Contre-Jour

Contre Jour hits with immediate authority. This is not a shy fragrance—it’s assertive, textured, and unapologetically bold. From the first spray, it projects a vibrant, spicy energy that feels alive, almost electric on the skin. What stands out is its unmistakable vintage fougère soul. Not in a nostalgic or dusty way, but in the structure: aromatic, slightly barbershop-adjacent, yet pushed into a more modern, intensified direction. The spices are sharp and luminous, giving the composition a restless, almost pulsating character. There’s a clear echo of Loewe Pour Homme vintage—that same refined spiciness, that masculine elegance with an edge—but Contre Jour feels denser, more concentrated, and more deliberate in its impact. Where Loewe glides, Contre Jour strikes. Performance is serious: strong presence, long-lasting, and definitely polarizing. This isn’t built to please everyone—it’s built to be remembered. Annick Menardo’s signature is evident: depth, contrast, and a kind of controlled chaos that turns a classic structure into something distinctive. If you’re looking for a safe fragrance, look elsewhere. But if you want something iconic, character-driven, and unforgettable, this is exactly where you should be. Trust Annick Menardo.

A true masterpiece. Building a perfume around immortelle, a material as complex as it is distinctive — and one whose scent I am particularly fond of — was not easy. Yet Annick Menardo rises to the challenge brilliantly by pairing it with a rose (rose water) that is fresh, sharp, slightly fruity, and also powerful. I feel like all the richness of this dune flower unfolds here : herbal and mineral facets, hints of sun-warmed hay, along with honeyed, spicy, citrusy and textured nuances. The encounter between these two floral notes, resting on a sandalwood base, lends the rose a velvety texture reminiscent of Portrait of a Lady. I'm amazed though that Fragrantica listed sweet in the main accords list, I totally disagree with that... The result perfectly fulfills the promise of the fragrance’s name: a perfume of contrasts, sensual and balanced, where masculine and feminine elements converse perfectly. With this creation, EDPFM is back to a genuine creative boldness. It must be tested on skin: on a blotter the rose tends to dominate, whereas on skin the solar immortelle expresses itself far more fully.

leave it to Annick Menardo to do an immortelle I love, the everlasting flower packs a dry herbal opening that is very pronounced herbal like dry woody smell, it's Solar floral note, at this point it's giving me L' Attarine SL vibe, about 30 minutes into the composition the rose begins to soften the sharpness of the immortelle and the composition softens and sweetens a bit. the rose is somewhat restrained, I'm guessing by dosing the rose extract with geranium. I hated Ganymede but love this one. After wearing for a week, I'm in love, how could two notes bring this type of elegance and minimalistic perfection, the immortelle must be molecular distilled, it goes a tad bit into the savory, curry like, but not Like Afternoon with a Fawn celery like notes, this is classier and smoother. when I first smelled I didn't care how much it cost, it hit the skin and it was love at first sniff....this is the same price as portrait. rose immortelle make the most unusual and beautiful accord. this is technically the last fragrance under FM. it's powerful.

This might be an Australian thing, I’m not sure... but there were these lollies we used to buy as kids called Fads that were marketed to look like a pack of ciggies. They were a powdery musk and had this distinct chalky texture. If you know them, or can at least picture what I’m describing, the opening of Contre-Jour is unmistakably “Fads”. The initial sweet, youthful rose sheds its jamminess early. It’s playful, and sets things up perfectly for what quickly becomes a much more serious perfume. The immortelle is dry and hay-like with this dusty pollen effect, like sun-dried flowers being lifted into the air. The narcissus, a gorgeous contrast, feels natural and earthy and stops the whole thing from tipping into something too heavy or cloying with its beautifully agrestic quality, all the while with flashes of sweet rose shining through the gaps. There’s a slightly powdery, toasted sugar kind of appeal that feels bright, but leaves space for its complexity to move in and out of the light deliberately left in-between.

Another masterpiece from the house. The composition is simple, however the ingredients are of great quality and feel expensive. The rose is vintage and dewy and the immortelle feels refined and classy. The genius of the perfumer lies in the development though. I do not get a typical development from top to base. I get an intimate fight between shadow and light of the two main ingredients. The opening is dominated by the vintage rose but that quickly changes. A battle between the immortelle and the rose then becomes the main theme. Sometimes you get clear immortelle and sometimes you get the punk rose. The blending and the shape shifting of the heart of the perfume between the two tones showcases the mastery of the perfumer. Eventually the yellow flower dominates. It feels like a hot August day in a Greek isle, going down a hill to reach a secluded beach. The dry down to me is expensive. Very interesting composition

Just received my full bottle. I’m not qualified as a fanboy of FM, I only own Carnal Flower and Portrait. So I went in blind and I’m quite impressed! This is almost as dramatic as portrait (maybe slightly more). The immortelle slithering through the rose, I can smell the tension others mention. The sprinkle of sandalwood and the musk in the air! Like a diva off between 2 of the hottest notes. It’s glamorous as hell. Gonna stop here and come back when I fully can wrap my head around what’s going on but so far it’s a love. Edit: this definitely smells like Sheldrakes work for sure Edit 2: this is a remix to POAL, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had the idea to do it and not mention it. I love this fragrance, if POAL was the main event, Contre Jour is the afters at 3 AM. I’m happy to own both because there are enough differences to warrant it, a B side if you think about it

I hear Annick Menardo and I just know it will be interesting! I mean Body Kouros ,Bois D’ Argent , Bois d’ Armenie , Jaipur Homme. When you ‘re familliar with Annick Menardo’s work , you immediately recognize Contre Jour. I’m ,like many others , on the like side , I think this is a real Frederick Malle release. Contre Jour reminds me of my first niche scent ever , Annick Gout's Sables , but more subtle , less raw and "in your face". Timing for the release of this fragrance could be better though , I think this suits better in colder months. You do have to like immortelle though. The sandalwood connects the rose and immortelle and transforms it into a warm , comforting scent in my opinion. Thumbs up from me!

I wore it on skin for the third time today, and here’s my take. I find this release really successful. It’s a brilliant take on immortelle for those who aren’t into - or not yet ready for - bold, in-your-face immortelle scents like Fougere Bengale or Afternoon of a Faun. In the background of the immortelle there’s a rose-woody base that gives a slight impression of something reminiscent of Portrait of a Lady. But the similarity is very subtle, as the immortelle stays clearly present throughout the entire life of the scent. The combination of immortelle and rose here is really beautiful and elegant. I’ll probably pull the trigger on this one someday.

I just tried this at Harrods and I can still smell it on me. I am trying to understand exactly what I am picking up. I own 1740 Marquis de Sade by Histoires de Parfums, I used to have Cuir Beluga from Guerlain, and I also own Phoenix Flame by Mabelle O’Rama, all of which highlight that yellow immortelle flower in different ways. The opening is very punchy. There is an obvious tobacco like scent, but that is actually the immortelle. It gives that warm, slightly smoky, syrupy sweetness that can easily be mistaken for tobacco. So far, all I can say is that it feels truly unique. Edit : 13 hours later .. i still can smell it on my hand.

This release makes me very happy - FM is one of my favourite brands and I am overjoyed to see they are still ready to release a unique fragrance that is kind of an acquired taste, given FM himself has left the brand. This is a wonderful herbal aromatic fragrance with rose facets. It doesn’t really remind me of anything else although I do think it’s done in a style remotely similar to Elixir by Clinique. Longevity is very good, I wish it projected a bit more but hopefully this improves with time. 10/10 from me and well done FM

To me this is like a masculine portrait of a lady. Just greener, dryer and spicier. Like hay. I detect a bit of a a food/spice rack quality. The same rose from POL shines through underneath. It smells like a very mysterious wealthy man at a party that you’re afraid to talk to. It’s beautiful but I don’t know if it’s a masterpiece like POL or carnal flower. I need some more time with it. It’s undoubtedly a Frederic Malle though, very dry and very high quality. 9.2/10

Contre-Jour was an immediate love for me. Immortelle flower is the star of the show. However, notes of leather, hay, and herbal soap (reminiscent of a luxury French-milled botanical bar) also make an appearance. Without a doubt, Contre-Jour is sophisticated, refined, and polished. This masterfully blended green-patchouli chypre has above average longevity and sillage—and compliments are guaranteed.

From ALMOST curry-like immortelle, via Malle's signature rose, and ending up at Santal Majuscule sandalwood. This is a spectacular perfume, stunning, woody, dry, magical. It's not an immediate dazzler, it takes time and multiple wears to appreciate, but to me it's the best thing from this brand in decades. I'm not a fan of these minimal note pyramids, there's certainly a lot more going on in here.

Very well blended opens with a dry hay like immortelle and rose and what else? Something a bit sweet and sour a note of apple cider or an apple liquor? The mid gets a bit earthy ,dirtier dries down woodsy with a lingering rose - it’s interesting

Beautiful, elegant, mysterious scent. Super elegant, maybe a little bit on the mature side. Dry immortal plays beautifully with rose . I love it.

A modern immortele with whiskey soon transforms into a bolder version of Rose & Cuir. A Masterpiece.

I'm loving this in the heat, it never overwhelms ........ it's no longer listed on the FM site...

I wonder what's going on at FM, this fragrance is not listed, very low on inventory.........

A unique perfume. Solid projection and quality. I loved it. It’s just playing with my mind.

After a whole year of nothingness from the brand concentrating on anniversaries which seems like it’s their latest direction we get a surprise release from one of the best female perfumers of all time third in line for the brand which definitely sets the bar very high So Ordered the 100ml just because I still have faith in this brand And I heard a couple of reviews nothing negative so far As usual my thorough routine is blotter-skin-clothes And the results varied When I sprayed it the first time it was on a blotter and the first thing I got is the famous rose the brand very much knows and respects It was lovely Shortly the herbal notes started rushing in with a blend so sophisticated although not something I’ve never smelled before On skin it was different the rose was stronger the intensity of the herbs were less but overall a better experience than the first Now on clothes it was a different story It was more balanced than the previous ones with a more prominent herbal notes than the rose Overall it develops beautifully throughout the day and let me tell you it definitely powerful I could smell my clothes from across the room for the whole day and I sprayed less than 10 times I know it seems I’m loving it but my issue is it’s not something new The herbal facets were so familiar that I swear I couldn’t shake the similarities to aromatics elixir by Clinique (with the extra rose) And I can’t shake the feeling that with time it will be more intense and harder to wear with the curry (herbal) notes intensifying in the future Still a respectable approach which is not mainstream and that’s enough reason for me to keep my hopes up for the brand