelming, we had to open windows in the office, it was like an explosion in a flower trade shop. I do not think I will ever try anything from this perfume house again. I would describe it like huge disappointment with a lot marketing around it. Sad. For so high prices…
hemoZoola – :
Le Parfum de Therese is a fragrance that Roudniska made exclusively for the use of his wife, his son later gave the master formula to Malle for the rest could enjoy this wonderful aroma.
Roudniska is the magician of perfect balance and blend like no fruits, flowers making the best chypre my nose ever smelled.
This fragrance opens delicious, refreshing and juicy: orange with a delicious note of melon and a perfect note aldehydic links with the note plum and especially takes you gently into a beautiful deep and elegant rose note, this all make a joint debugged , smooth and polished. I feel a background of oak moss (this effect cedar could be produced by mixing leather, vetiver and) that transforms drying fragrance in an ideal and delicate cyprus nothing acid conjugated to a mossy residual scent in the style of the classic eau refreshing and citrus toilette which lengthens a little espande drying and other notes.
Authentically delicate, exquisite and wonderful.
The duration is good with mild to moderate trail and although it may be unisex, it is remarkable how well it behaves in a female skin.
Roudniska spectacular fragrance of recreating a classic chypre, for my taste, one of his best works and a masterpiece.
Rating: 9.4
majestik8yandexl.ru – :
This scent opens with fresh and sweet watery notes, a bit fruity, I can smell the tangerine and something slightly bitter as well. I also start to smell rose and something woody underneath. After a while a plum note appears, it is fresh, sweet and tangy at the same time. The notes are never distinct but very subtly mixed together. Now, the melon notes are getting stronger on my skin, not a sweet ripe melon, but the bits right near the peel. From this point, the scent gets a green feel, almost grassy even, with the rose lingering in the background. There seems to be a strange note in there too, I am not sure what it is– not cumin, not musk, not civet.. but it does make it somewhat skin-funky. Almost grapefruity.
Sillage and longevity are both moderate on my skin.
I think this is a complex and daring perfume for the times this was created in. It is as complex now too, with it’s odd combinations of fruit, rose and something strange in there. That intriguing something strange, that I cannot name. I find this perfume appalling and attractive at the same time. Beautiful by it’s complexity. Thérèse must have been a amazing woman.
NA3YSIK – :
A very sophisticated fruity chypre that alternately fascinates and (depending on the heat of the day) repels me. The opening notes are over-ripe fruit and salty, slightly sweaty skin. Soon it settles down into a lush, sensuous blend of rose, wood, vetiver, and leather. If the weather is very hot and humid, it’s too much for my nose for the first 40 minutes. I would say this is not for the faint-hearted, masterpiece that it is. I’ll save it for cooler weather.
effingete – :
I recently sent off for four Malle samples and I was blown away with the quality of them . Parfum de Therese is my favourite though. At first I was confused by its complexity but on the second try I fell in love. It’s just so different to the overly heavy chemical and/or spicy florals that are out there. The first layer I get is a soft watery peach….which I love and then a very different almost grassy angelica note that bothered me at first but it blends beautifully with the follow up of rich deep violet woods. I can’t describe it! But the drydown is gorgeous and stunning and for me it’s the drydown that is a make or break for me. It is elegant and smells expensive and luxurious…..makes me feel rich! This is on my to buy for summer list. A full bottle will hopefully be mine after I’ve paid for my new specs!
adressat – :
Le Parfum de Therese reminds me of Jour de Hermes …
cupko-daimand – :
I loved Le Parfum de Therese! A sophisticated fruity floral, a nice mix of melon, plums and orange, sweet and watery, plus some white florals (I did not notice rose). Wearing Le Parfum de Therese felt like wearing a beautiful retro dress until the day my nose picked up the peculiar unlisted cumin note.
To me, cumin is a killer note. It killed Le Parfum de Therese for me.
xGENAx – :
This is a wonderful creation and I don’t get the melon scent. This is wrong and misleading. I definitely smell rose and citrus but no cantaloupe to me! This is indeed a masterpiece and we thank Therese for allowing it to be shared with the world and thank you for Frederic Malle to have it in his collection.
ReokRasereusy – :
Like other more celebrated classics, Le Parfum De Therese weaves a fine path through a complicated mix of fruits, florals and spices without falling into a sickly and overripe mess. Quite incredible when you consider the long and varied list of notes to be found in this perfume.
You certainly get a big kick of the fruity accompanied by that tangy, nose tingling pepper on first spray. This drys down into a wonderful piquant spicy scent, ably supported by a sweet (but not overpowering) floral base, and there it stays – for absolutely ages.
Someone on a forum described LPDT as smelling like the nape of a woman’s neck after an illicit tryst with her lover. I thought the description a bit overblown at the time, but I can definitely see where that sentiment came from. There is something very animalistic and musky about the base notes in this perfume which clings to the skin, hair and even the clothes long after they have been worn.
It’s lovely; complex, carnal and yet comfortingly familiar – a little known (beyond perfume connoisseurs) but truly sophisticated classic.
mawr1 – :
Parfum de Therese has a great backstory and I am a sucker for a good story. Apparently Frederic Malle is too.
In a line of exceptional, standout fragrances, this is…nice, normal, mainstream, and fresh. On me, the main note is melon and miscellaneous floral aldehydes. It feels like there should be spring flowers like lilacs included, but the only floral listed is rose.
It’s not bad–and considering that I generally dislike spring fruity aldehyde girlyness, it smells nice on my skin. But there are 87,000 other fragrances at Macy’s that smell very similar, and I won’t be buying those either.
admyn – :
The opening notes of this fragrance for me were very strong peppercorn with a hint of citrus. It wasn’t unpleasantly overwhelming, but did make me sneeze a couple times. It quickly dried down to a dusky plum scent on me. Very dark, warm, and fruity. While there’s nothing wrong with it per se, I’m just not in love with this scent. It doesn’t speak to me and I can’t see myself reaching for it day after day. I guess I’m not very sophisticated; it’s too complex and mature for my taste, haha. I also didn’t find it very long lasting; it was nearly gone after an hour and the silage was moderate. Overall grade C+. A very intriguing fragrance, but not for me.
cah904elipseskism – :
One word: HAPPINESS!
A paradise of tart tangerine lollips, dipped in sunny melon juice.
The other notes don’t really come through that much on me honestly, but I couldn’t care less!
I don’t smell anything too sweet or powdery in it either, to me this is full on tart and zesty fruits, but in the most perfect way!
Le Parfum de Therese has to be one of the most beautiful fruit dominant scents ever!
It literally smells like love to me, and whenever I wear it I feel like I’m in love with life…
I haven’t smelled Diorella in it’s vintage form, only the one from the Les Creations de Monsieur Dior line and dare I say, Le Parfum de Therese blows that one out of the water!
Lasts forever on me (literally)! and projects just right.
Scents like these make me happy I live in this world, and I’m so grateful knowing they exist!
I just want to go outside and hug someone when I wear this.
Simply a wonderful perfume.
10/10
ginstavr – :
My (rather florid) thoughts about the current formulation of Diorella are available elsewhere on Fragrantica, but since reviewing the new stuff I’ve been able to sample the vintage formulation – and I absolutely love it. As the vintage formula of Diorella is so hard to find, and so expensive when you do find it, Parfum de Therese strikes me as a very nice alternative – but there are a few differences.
To my nose, Parfum de Therese is a bit smoother and a bit sweeter. Diorella has a stronger chypre vibe – it undoubtedly contains more oakmoss, and the presence of patchouli and basil give it a drier, slightly more masculine vibe. Parfum de Therese, on the other hand, contains more of the bright, ripe fruit and a sweet rosy note, drying down to a soft handbag-like leather. If the two perfumes were released today, they might be flankers – “Diorella” and “Diorella Esprit du Melon” or something of that ilk. Another key difference – my sample of Parfum de Therese dries down faster, and remains closer to the skin than its Dior counterpart.
kurva – :
Le Parfum de Therese is an abstract fragrance that epitomizes the individual style of Edmond Roudnitska, bearing all his personal trademarks. This is definitely Roudnitska at his very best. Created in the 50’s for his wife this is a very subtle and highly intricate composition of fruits and jasmine with a naturalistic aquatic accord and an utmost elegant base of soft leather and vetiver.
Upon impact I get the lewd jasmine and the leather note, along some semi-sweet mandarin and something spicy (pepper?). The leather immediately recedes to only reappear in the base softer. The jasmine feels as it is supposed to with a heavy indolic vibe and the bitter, animalic and slightly spicy features balanced perfectly. There is some rose too with a heady presence. The fruits become more prominent as the fragrance proceeds to the heart and I primarily get a realistic melon and a marmalade plum. These feel natural and ripe but not overripe or rancid. In the wordly Diorella the same notes are much juicier, while here are drier and spicier giving a more “masculine” edge. The whole composition is also much more restrained than Dior’s masterpiece with a more obscured citrus-chypre element. Finally, and as aforementioned the fragrance dries down in a soft leather and woods base of great refinement.
Le Parfum de Therese, strikes me as the most perfectly balanced composition in the Malle line and one of the most balanced and sophisticated fragrances ever experienced. The fragrance has the arrogance of genius and carries its creator’s intellect. It speaks coherently and articulately, its voice is stable, unaltered passing the message with clarity. If you happen to have lived your experiences and seek for the substance of life then you may be worthy of having this enlightened masterpiece as your signature.
Ohrana – :
the opening of this is, indeed, quite nice. with its assortment of watery, fruity, slightly sweet things, i was eagerly awaiting the leather to join in to see how it would interact. however, i’m glad i’m not the only one, reading below, who gets a sort of weird, greasy, salty smell with this. it’s almost like the smell of grease-soaked paper that’s had fish and chips wrapped up in it. extremely odd. once i had that image in my mind, that was it. luckily it wasn’t too strong, nor did it last long, so i figure skin chemistry, oy. just plain weird as hell.
marusiams – :
This has Diorella written all it. Hardly surprising really given it’s the same nose behind both.
I adore the original Diorella and this is ALMOST as I remember it with additional notes I cannot define. I love this composition though, and smelling side by side with the original stash of Diorella I have there are a number of slight but noticeable differences.
However smelling this on it’s own and it’s peppery, sharp, sweet with the melon note singing away nicely. I LOVE this.
For anyone lamenting the tragic reforms of Diorella, this is a brilliant dupe. I am in heaven sniffing this. Divine.
sedou55 – :
I am trying so hard to like this perfume…but so far I HATE it. What is wrong with me!? It smells like decaying fruit and nursing home. Why, nose; why must you betray me…why!?
AporuptDipwot – :
The fruit accord in LPDT is luscious and juicy instead of ‘berry’ sweet like most of fruity fragrances available nowadays. Also, it has a tinge of aldehyde in it. The mandarine note is mouthwatering than simply a sweet citrus scent, alongside with the overripe melon and plum adding to a near-rotten smell which to me, is inviting than repulsive.
One of the best fruity fragances? Absolutely.
The best fragrance for its photorealistic fruity scent? Definitely!
ЗаднийХод – :
This Fregrance is simply amazing. Magic in a bottle to me. Loud opening, typical of FM.. but what a stunning dry down. To me it is quite flowery and light. It leasts a quite long time. Feels like it just melts into my skin. I can not say enough good things about this perfume: sensual, elegant, complex and unique. RosaMilena – love your review! So many wonderful reviews. For those who are 20 and have not yet traveled to the world of CHANEL, GUERLAIN, Hermes..and etc, stay with reviews on VS. I am sure to be skinned now lol.
Rockerzz – :
Eloquaint:
You say this smells like a fried fish dinner? May I ask where exactly you’re spraying it?
sy4ka1776 – :
While I love Le Parfum de Therese, This morning I think I stumbled upon what the real scent that Therese (Edmond Roudnitska’s wife) wore must have originally smelled like. I decided to layer vintage Femme with vintage Diorella and what I got was so breath taking that I swooned and almost fell out of my chair. Sure enough, the combination evoked Frederic Malle’s interpretation of the original, but what I was smelling was something far deeper, richer and earthier. After pondering it for a moment, I figured that the creation of the original may have gone down like this: Edmond’s wife Teresa loved both Diorella and Femme. At some point she starts layering them and loves the combination so much that she continues to do so and it becomes her signature scent. Edmond says to her, “Oh, don’t worry about layering, I’ll create a scent that’s a mixture of the two, just for you, but don’t tell anybody.” He creates the original Le Parfum de Therese and it was their secret. Frederic Malle’s Le Parfum de Therese is beautiful in it’s own right, but due to IRFA regulations, it can never be what it actually should have been. If you have access to both vintage Femme and Diorella (the Diorella from the 1990’a and before)layer them to experience the complex ripe melon/plum/leather/oakmoss scent that Frederic Malle actually may have been aiming for. With all that said, I loved my 10 ml decant of Le Parfum de Therese while it lasted, but as expensive as it is, why should I repurchase as long as I have access to what was, most likely, the two scents that were the inspiration behind it?
LordShinoda – :
Nobody and again, nobody does fruity-melony and/or aquatic notes like Roudnitska. From Diorella to the massively overlooked masterpiece that is Ocean Rain. Le Parfum De Therese makes no exception and exudes genius from all over.
Juicy citrus and melon on top quickly joined by the typical and *so peculiar* lived-in leather accord which became the Roudnitska’s hallmark. Floral patterns do the rest.
Completely unbeatable.
Rating: 9.5/10
roma___2000 – :
Opening of rose rubbing alcohol, orange hard candy, and leather. A smell of hebs, something like basil…and then the single oddest evolution I have ever encountered in a pefume: the smell of a fried fish dinner.
Not a “fishy” smell, as when one forgets to take out the trash, but smell like a fresh piece of battered cod or haddock, steaming gently in front of you, looking delicious and greasy and salty.
It was just. plain. frickin’. weird.
It wore off and eventually PdT smelled like a somewhat fruity leather. It wasn’t bad, but I’m glad that all I have is a tester. Because…damn.
scroller123 – :
I love quite a few perfumes from this line, but sadly, this is not one of them.
After reading so many positive reviews, I dug out my sample and used two sprays in order to evaluate it properly. I got dirty melon (because of the leather?) with a slightly aquatic vibe.
At the drydown stage, it reminds me of Chanel Cristalle EDP, but stuffier and more old-school. And while I could wear Cristalle every once in a while and enjoy it, I was glad to wash off Le Parfum De Therese after a few hours.
All of this could be due to the fact that chypres in general don’t work on me, but I thought I should add this review anyway, someone may still find it useful.
nadya94_08 – :
I’ve always been a bit squeamish about leather in perfumes. It’s a smell I like in the real world, but my taste in scents leans towards the bright and wearable, so I was afraid leather as a note would just be too much for my rather innocent nose: too murky, too sexy, too dark. But this year, since I started testing lots of perfumes, a lot of my assumptions about my own taste have been shattered, so I decided to give this classic a chance. And I’m so glad I did!
Admittedly, the first opening blast of this Parfum de Thérèse IS a bit overwhelming; a rather sharp soapy leather covers the fruity notes. After several wearings I’ve come to appreciate this stage as well, it’s come to smell like a foreboding of what’s coming in the heart and drydown, but at first I was afraid all my suspicions about leather were coming true. And if the scent hadn’t evolved I don’t think I’d even given it more than one try, and would have avoided leather in the future, so it’s lucky for me that it did.
After a while, the leather retreats to the background, taking its proper supportive role of lending layers of depth to the fruity notes, and then it’s like magic; it just lifts the fruity scent that would probably otherwise be quite ordinary to a much higher level. I can’t stop smelling my wrists, and at the same time I feel sophisticated. That’s something that hasn’t happened with any other fruity perfume, and although it’s possible that I’m just projecting my knowledge that this is an expensive classic, I don’t think that’s it. It’s just very well done. It’s not too heavy or too light, which makes it perfect for just about any season, any time of day and any occasion.
So I like this very much, much more than I expected to, but it doesn’t really feel like “me”. I’m still a bit intimidated by this Thérèse, with her bold and sophisticated tastes and her perfumer husband. We’re just worlds apart, I’m sure she wouldn’t even have thought of clicking the 1 euro Yves Rocher promotion, like I just did. So it feels a bit ridiculous to wear her scent, a bit like I’m a child experimenting with her mother’s things. I’m not going to let that stop me, though, because I do really like it; I’m sure I’ll enjoy my small decant to the very last drop, and then maybe even buy more.
alexandr golandec – :
I open the sample…. Up jumps CARROTJUICE! Rapidly settles to…..? Im not sure!
I can detect a vague honeymelon and a rainy rose. Something blue, something green.
I wish the carrots could stay for longer..
This review is by far the worst i’v written, haha, i assure you, i will try to update this….someday.
k24k – :
This is fabulous. Perfect mixture of fruits, rose and woods. How many similar compositions are out there? But this is the most up lifted, harmonious and refined mix I’ve tried.
Smells like fresh aroma of white rose bushes covered in dew in an early spring/summer morning.
Must try!
fattland – :
On me this lasts for many hours.
The tangerine is so vibrant, it stays for an hour
before I can smell the leather, melon, the plum etc.
I like this a lot.
lena30574 – :
There is not much I can add to what others have said about this perfume. It is lovely, however barely an hour has passed and I can barely detect it. I don’t think I even got past first base with it.
It was sent to me to try by a lovely fragrantican. Would I like to try it again? Probably not because the weak longevity would far outweigh the cost of purchase. Sad bunny….
Patrikstar666 – :
This review is based on a decant. The notes are well-blended to my nose. Fresh and soapy. Has a little Chanel’s Cristalle Eau Verte DNA going on there. All in all, it’s a nice jasmine based chypre suited for summer/casual/daily wear. Projection is perfectly moderate. Unfortunately, it’s a bit lacking in the longevity department but lasts longer on clothes.
Milkizzzzz – :
Le Parfum de Thérèse
It’s interesting to see the comparisons between Dior Diorella, Dior Eau Sauvage and Frédéric Malle Parfum de Therèse. Diorella seems like the logical successor to Eau Sauvage. Riskier, less seemly than Eau Sauvage, it still came from the same principles and intentions of composition. Parfum de Thérèse seems overall a little further from Eau Sauvage, a bit less similar in composition and concept. Surprisingly, though, I catch entire flashes of Eau Sauvage when wearing Parfum de Thérèse, like hearing a full sentence that you recognize from a well known novel.
Diorella is clearly the next generation of Eau Sauvage. It’s the louche early 1970s to Eau Sauvage’s pre-summer of love 1960s. The few years between Eau Sauvage and Diorella were ones of great social change. The distance between the two, the change in perspective is fascinating. Eau Sauvage has a simple, easy sophistication. By contrast, Diorella is worldly and explicitly carnal.
To work creatively within a finite range shouldn’t be confused with limitation. It is a deliberate, focussed workshop of ideas, with richness between two relatively close points. For Edmond, these ideas played out as the experimentation with olfactory brightness and shade, representation and abstraction (especially in fruit and ripeness) and the play of simplicity and complexity both in formulation and in the experience of wearing a perfume. There’s also a respect to the lineage and the experts who preceded him. The chypre was not the invention of Edmond, it was Francois Coty’s. But it could be argued that nobody in the 20th century did more to advance the genre as Roudnitska. The fact that the height of exploration and creativity was reserved for and dedicated to Le Parfum de Thérèse is an astounding testament to his affection for and appreciation of her.
The love affair. The beautiful expression of abstraction. Rather than trying to tell a story, or create a portrait in specific, Edmond composed and recomposed an object of beauty and contemplation for Thérèse
I’m not really one for story-telling and the romance of perfumery. But my husband David, the love of my life, gave me le Parfum de Thérèse on my 50th birthday. Parfum de Thérèse is now about another great love, mine and David’s.
IgnatevDenis – :
The woman who wears this doesn’t care a bit about current fads. She isn’t 20 and she doesn’t want to be. She is unique and treasured. The ups and downs of life have given her a strong character and a beautiful spirit. They’ve also left her wealthy enough to afford to buy this and reapply it often because it doesn’t last long.
I want to be this woman.
maschinets – :
Others have described this perfume much more eloquently than I have. But I will say…this is one of my all time favorites, it smells excellent on me and perfectly fits my personality. This is the only perfume I own a full bottle of.
spartakpul – :
Simply pleasant, sophisticated, intoxicating scent of fresh fruit on a summer night. I see it on a woman, but in the right amounts may also wear by a man and he would be fascinating. Excellent.
mymnenarems – :
I’m uncertain how to describe this particular perfume as far as emotions are concerned. When I first spray it I can smell the leather, plum, strong orange, a slight hint of melon, a significant amount of rose and almost some sort of fizzy plain soda. While I think the meaning behind the perfume is endearing it does nothing for me. It’s just sits on my wrist and doesn’t move me in anyway what so ever. I can only picture a plain woman with her hair pulled back in a tight bun. She has raven hair with a white blouse and a gingham red long skirt on in a rugged countryside. She just sits there with a bottle of Old English furniture polish in her hand while watching her husband work next to horses grazing by in a nearby orchard. Yet she does this with no emotion. Probably makes no sense but that is what I get.
AION229 – :
This is a whole different take on aquatic, created in the 50s long before the persistent calone aroma chemical was invented in the early 90s (L’eau d’Issey etc)
The notes are complex, but the general impression is dewy, green/violet, summery and dream-like.
If you’re expecting a touch of Eau Sauvage or Diorella you’ll detect it (fresh, melon/aromatic/jasmine) but the ‘feel’ of this perfume is more refined – less relaxed and casual.
It’s more like the tail end of a luxuriant summer picnic at Giverny – melons, chablis, worn-down grass, but when I say luxuriant, I don’t mean hedonistic. It feels like the people at this picnic have imbibed with restraint and have their faculties about them.
I see Therese donning her leather gloves and attending a formal event, maybe even a church service