petals

(part 3)
Part 4 of Luckyscent sample reviews, this time dedicated to Perfumes MDCI:

Parfum MDCI Le Barbier de Tanger
Woah I hate this, waaaaay too musty. 太闷了. Yes I have to repeat the same thing in two languages because that's how much I can't stand it. There is definitely the fougere accord in there, but it's under a huge layer of...dankness? Like this is what I imagine when people say a ripe pu is dank. Overall too potent as well, projection is very good from elbow length away. I went to scrub this off after like 10min. My skin was also red where I dabbed this, probably reacting to one of the ingredients, so that's a no-go either. I just realized that I'm probably the people that the fragrance regulations protect, although everyone hates on the regulations for restricting oakmoss.

But the magic happened when I hit it with some hot water while washing it off. A most pleasant lavender scent came though. It's quite a lightweight lavender, yet still punchy. It's such a great lavender! More of the aromatic notes are also coming through. I like it much better after it's been washed, so I'll give this fragrance another try applied with a much lighter hand.

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Parfum MDCI Un Coeur en Mai
This opens with a layered green and floral notes: pretty lightweight green notes on top of a heavier floral. It reminds me a lot of this random bottle (with turquoise accents) of Gucci perfume that I bought at a warehouse sale as a kid. The florals get progressively heavier as the scent settles, and the projection of the scent also falls off. A few hours in this is just a sweetish floral skin scent with a good dose of white musks. Hard pass for me.

Surprisingly, like 6 hour later, it smells like Arquiste's Fleur de Louis floral mix! The resemblance is so uncanny that I had to think which one I was wearing. There's a different green aspect now, very blended with the floral rather than separated in the opening, and with a slight soapy quality. I don't smell it on my neck anymore, but do catch whiffs emitting from my sleeve (applied inside elbow) and the scent is easily discernible with my nose against it.

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Parfum MDCI Invasion Barbers
Spicy and warm woods, reminds me of how a middle eastern family home smells like. It's quite pleasant, being warm and inviting, and well blended. I don't really get the aromatic or citrus notes, but that could be more prominent if sprayed. Overall I don't have much to say other than I do like it but I don't see myself reaching for this over Nishane's b-612.

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Parfums MDCI La Belle Helene
The opening is sorta sweet, floral with some fruity aspects? I get an imagery of fluffy and pink tutus, but worn by a seasoned ballerina. Once it settles about an hour in, it's mostly a creamy musk. Some more hours in, a lightly moss-y base comes through. Reading the description on luckyscent, osmanthus is the main note, which apparently has both fruity and animalistic notes. This is another one of Bertrand Duchaufour's creation, inspired by a pear dessert so that explains the sweetness. The projection is quite good, I can still steadily smell it from arms length even after 5 hours. This is probably the most gormound I'd venture.

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Parfum MDCI Chypre Palatin
This definitely smells representative of the genre. It’s a little creamy actually, a creamy moss. I can get behind that. If I smell very closely, I get the aromatic notes. Apparently I’m smelling the reformulated version, which disappoints many people, but judging from the changes I would like this more. There’s less of the dark base notes that I typically dislike, such as leather and resins. The performance is good, I can steady smell it from my wrists. After this settles for about an hour, the green aspects become more forward, although the scent is still noticeably creamy. Since this is such as creamy fragrance, I can see myself wearing this in the winter when other chypres don’t feel as cozy. This makes the 3rd Bertrand Duchaufour fragrance that I quite enjoy, so he is likely my favourite nose.