Mélodie (2024)

I don’t know the original- I’ve sadly only discovered this brand last year. I’ve heard about it a lot and it’s been on my wishlist for literally more than a decade, but time flies and here we are. Melodie in particular is a very fresh, youthful, hopeful kind of scent. It fills me with energy, optimism and I’ve been wearing it non stop for a week now, which is very rare since I love versatility. It’s like this cute gift from a lovely admirer - a sophisticated fruit basket with peony and roses bouquet. Makes me think like I’m offering this gift to myself every single day. Makes me feel so good. Hugely recommended!

I've been testing this lot of Fragonards and I am yet to find one I dislike. I'm fascinated by this house. They're the best example of what a safe blind buy is, and yet, somehow, each fragrance is signature worthy. So is Melodie. Beautiful peony with litchi and a touch of citrus, so uplifting and joyful, making me smile. I didn't know the old Melodie, so I cannot compare the two - but the 2024 version is a lighthearted, happy floral, that is really easy to love.

It’s a sweet candy-like perfume that I absolutely love. It seems perfect for young girls, and I bought it for my 12-year-old daughter. And when she’s asleep, I sneak into her room to steal a little spritz for myself and spray it on my pillow. But shhh, don’t tell her ;-)

It’s an amazing perfume, I bought it after touring the museum in Paris and it was €50 for 30ml. It is expensive but greatly priced for how nice it is. I love this perfume and it lasts almost the entire day.

At the beginning it smells like something Jean-Claude Ellena did for quite some time, the caracteristic grapefruit with blackcurrent and lots of rose. In Love Again, Rose Ikebana and Kelly Calèche comes to mind. Just lovely. Than it ends like J'adore did when it first came out. I believe it's the best of both worlds. Despite the evident lack of originality, I like it. A lot. It's just so well done. The quality of ingredients is better than in those perfumes today. It's absolutely charming and I would love a bottle.

I never knew the original, so can't compare but this 2024 version is a sweet, fruity rose that's lovely for spring! I have the EdP version (gold bottle). The redcurrant note is quite prominent in the opening. The rose litchi combo that follows is cheerful and juicy. Not exactly groundbreaking but it's very pleasant and extremely pretty. In the EdP version (gold bottle), longevity is around 6 hours.

At first sniff it's rose, very intense and very beautiful, followed by raspberry then a very slightly acidic note (unquestionably grapefruit but perhaps also lychee) which counteracts the sweet effect. The whole thing is first of all a pleasant perfume which tends more towards a very soft rose/raspberry duo, not too sweet (thanks to this citrus note). Unfortunately, over time things reverse and the rose loses its power in favor of the grapefruit which I find decidedly much too acidic (my husband finds it downright sour and told me that it smells like sweat. I think that he exaggerates but I'm writing it to you anyway because an additional opinion is always good to have). As a big rose lover, I would have personally preferred that we stay with this beautiful scent of rose, fresh and imposing. For my part, I find Mélodie honest but I prefer the new Fragonard (2024 version) which I find much warmer and attractive.

I first tested it on a perfumed sachet that I received as a gift, and I was very happy that after many years I finally found a fragrance that is quite similar to the long-discontinued Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pivoine Magnifica, although it is indeed more acidic and much less powdery, but I found what I was looking for in the peony base. It is true that I also understood why In Love Again and 1881 Cerruti were on the list of similar perfumes, but Melodie showed the best side of all its predecessors. So I ordered a 200 ml bottle, but somehow the first spray does not bring the same feeling: it is much closer to Delina than to Pivoine Magnifica. The fruity notes dominate the composition too much, although I liked it in the sample because of the floral notes. I hope that it just needs to mature a little and the overall effect will become more harmonious. I'll be back to write a new review in a few weeks or months.

This is not - by any stretch of the imagination - a swap for belle de nuit, which is a beloved perfume of mine. It’s the 2024 interpretation of the classic Melodie perfume from Fragonard. And it’s pretty different being very modern. I own both and I cannot see any resemblance.

Fragonard simply changed the label from Belle de Nuit to Melodie. It is the same perfume! But I wonder, why? What is the meaning?

I wish it was the same notes as the old Melodie.