Parfums de Marly
Parfums de Marly
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A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The citruses burst forth with genuine vivacity—bitter orange pith mixing with mandarin sweetness—but within moments, geranium's green, mineral quality overtakes them, bringing a soapless freshness that's more greenhouse than bathroom. There's an immediate herbal clarity here, sharp and attention-grabbing, with lavender already beginning to peek through the citrus veil.
Lavender fully blooms into its camphoraceous glory, supported by jasmine's creamy, animalic undertones that add unexpected sensuality to what could have been a straightforward aromatic. Cinnamon provides warmth without sweetness, its bark-like dryness enhanced by violet's powdery presence, creating a spiced floral heart that feels both comforting and intriguingly unfamiliar. The composition grows rounder, softer at the edges whilst maintaining its aromatic backbone.
Ambrofix and Iso E Super create a translucent woody haze that hovers close to skin, a molecular cloud that amplifies rather than obscures the labdanum's resinous warmth. Cedar adds structure without heaviness, its pencil-shaving sharpness now mellowed into something more refined. What remains is a skin-scent of uncommon persistence—warm, subtly amber, with ghost notes of lavender drifting through the woody-musky base like a half-remembered memory.
Percival is Quentin Bisch's exercise in refined masculinity, a lavender fougère that strips away the barbershop clichés and replaces them with something darker, spicier, altogether more complex. The opening salvo of mandarin and bitter orange provides a fleeting brightness before geranium muscles in—green, slightly metallic, more stemmy than floral. It's this herbaceous quality that sets the stage for what follows: a lavender heart that eschews soapiness entirely, instead leaning into its camphoraceous, almost medicinal side. Jasmine adds an unexpected richness here, its indolic warmth playing against cinnamon's dry heat whilst violet contributes a subtle, powdery iris-like facet that softens the composition's more angular edges.
Where Percival truly distinguishes itself is in Bisch's deft handling of the base. Ambrofix and Iso E Super create a translucent, almost weightless woody-amber glow that allows the labdanum to shine through without drowning everything in syrupy sweetness. The cedar remains crisp rather than pencil-shaving sharp. The result feels simultaneously classic and contemporary—there's the architecture of a traditional fougère, but the materials speak a modern language. This isn't a fragrance for the timid dresser. It wants tailoring with character: the cashmere overcoat with frayed cuffs, the oxford shirt worn open at the collar, brogues that have seen better days but refuse to be discarded. It's for the man who appreciates ritual without being enslaved by it, who knows the difference between smelling clean and smelling interesting, and invariably chooses the latter.
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