Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle
Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle
200 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The first spray delivers an almost shocking burst of caramelised pineapple and citrus oils, sticky-sweet and vibrant, like biting into candied fruit whilst standing in a bergamot grove. The lavender announces itself early, threading aromatic coolness through the syrup, preventing the opening from collapsing into pure confection.
As the citrus retreats, lavender claims centre stage with serious intent—herbal, slightly medicinal, carrying whispers of camphor and coumarin that nod to classic fougères. The patchouli begins its slow emergence, earthy and slightly smoky, creating an unexpected bridge between the fruit's sweetness and the resinous drama to come.
What remains is a skin-close veil of ambered patchouli and labdanum, resinous and warm with vanilla adding just enough sweetness to recall the opening's fruit. The composition settles into something almost leathery, like suede gloves that once held citrus, now bearing only the ghost of that brightness against a backdrop of incense and wood.
Music for a While pirouettes on the edge of transgression, marrying the plush sweetness of Malle's gourmand lineage with a distinctly aromatic backbone. This is pineapple rendered not as tropical cliché but as caramelised fruit, its acidity tempered by bergamot's petitgrain facets and a mandarin-lemon alliance that reads more marmalade than citrus grove. Benaïm's genius lies in the tension: that unapologetically juicy opening—sticky, almost syrupy—crashes headlong into a substantial lavender heart that refuses to play demure. This isn't delicate English lavender; it's the full-bodied, slightly camphorous variety that carries herbal grit and fougère memories.
The base reveals the composition's true architecture. Patchouli and labdanum create a resinous, leather-adjacent foundation that smells of worn suede and church incense, whilst vanilla and amber soften the edges just enough to keep things seductive rather than severe. The effect is simultaneously fresh and heavy, bright and brooding—a fragrance that can't quite decide if it's a sun-drenched fruit basket or a shadowy chypre, and thrives in that ambiguity.
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4.0/5 (670)