Opening with a juicy blend of bergamot, grapefruit, and lemon, Eau de Magnolia is one of those "summer in a bottle" perfumes. The sweet lemon-tinged quality of the flower is full-bodied and very pretty, and the citrus notes make it bright and cheerful. Toward the middle of the wearing I get a bit of tree moss, which I don't wear well, but the magnolia covers most of it. I know a lot of people will be just fine with that, and it always feel like a bit of a weirdo perfumista for not caring for the mosses. Anyway, the drydown is lovely as can be; a little bit honeyed, like the flower ripened a bit during the wearing of the fragrance. Longevity is quite good. I first tried this on a warm day when I was feeling the heat, and it bloomed nicely. For review, I had to wear it in cooler weather and the sillage was much quieter. Eau de Magnolia is definitely a summer perfume. Show  Carlos Benaïm Master Perfumer Carlos Benaïm was raised in Tangier and studied perfumery under American perfumer Ernest Shiftan, (who was a well-regarded perfumer working for IFF from the 20’s through the late 50’s). Mr. Benaïm is the recipient of The Fragrance Foundation's 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award and has an impressive portfolio of work including perfumes for Elizabeth Taylor, Calvin Klein, Prada, Viktor & Rolf as well as for mainstream and niche perfumeries such as A Lab on Fire Liquid Night. Once again M. Malle has allowed a talented perfumer to shine, which is his métier. Notes: Magnolia, bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, vetiver, patchouli, and tree moss Disclosure: I obtained my sample from Barneys NY in San Francisco. It is available by pre-order at Barneys. It is also available on the Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle website and at Frederic Malle boutiques in both 350 and 100 ml sizes. Tama Blough, Managing Editor Thanks to Barneys New York we have a small sample for one USA reader. Please leave a comment including your favorite Frederic Malle Perfume and why you would like to try Eau de Magnolia Carlos Benaïm. Draw closes 6/20/2014. Rivegauche has already described Eau de Magnolia very aptly in his commentary, and I find the statement that the fragrance can be seen as a modern interpretation of Chanel's Cristalle particularly interesting. I like the eau de parfum version, but it lacks more freshness and the chypre base has a bit too much bitterness of oakmoss for my taste (even more in the eau de toilette). Eau de Magnolia actually goes in a very similar direction, however, exactly these problems have been fixed. Striking when testing were for me on the one hand the perception on skin and paper and on the other hand the different intensity of sample and bottle. On paper, the bergamot is namely much more present and lets the fragrance come across even more citrus than on the skin. That's a bit of a shame, because I like most hesperides a lot, but the goal was to create a real Soliflor, after all. And sprayed from the bottle, the sillage is more powerful than from the sample and thus not to be underestimated, yet seems delicate and transparent at the same time. I'm not the great connoisseur of too many floral scents, but I think I can claim that magnolia is very authentically rendered here, as I perceive this one as bright, slightly fresh, clean, not really sweet, but minimally creamy. It also has quite a long-lasting airy quality which gives the impression that the scent is floating around you. As such, the magnolia is always clearly the center of attention, while after the bergamot fades, more and more of the slightly tart, green and only subtly woody base comes through. Amber I can not make out here at all. Eau de Magnolia evokes consequently excellent the idea of standing in the midst of flowering shrubs / trees and works very spring-like, whereby the fragrance is wearable all year round due to the good balance. However, some might find it too slender and lacking in contrast. Every now and then I like such perfumes for a change and good things do not always have to be highly complex. L'avant-garde du parfum Olfactive masterpieces signed by the world’s greatest perfumers Please select a country from the drop down list. ParfumsEAU DE MAGNOLIA by Carlos Benaïm Complimentary gift wrapping & returns available. If you would like to experience our perfumes, try a discovery selection here.
“A seamless continuation of the Magnolia” Frédéric Malle The fragrance ritualThe PerfumerCARLOS BENAÏM Carlos Benaïm is considered to be America’s greatest living perfumer. As the author of the legendary perfume Polo Ralph Lauren and of many other beloved classics, he owes his success to a great intellectual curiosity that has always pushed him to embrace a world beyond the boundaries of perfume making. He discovered perfumery as a child through his father, who was a pharmacist in Morocco and had a passion for extracting essential oils. “Every summer,” Carlos Benaïm remembers: “my father and I would drive our Jeep through the countryside, in and out of picking and distillation spots, and I would feel his enthusiasm intensifying." He later acquired a deep knowledge of perfume composition under the tutelage of the renowned American perfumer Ernest Shifta. What does the Magnolia perfume smell like?Magnolia fragrances are often described as fresh, floral and slightly sweet, with notes of bergamot, jasmine and rose, ideal for summer. The magnolia scent is also slightly spicy and fruity, making it a particularly interesting ingredient for unisex and masculine fragrances. Is Frederic Malle owned by Estee Lauder?Serendipitously, in 2015, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle was acquired by the Estée Lauder Companies. “The minute I sold my company to Estée Lauder, I said that I wanted to do this,” says Malle. Is magnolia a top note?The floral note is used in the heart notes; magnolia is used in both the top and heart notes. Why is Portrait of a Lady perfume so expensive?The price tag on this perfume is high, but Portrait of a Lady is one of the most expensive perfumes I've smelled. Expensive to make, that is. Because ingredients of this kind of quality cost their weight in gold, if not more. |
