Bigarade Concentree

As someone who lives in a warm climate and has a passion for citrus scents, I must argue that genuinely good citrus accords are hard to find across fragrances. An even harder task is to find a good citrus accord that smells natural and is capable of being versatile. An almost impossible task, however, is to find a citrus scent that does everything mentioned above, all while also being unique in its profile and having the potential to please a vast majority of those who may test it. I have tried an endless amount of citruses over the past few years, ranging from the most popular designer options one may find in most beauty retailers to the more niche-like offerings of Acqua di Parma and Hermès and finally coming to a close in the niche brands such as Creed/Xerjoff/Ex Nihilo etc. and while there have been several releases that I massively clicked with (The EDT of "Voyage D'Hèrmes" or something like "Imagination" by Louis Vuitton), there has never been a fragrance that I liked to an extent where I'd say "This is a game changer"... until now. Back in early April, I was at a family gathering to celebrate my birthday, where a scent someone at the table was wearing caught my attention. It turned out to be Frederic Malle's "Lipstick Rose", which was chosen by my mother for the occasion. While I undoubtedly knew of this fragrance house and have consistently participated in discussions surrounding their most popular releases (not my cup of tea, despite being extremely luxurious), I had realised at the time that I never properly knew the full range of perfumes that they have to offer. Given I was heavily researching into different citruses at the time, I decided to look into this brand's catalogue to see if there would be something that would interest me, which is how I came across "Bigarade Concentree". What immediately caught my eye was that this perfume was created by Jean-Claude Ellena, who I indirectly referred to earlier when mentioning Voyage D'Hermes. Throughout my fragrance journey, I have always admired his work and continue to consider his fragrances as some of the best creations in the art of perfumery. I was initially quite skeptical when looking at the notes he placed in B/C, as I'm not a fan of perfumes with neroli/rose/grass accords, and with the reviews also taken into consideration, I imagined this to be overly complicated and bitter to my taste. I was evidently wrong :) When I bought a sample-sized bottle and got to try this, the first thought that came across my mind was that this is something that may be classified as 'your favourite perfumer's favourite citrus fragrance', because this is breathtaking. With regards to scent, it simply can't get more natural-smelling than this and one must point out that a vast majority of the reviews here are right in saying that this is what a real bitter orange smells like. There's not much more to discuss here, it's the smell of a real bitter orange which was formulated in a way to make it smooth and not overly offensive. It has also come to my knowledge that Frederic Malle makes hand and body wash products with this scent DNA, which is amazing, as I'd argue this is the ideal scent profile for those as well. Bigarade Concentree is certainly wearable throughout the whole year (although colder weather would obviously permit a more winter-oriented choice and the ideal time to wear this scent would certainly be a warm summer day). With regards to gender, while it may definitely be worn by both men and women, I'm labelling it as 'more male' because of its bitterness. Yes, the price is quite steep, as one should expect with these brands. People tend to forget that this isn't marketed as a people pleaser and categorises as a niche perfume. It will never be cheap. With this in mind, I'd say the price is fairly reasonable for the smell you're getting, maybe slightly overvalued, but nothing major. This lasted around 6 hours on my skin and given citrus fragrances are not known to last an eternity, there should be no expectations for this to fly around the room like Spicebomb. Overall, I find the longevity and sillage to be good enough for me. This is a stunning release which, thankfully, is going under the radar. Definitely grabbing a full-sized bottle sometime soon!

Might be the most wonderful orange scent of all time - but fatally shortlived. Which is agonising, because the first burst is just stunning: daringly sharp, nearly bitter, hedged around with beautiful green notes, and yes, unmistakably, a strong shake of cardamom magic dust helping to round it all out even more. And yes, again, its mix of orange and greens does evoke the classic Concentre d'Orange Vert, but simply better, to my nose: more upscale and niche and interesting all over. Just sheer, sharp, sparkling and gorgeous. Bracingly clean, uncompromising, minimal yet beautiful. It captures the sheer joy of orange more faithfully than almost anything I've ever smelled; the only things fit to get near it are Hermes C d'O Verte or Boucheron Orange de Bahia, so you see this Bigarade is not for cheapskates or those who like their oranges sweet. But it's only really smellable for the first hour or so; faint heavenly whiffs might escape from your shirt-neck for up to a couple of hours more, and it does leave a wonderful but too-discreet shadow of itself behind closer to the skin for maybe up to 4h if you've sprayed on with abandon at first. At Malle prices ... eeeesh ... that's a big ask, although I find its searing zesty initial attack one of the most wonderful smells in the whole wide world. Even spraying LOADS on will not make this evanescent beauty survive any longer - and God knows I've tried. You MUST try it. But try not to be bowled over by the first blast, don't lose your head, and go for a short walk, before committing to a buy. If your skin lets it live, there is no finer orange anywhere. But if not, then you'll be caught in the same terrible dilemma here as me. So great. But so infuriating at once! ETA: Guys, GUYS!! I have found just one way to stretch the beauty of this out a little longer - spray BIG, but getting most of it on your clothes. Still dies on skin far too fast, but if you get generous and properly mist your shirt /blouse/collar with it, you can eke out the lovely for up to 4-5h. It's still a big ask at Malle prices. But stuff this good deserves to be shown off to its best. Hermes Concentre for workaday use, Malle Bigarade for the special times.

UPDATE: having purchased and worn it for over a week, I have an enlightened take on this frag: Jean Claude Ellena's use of the Seville bitter Orange extract is like NOTHING you've ever experienced: The opening of BC is fresh and life-like, right away you pick up the bitterness- which is altogether expected considering it's NOT blood oranges we're dealing with as with Atelier, Le Labo or other houses. It is not sweet, a bit dry, but still gloriously mood lifting. Trust me when I say this: For a citrus(notes include Bitter Orange, Rose, Hay and Cedar) this is a very complex fragrance, there is more going on that just taking the notes verbatim as we see them on paper. No run of the mill, linear citrus frag here- yet it us linear in certain aspects, but not as you'd expect given the note composition........... The heart is well balanced and developed which is what one would expect from a frag resulting from the nose of Jean Claude Ellena! His DNA is all over this one and IMO, he takes it a step further in another later creation (which I'll touch on later). This fragrance has a lot of presence and staying power..... One KEY point: This is one of those VERY VERY RARE fragrances that actually smells BETTER as you you to-and-fro than it actually smells on your skin.......... The sillage is magnificent! Better put on your glasses frag community, because this is a 3D masterpiece........! My only caveat is this: for those of you who NEVER put your nose to this- There's a soft cumin note that creeps in and out during the dry down... For some, this evokes memories of the jock older brother who has a morbid fear of the shower and finds it funny to stick his smelly armpits in your face after working out..... If that aspect of this fragrance scares you away - then don't even bother...., because some of you will have an aversion to this "body-odour" aspect of the frag..... The solution.... Please try by any means possible to get your hands on Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert Extreme....... It's EVERYTHING this is- less than controversial cumin note... He substituted it for coriander I believe and it's a much mire palatable note- IMO...

I originally tried and purchased this from the FM store in New York around 2012, and it was love at first sniff. I knew nothing about perfume at the time, and the sales associate sprayed this for me after I mentioned that I liked citrus. It was fantastic - the orange was super fresh without being sweet, and was backed up by a great earthiness and warmth from the hay and cedar. The citrus is bitter yes, but definitely not tart; so fortunately it did not smell like any kind of cleaning product. A cozy earthy orange, where the warm base supports but does not overpower the bright top. Very unisex and approachable, and ultra sophisticated without being formal at all. I still have that old bottle, and as it is running low, picked up a newer one recently; yep it's changed. Whether due to time or reformulation or both, there are subtle but distinct differences. 2012: opening is bright and bitter, but not sour, orange; almost greener at the opening in comparison to the newer bottle. The warmth from the hay and cedar is present and comforting, while the bitter orange hangs out on top for a pretty decent amount of time. Longevity isn't insane (especially not now in the winter), but is still pretty good IMO. 2021 bottle: opening is definitely sharper. The earthy warmth is less present initially, but after a little time, the overall profile gets mellow and hazy in a way that the older bottle doesn't. There's almost a powdery feeling to it (perhaps the rose?), and I don't really get the hay. There's still some wood at the base, but it's less distinct to me. The citrus is there as it dries down, but it's cocooned, and gets a bit softer and a tiny bit sweeter as time goes on. Doesn't stay as distinctly citrus nearly as long as the older bottle. Overall I do like both, but I absolutely do prefer the older one. The powder I pick up in the newer bottle is a bit disappointing, and the pure bitter orange note sticks around better in the older bottle. I may have to hunt down an older bottle again before mine runs out.

The review below is one way of looking at it, some could gush about the subtlety of these perfume, neither position is right or wrong, meaning I shall remain firmly perched on the fence about Bigarade Concentree. It has the romantic simplicity of Ellena's compositions and his typical style is written all over this. Opens really lovely, with a wonderful orange note, juicy, zesty and green. It proceeds to get slightly more of a bitter orange feel it, then a very faint hint of cumin. Cedar is about the only other note I get, maybe some of that hay is what is creating the grassy/dry/spice of cumin? and coupled with the bitterness of the orange it's a really good combination. I love the smell of this perfume, however is it worth the pricetag and with poor lasting power? Not for me, but if you want the exclusivity of a JCE creation on FM's imprint rather than Hermes or similar then I get why you might want it. UPDATE: How bloody interesting hey? Look what I said above only in 2018? I own this now and I would say that Malle creations are something which stay with you, and make an impression even if it seems as though they didn't at first. I'm not sure why? Is it the careful curation and contrary to my closing comment (above) the fact that Malle gets the best out of his perfumers? I mean JCE has made plenty of citruses but this really is Iconic. I think my description above is pretty bloody spot on, If I do say so myself. I'd maybe say that the listed 'hay' note really comes into play in this and works so well. I love it.