Le Parfum de Therese

Frederic Malle has a deep connection to Dior, going back to his mother and also broadly. He’s not shy about it, as if releasing two perfumes by the Roudnitska father and son wasn’t a big enough hint. Michel, the younger, would give the house Noir Epices, a glorious fall spices concoction. But Edmond didn’t give Malle this, Le Parfum de Therese. Instead, it was Therese, Edmond’s wife, who gave it to Malle in hopes that her husband’s composition would have a shot at immortality. Edmond’s CV needs no expounding or explanation here; if you don’t know who he is you’ve been living under a perfume rock, or in a very small echo chamber. His compositions for Dior and Rochas are legends, but this little orphan composition was rejected twice, once by Dior and later by Guy Laroche. It was just too unusual for the period. This is a good reminder for us fragheads that mass consumers’ aggressively mediocre taste is not anything new, since we like to bemoan the taste of today's “perfumistas”. But Edmond kept at it, kept developing it, only to later present it to his wife as a gift for her own personal perfume. If he gave this to me, yeah I’d marry him. To the courthouse we’d go, my person slathered in this perfume. What made it weird was the aqueous fruit opening. Roudnitska was no stranger to fruity openings; it was virtually his signature on his Dior compositions - the “Edmond fruit salad” as I often refer to it. His fruit salad signature would mostly come across as an amalgam, as a fruit salad would, left out in the summer sun to warm up and “turn” a bit. What makes LPdT a bit different is an aqueous quality made more “wet” and obvious with Edmond’s oft used cucumber note, a calone, handled with more intention. Additionally, and similarly, the fruit has more clarity and precision by coming across as obviously melon-y (calone) and orange-y rather than salad-y. LPdT’s formula is very old, Roudnitska was making it for many years, so how much of Malle’s reconstitution of it via more modern materials and the “handling” by the perfumer who reconstituted it for Malle - who is still unknown - poses how accurately and precisely this is like Roudnitska’s own composition as a big question and a curious mystery that is fun to ponder. This is a postulation that hangs over the entire perfume, which, let’s be honest, makes it really fun for us fragheads to think about and debate. Regardless though, one thing is certain about this opening: it’s superb. My personal preferences allowed to overrule any objective parts of my brain would mean I should not like an aquatic fruit opening, but this is gorgeous. Edmond you flirt you. The heart section is recognizably good ol’ Edmond. A plain-Jane delivery of his plum accord that he put in several Diors and big slug of red roses. But, before you go equating this simplicity with mundanity, think again. Roudnitska invented the plummy floral for Dior, and to this day no one else has done it quite like him little alone as well as he did. The plum is a such a beautiful accent to the fruity aspect of the luscious red rose. The wateriness is still here but only a bit, coming across as more juicy fruit sugars and zesty skins overlaying a slightly woody and slightly creamy and slightly earthy regal red rose. Justice of the Peace, Court Clerk - can we wrap this up, please? - there’s a honeymoon to get to. The dry down is a more standard affair, a leathery chypre that abounded in the 60s and 70s when Edmond was really working through this formula. Damp, green, woody oakmoss; peppery and aromatic cedar; gentle suede-like leathers with an animalic musky powderiness. So perhaps a bit less compelling than earlier sections, it is still impeccably handled (by Roudnitska or interpretation/materials?), but noticeably less ballsy. Roudnitska could certainly blow your shoes and socks off with clouds of oakmoss and animalics, but he (presumably?) restrains himself here. This dry down is offered to us with quiet elegance and class that spells love. This is a hand being held, an arm around the waist, a peck on the cheek, not a grand gesture meant for the world to see. Nestle me under the warm sheets, Edmond. What a lovely, lovely, lovely perfume. It is the perfect blend of modernity and classicism, of emotion and technical prowess, of forward thinking and respect for history. Edmond Roudnitska was a genius ahead of his time yet perfectly capable of working very well within that time, and you only need to smell Le Parfum de Therese, and know that no house would buy it from him, to recognize this. We must be grateful to Therese Roudnitska and Frederic Malle for allowing us this perfume, and the glimpse into the mind of a genius that was probably stymied more often than we’ll ever know. Now this perfume is owned by Estee Lauder, who has messed with it since it’s original release, but I won’t go into that here; blessings need to be accounted for and celebrated when they present themselves because, unlike Therese Roundnitska’s hopeful intention, they don’t last forever. You’d better put a ring on it.

Twice I have worn this in public. Once at a house party, once at a club to hear a rock band. At both events, whenever I tried to hang out alone (I love to spend some time by myself at parties - maybe that's weird, don't care) I repeatedly had the sense that I was being followed and/or crowded although there was plenty of space for all. So I looked around, and girls were closing in! Every time. Yes, I noticed that men were friendly towards me, and willing to smile and make eye contact - but the girls! They just zoned in! Once I turned around to find myself actually in a circle of three young women who were having a quiet conversation. I raised my eyebrows, smiled, and they gazed softly and sweetly at me as if I were a beloved member of the quartet before carrying on. Once I looked up from my purse to find a woman taking pictures of me! To be fair, she was photographing the band that night, so maybe she wanted some crowd shots, but at this point there was no one behind me... just girls on either side of me... after I moved to that spot they had accumulated. To be clear, I'm female, engaged to a man. I'm so impressed with this fragrance, possibly more impressed than I was smelling mother's signature Oscar as a child, almost as impressed by my first experience with vintage Shalimar as a teen, and more impressed than I am with my own signature right now, Laurence Dumont Vanile Pamplemousse, which simply inspires my wholehearted glee (no small feat). I love every note. Everything in this perfume is working. I mean *working*. There is something alive in Le Parfum de Therese, it breathes. That's not to say it's airy. Roudnitska is the nose behind Diorissimo, also a "modern vintage" type of fragrance. These two perfumes are similar in two ways to me, and the main one is technical. How Roudnitska can create perfumes that are so deep yet light is remarkable. Reading the lists of notes in his creations, I would never expect them to smell the way they do. They have exceeded my wildest imagination of the best possible scents. The other similarity between Diorissimo and Le Parfum de Therese falls into the category of emotion: deep and even. The emotions portrayed here aren't turbulent or bubbling. They aren't restrained or subdued. They are deeply felt, but evenly felt. I think his perfumes are for women who know their own heart. They are for women who smile with their eyes. I also think his perfumes are for women... who are confident but not bold with their speech. They are for women who are active in the world, and active in their dreaming. It is often said in the perfume world: Wear _____ and you will inspire the world to love you! Le Parfum de Therese isn't for a woman who wants to be loved. It's for a woman who is already loved. I haven't purchased a full bottle, because I'm so impressed that I feel the need to test more perfumes from the house of Frederic Malle. I have En Passant and Une Rose next in queue. If they are all as revolutionary as LPDT is to me it will be quite the wondrous experiment choosing just one! When I go out, I wear LPDT on my neck and arms, hair and clothing. I've worn LPDT at home a few times, too. I only wear it on my neck and arms, though. If I wore it in my hair each time, I think I'd grow tired of the melon note that clings to it and to fabric. I do like the idea that I can wear just a touch on skin for myself and enjoy it just as much as I feel comfortable and confident wearing it out in the world, sprayed all over. Attracting lovely females, lol.

I re-sprayed Le Parfum de Thérèse from an old sample I have and as first impression I thought: "OMG! the sample has gone bad!" I was immediately attacked by a cloud of very strong, almost syrupy fruit & leather brown juice on my neck. Also some part of my jaw since it was early in the morning and I was still sleepy ;-P I had to hurry up, dress for office and rush out! I had no time to wash the scent away. I thought: "Ok, worse for them, today they will keep me stinky!" When I gt into my car the scent was already different, still very strong but softer and rounder, starting to make a dialogue with my skin. By the time I got to work I felt a lovely deep, fruity leathery classic and sophisticated cloud on my neck close to my turtleneck sweater. What a beauty! Not just a beautiful perfume. There are many around but LPDT has a special capacity of provoking something on me. KTERHARK said it right: emotion! This is not an easy perfume, not easy to wear, not too friendly, not frilly, not girlish at all, but for sure it is "Edmond Roudnitska"! I still have to meet perfume made but this genius that haven't won me, even when it was not my type of perfume. What kind of imagination and mastery did he have? There is a special note that connect all his creations in spite of their difference. I cannot name it, but I feel it. That's why I think that Le Parfum de Thérèse smell similar to Rochas Femme in some way. another gorgeous masterpiece of tremendous feminity, when feminity was not about smeling as sweet as possible like a fruit flavoured candy. If this one was inspired by ER's wife I bet she was quite a kind of her own. Or maybe a non-existant figure on which an incredibly imaginative man attached a smell. Rather the first I think. I agree 100% with the reviewers that said that this perfume has a soul and it also smells like a perfume that comes from within the person but not like something that has been added on top of a grooming! There are very few perfumes that can match skin in this way. I heard about LPDT like a "naughty" perfume for naughty women wearing black leather, high stiletto and maybe a wip also? Not so much for me. I see a very intense lady, not necessary pretty in a conventional way, no fake doll, not dominating according to a standard imagery, rather with gentle appearance and steel nerves, dressed somehow casual but with top class accuracy, used to luxury but not naive wannabe. Maybe also old French or old European. LPDT kept sending me little but very present clouds from my neck any time I moved my head. If you like to forget about the perfume you're wearing this is not for you. I kept smelling it from time to time for many hours. Just when I fought it was gone a new smaller cloud came from my neck. Please, wear only 1 spray, maybe 2. No more. Being so taken by this perfume I wanted my bf to smell it on me. As expected he was not fond of it and didn't understand all my personal hype. After 1 hour or so, as I asked again, he said: "Mmm... nice" This is expensive but you get a lot back for your money, if you like it of course. Then you will need only a spray.

I don't wear perfume by season or occasion, but if I were to make a list of favorite fragrances to wear during hot Summer days, Le Parfum De Thérèse would rank as my number one choice. If you are a fan of this house or of Edmond Roudnitska's work, you know the story behind Le Parfum de Thérèse (although some reviewers on YouTube still make dedicated overviews on the house and have no clue about the story behind it, won't point fingers). Edmond created this perfume for his wife, Thérèse, to be hers and hers alone to wear. At that time, he felt this perfume was too futuristic for its period and that it wouldn't be well-received by the market. Honestly, even today, this perfume feels like a futuristic olfactory composition. I don't think Le Parfum De Thérèse can be bound to any era of perfumery, which makes it rather timeless. If I were to go by the notes, I should not enjoy this. And yet I love it. I like to describe the way Roudnitska crafted this perfume as an Impressionistic painting. One that immediately comes to mind would be Monet's "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe", and Monet's style in general. This perfume transcends any general knowledge of the fruity, floral, and chypre accords one might have. Yes, you get fruits - melon, plum, and tangerines, but devoid of the typical sweetness and tangible characteristics; they feel natural and rather watery, even zesty at times. The florals, from which I mostly pick up an indolic Jasmine, are ethereal and not heavy, as jasmine most often comes across. Here you'll find one of the most interesting jasmine accords, light yet indolic at the same time. He almost restrained himself on the floral aspects while being generous with the indoles. And the Chypre base is built as a "modern" chypre accord using no oakmoss but a rather copious amount of vetiver with hints of patchouli and cedar. The leather accord never shines on my skin, or perhaps it is too light for me to detect, given my high tolerance for rough and dense leathers. Overall, Le Parfum De Thérèse is an almost watery, diaphanous perfume with plenty of the spark and fuziness characteristic of most chypres. Sometimes the watery fruity accords are most prominent over a woody base, others the jasmine pushes out more, and there are instances when it wears and feels like an emerald mossy perfume. It is a clever creation that only consolidates further Roudnitska's genius and the saying that goes: "materials are important, but the nose is the most important." The reason why I love wearing this perfume in the heat of Summer is because it makes me think of a picnic on the grass - a basket with fresh fruits and the smell of flowers, grass, and the trees nearby, with a cool breeze blowing through their branches. Just like in Monet's "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe." And of course, people invited know how to dress, no shorts and tees here. IG:@memory.of.scents

The smell of a hazy and uncertain destiny, Le Parfum de Therese is unsurprisingly brilliant, one of the real standouts in Malle's collection and, given it was complete and its creator passed on by the time Malle published it, it hasn't been edited into the modern-trendy-chic style like many of the house's other releases. There are many myths surrounding this scent, such as that only Edmond Roudnitska's wife Therese was permitted to wear it, but I think the reality is more that she wore it to meetings with perfume execs as a kind of living advertisement. Le Parfum de Therese is said to have been turned down time and again for being too "out there" and I have to say, 70-ish years after its initial conception, it's as weird now as it was then. Thank god it stuck out in the mind of young Frederic Malle, who remembered first encountering the perfume on Therese by virtue of his family ties to Parfums Dior. In fact, "weird" is probably by far the most accurate adjective I can think of to describe this scent, which despite being made of clearly detectable plum, rose and melon is nevertheless quintessentially abstract, smelling like all of those things and none of them at the same time. LPDT is a wonderful touchstone from Roudnitska's style, which fetishistically rotated around stone fruit chypres (Femme, Diorella) and rendered the innocuous drupe into the most otherworldly, ptolemaic odour. Those who call Le Parfum de Therese "forward-thinking" are half-correct, I think, as the inexplicably futuristic feel of the scent feels as obvious now as it no doubt did back in the fifties - it's a strange future that will never truly arrive, and will forever be out of reach. Though elements of the constituent notes are readily detectable, I think this scent is best enjoyed as an intact whole rather than dissected or "understood" in the conventional sense. For me, the watery-rosy opening is conjoined to the plum which is in turn conjoined to the leather to create a scent that doesn't actually exist in nature (smell a plum side-by-side to LPDT, and you'll see what I mean). While eschewing oakmoss, LPDT nevertheless creates the classic chypre magnetism through use of a leather note tinted judiciously with soft greenery. It's a shining gem and one of few scents from Edmond that has remained largely intact. It's as much his as his wife's: their joint, utterly French reverie of an endless field of flowers and fruit.

PARFUM DE THERESE by Frederic Malle Dazzlingly Beautiful. This is a Spicy-Fruity-Chypre-Aquatic. I have never smelled anything quite like it. This a profoundly beautiful composition of byzantine complexity and magnificence on me. Therese Roudnitska and I must have similar chemistry, because I get a huge positive development that blooms from every single accord in this creation on my skin. Opens with decadently rich blast of fruity fresh mandarins, sweet jasmine, and dewy-aquatic melon laden extravagantly with a generous dusting of spicy pepper and more nutmeg than I have ever smelled in a fruity feminine perfume. Juicy ripe plums and honeydew melons swirl around a shower of plush rose petals and soft violets. Everything then settles securely on the opulent base of clean woody cedar, delicately restrained leather, and herbaceous vetiver. I worried initially about the leather because my skin generally magnifies animalics to an unpleasant degree. However the leather here is blended so seamlessly that it functions to absolute perfection as a buttery smooth and sensually refined anchor on me. I can easily smell why there was no need to throw in a cheap musk or a heavier wood here, and yet still maintain a lusciously decadent dry-down. This fine and delicate leather envelops the earthy vetiver and aromatic cedar to achieve an intensely sumptuous velvety finishing base that melds impeccably with skin. The exquisitely powerful peppery-dry-nutmeg combo offsets the dewy-aquatic sweetness of the melons and jasmine, while also brilliantly restraining the darkly rich violet/rose here. This never tips into heady floral land due to the generous addition of the dry spice in the mix. It remains firmly as a splendidly joyous and powerfully earthy fruity-chypre with the sensuality of the entire composition emphasized by the addition of that dewy aquatic jasmine/melon accord. I find this perfume to be extravagantly elegant and exuberantly down to earth at the same time. I visualize a strong and grounded woman with a refined sense of beauty who exults in the happiness of family and good friends. A woman who loves deeply and is loved as such in return. A woman comfortable and secure in her own skin. A woman who is not afraid of life and lives it to the fullest. This is what I feel that Therese and Edmond Roudnitska share with us. Profoundly feminine. Gloriously beautiful. Magnificent.

I've always been a bit squeamish about leather in perfumes. It's a smell I like in the real world, but my taste in scents leans towards the bright and wearable, so I was afraid leather as a note would just be too much for my rather innocent nose: too murky, too sexy, too dark. But this year, since I started testing lots of perfumes, a lot of my assumptions about my own taste have been shattered, so I decided to give this classic a chance. And I'm so glad I did! Admittedly, the first opening blast of this Parfum de Thérèse IS a bit overwhelming; a rather sharp soapy leather covers the fruity notes. After several wearings I've come to appreciate this stage as well, it's come to smell like a foreboding of what's coming in the heart and drydown, but at first I was afraid all my suspicions about leather were coming true. And if the scent hadn't evolved I don't think I'd even given it more than one try, and would have avoided leather in the future, so it's lucky for me that it did. After a while, the leather retreats to the background, taking its proper supportive role of lending layers of depth to the fruity notes, and then it's like magic; it just lifts the fruity scent that would probably otherwise be quite ordinary to a much higher level. I can't stop smelling my wrists, and at the same time I feel sophisticated. That's something that hasn't happened with any other fruity perfume, and although it's possible that I'm just projecting my knowledge that this is an expensive classic, I don't think that's it. It's just very well done. It's not too heavy or too light, which makes it perfect for just about any season, any time of day and any occasion. So I like this very much, much more than I expected to, but it doesn't really feel like "me". I'm still a bit intimidated by this Thérèse, with her bold and sophisticated tastes and her perfumer husband. We're just worlds apart, I'm sure she wouldn't even have thought of clicking the 1 euro Yves Rocher promotion, like I just did. So it feels a bit ridiculous to wear her scent, a bit like I'm a child experimenting with her mother's things. I'm not going to let that stop me, though, because I do really like it; I'm sure I'll enjoy my small decant to the very last drop, and then maybe even buy more.

Le Parfum de Thérèse is one of my favourite Frédéric Malles, even before I learned of its poetic, romantic origin. Famously composed by the legendary Edmond Roudnitska as a gift for his wife, Thérèse, it remained her private signature scent until she gave the rights to Frédéric Malle after the death of her husband. As a result, it is now preserved and in the public domain, to be worn and appreciated by perfume lovers the world over. Including this one. LPdT is an extremely well-balanced fruity floral scent with some chypre characteristics. It is not too sweet; nor too watery; not too animalic or murky. It is rich yet light, complex yet cohesive. It is reminiscent of more "true" chypres by Roudnitksa (Diorella and Femme), but is quite different to either. Apparently, the use of melon at the time of creation (c. 1960) was unheard of, but its aquatic freshness is used to perfection here, lifting the rich florals and acting as a counterpoint to the sweet plum. LPdT opens with light, aquatic melon and bright citrus, joined very quickly by the floral accord. Heady, sweet jasmine is the most prominent floral note here, despite not being listed. Powdery rose creeps in, bolstered by some earthy patchouli. There is a subtle herbal quality to the opening, adding some masculine, aromatic greenness to the sweet fruity-floral accord. The plum note - another unusual choice - adds juicy sweetness to the rich florals. The melon note remains in the background almost until the drydown, complementing the florals beautifully, keeping this scent somewhat light and airy. As it dries down, it becomes woody and grassy - slightly animalic - but I don't get a leather note as such. It is soft and slightly earthy, but airy and light until it fades to a soapy-floral-grassy skin scent. It is somehow restorative at its late stages, unexpected but oh-so-pleasant. Sillage is moderate, but longevity is long-lasting. A transseasonal, feminine-leaning day scent, LPdT is a nuanced, understated beauty that is reminiscent of vintage Diors while being idiosyncratic. Heritage, romance and top craftsmanship in a bottle. Sublime. 5/5.

Le Parfum de Therese is an abstract fragrance that epitomizes the individual style of Edmond Roudnitska, bearing all his personal trademarks. This is definitely Roudnitska at his very best. Created in the 50’s for his wife this is a very subtle and highly intricate composition of fruits and jasmine with a naturalistic aquatic accord and an utmost elegant base of soft leather and vetiver. Upon impact I get the lewd jasmine and the leather note, along some semi-sweet mandarin and something spicy (pepper?). The leather immediately recedes to only reappear in the base softer. The jasmine feels as it is supposed to with a heavy indolic vibe and the bitter, animalic and slightly spicy features balanced perfectly. There is some rose too with a heady presence. The fruits become more prominent as the fragrance proceeds to the heart and I primarily get a realistic melon and a marmalade plum. These feel natural and ripe but not overripe or rancid. In the wordly Diorella the same notes are much juicier, while here are drier and spicier giving a more “masculine” edge. The whole composition is also much more restrained than Dior’s masterpiece with a more obscured citrus-chypre element. Finally, and as aforementioned the fragrance dries down in a soft leather and woods base of great refinement. Le Parfum de Therese, strikes me as the most perfectly balanced composition in the Malle line and one of the most balanced and sophisticated fragrances ever experienced. The fragrance has the arrogance of genius and carries its creator’s intellect. It speaks coherently and articulately, its voice is stable, unaltered passing the message with clarity. If you happen to have lived your experiences and seek for the substance of life then you may be worthy of having this enlightened masterpiece as your signature.

What can I say that hasn't been said. I have to agree that LPDT is a masterpiece and probably the culmination of Edmonds life work. What can be more personal that a perfume made for the woman of your life?! Having said that, I find LPDT extremely comforting and sensual. When I say comforting I mean the way one feels when you see and feel a loved one you have lost contact with. Even though jasmine is not listed here, that is the note I mainly get on my skin. LPDT opens with a ripe melon note. I get the juiciness which translates as the ozonic note, but not in an aquatic way. More like a mature and ripe melon that's been heated by the sun and has its juices dripping on heated skin. This warmth opens up the jasmine making it highly indolic with an animal like quality. But it never gets vulgar, no. It is sensual and animalic like the heated flesh of lovers finally rejoicing. The plum and tangerine contribute to the succulent feeling, leading the way to a soft but prominent leather note that wraps everything together and makes this perfume a masterpiece. I find this perfume to behave like a chypre, both fruity and woody and depending on the temperature it shows one side or another. Even though I find it blooms in the heat, I get the most longevity on a cold day. The coolness makes the jasmine bloom and along with the leathery, animalic notes it wraps me in a blanket of comfort, giving me whiffs of juicy plum and melon that just tells me that better days are just ahead. Maybe not the best review, but definitely a masterpiece in its own right and a must try for all vintage and chypre lovers, and anyone who loves jasmine in all it's animalic beauty.

oh this is beautiful. initial: clean and soapy jasmine, develops this ripe juiciness. i'm so surprised to see no white flowers listed in the note pyramid though maybe it is the effect of the tangerine and my mind jumps to orange blossoms by association? within 10 minutes different elements seem to rise towards me, one moment hints of the sweet plum, other moments the cool watery melon. i can smell rose in the heart too, this isn't a jammy one, it's a fresh dewy one, still on the green stem. perhaps about 12 minutes in i get honeydew so real it's making my mouth water! and that rose. it's crazy, somehow the overall impression of the scent is a soapy rose for me; it's what i get when i bring my wrist to the nose. there's something just a touch dry and smoky-sweet on the edges (maybe the vetiver? the sweetness i'd imagine could be a very supple leather too). if i breathe in really deep i get something almost like fresh coriander there too? but whenever i move i can so distinctly smell the fruit, such that it feels like someone is slicing it up and arranging it on a plate nearby, drops of water sitting on the pieces after being rinsed. weirdly enough, it's about half an hour in that i do get tangerine that smells like tangerine and not citrus blossoms? juicy and tart-sweet. it's a very uplifting, happy fragrance but in such a classic form. it's very complex in that it manages to be fresh in so many senses of the word – cooling, bright, watery, warmed-dry, green, soapy, sweet and shimmering. so gorgeously sunny at one moment, and lush in the shade at the next! definitely feels like spring.

"We're a lovable space that needs YOUR face!" I used to live with two girls many years ago ... just like the show Three's Company. Except they weren't as good looking and let's face it i was a smelly hippie and nobody's idea of a catch too. Anyway, they felt bad for me, i was in my late teens and rarely had a date, so they set me up with a friend of theirs who was a great cook and boy oh boy was she cute! She used to make me this stuff called 'do chua' a carrot salad before almost every dinner. Man, that wet, sweet, clean, lightly acidic and slightly bitter smell would make me salivate every time - I'm talkin about the do chau!. Whenever i smell that fragrance i think of her and the happy way about her. She always had fresh flowers on the dining table. She was mischievous but hid it with the cutest smile. She was always snacking on apple or pear slices and she always put out a glass of cold lemon water to go along with the dinner wine (drinking age was 18 years old back then). You put all these sensations together with her beautiful smile - not to mention my seldom bathed 'naturalness' and you get this beautiful concoction - a freeze frame of a bygone era when fresh, clean, healthy, sweet and bright type lived joyfully with a 'naturally' pungent, kinda oily, hard working woodworker and self sustaining farming type. Bravo to the guy who mixed this one up. It's like he was painting a picture of some of the happiest years of my life!

I've owned this perfume for almost 3 years. I first heard about this from a friend who is a die hard romantic and enjoys drawing similarities between perfumes and paintings - an ability I admire but cannot relate to. She told me about the story behind this perfume and how romantic it was. When I was in Paris later that year, I sought out the Frederic Malle boutique there and tested the perfume. I figured why not and added it to my collection. It was certainly an odd blend of scent, very unfamiliar for the most part. It didn't remind me of anything which I thought was very cool. But it didn't really grow on me at the time, maybe because too much melon? Too sweet in an odd way? So I put it away in its box and stored it. Crazy enough, this spring I suddenly craved for it - the airy, bubbly quality that reminded me so much of sunnier, happier days in my life, and that desire to feel hopeful again. I took it out of its box again and wore it here and there recently, and I have to comment on the ozonic, fresh quality that is oddly uplifting. In a way it is sharp and floral, but as it dries down, there's a clean, wet feel that reminds me of open windows on a mild spring day after the rain. I find it a "stabilizing" scent to wear throughout the day... if that makes sense. Something to soothe the mind.

Le Parfum de Therese is a fragrance that Roudniska made exclusively for the use of his wife, his son later gave the master formula to Malle for the rest could enjoy this wonderful aroma. Roudniska is the magician of perfect balance and blend like no fruits, flowers making the best chypre my nose ever smelled. This fragrance opens delicious, refreshing and juicy: orange with a delicious note of melon and a perfect note aldehydic links with the note plum and especially takes you gently into a beautiful deep and elegant rose note, this all make a joint debugged , smooth and polished. I feel a background of oak moss (this effect cedar could be produced by mixing leather, vetiver and) that transforms drying fragrance in an ideal and delicate cyprus nothing acid conjugated to a mossy residual scent in the style of the classic eau refreshing and citrus toilette which lengthens a little espande drying and other notes. Authentically delicate, exquisite and wonderful. The duration is good with mild to moderate trail and although it may be unisex, it is remarkable how well it behaves in a female skin. Roudniska spectacular fragrance of recreating a classic chypre, for my taste, one of his best works and a masterpiece. Rating: 9.4

This perfume thing is starting to get addictive (ha ha, "starting") and now I'm getting into the hard stuff. This perfume starts off with an odd but not unpleasant plastic doll's head top note. Juicy dark fruit immediately takes center stage, and the background reminds me of something herbal-soapy, like those Wella balsam shampoos used to smell. I can just imagine tight-lipped Frederic Malle boutique employees disapproving of these descriptors. I know I'm making this sound very weird, but it isn't, just unusual. My husband liked it right away, and said it reminded him of something from childhood he couldn't place. I felt that way too (with the old-time shampoos) but I thought maybe it was power of suggestion. But for all my husband knew this could have Justin Bieber's latest, so that '70's vibe was not just projection on my part. I suppose it's actually a 1950's vibe, but my memory only goes back to the '70's. The longevity is not fantastic but having sprayed on some fabric I can still catch a hint hours later. Is this anything like Diorella? Only in that conventional pretty notes are paired with something a little odd. That oddness hooks you in.

Complex, special, a bit eccentric, with a touch of mystery... and utterly elegant! I get contrasting notes, which are forming a twister of yellow and black shades, as fresh citrus and delicate melon (I consider the melon responsible for the subtle aquatic feel) twirl on a more stern and sexy wood. The minute I characterise the fragrance fresh, it turns into something darker, playing with my mind. It's elusive. I'm just wondering what kind of personality this Therese lady was like- certainly multi dimensional, and very inspiring; Unfortunately, the tangerine note is too prominent for my current taste! If only it was a bit sweeter/flowery... But even so, I acknowledge and kneel before its beauty, because it's objectively beautiful. Apparently, Roudnitska didn't have ME on his mind when creating it, otherwise it would have been called Le Parfum de Alexandra (sigh). Edit: I noticed that it blends very well with Chopard Casmir, where both share the citrus in different manifestations. Therese makes Casmir fresher, and Casmir's oriental vanilla is giving her the missing sweetness I was after!

Like other more celebrated classics, Le Parfum De Therese weaves a fine path through a complicated mix of fruits, florals and spices without falling into a sickly and overripe mess. Quite incredible when you consider the long and varied list of notes to be found in this perfume. You certainly get a big kick of the fruity accompanied by that tangy, nose tingling pepper on first spray. This drys down into a wonderful piquant spicy scent, ably supported by a sweet (but not overpowering) floral base, and there it stays - for absolutely ages. Someone on a forum described LPDT as smelling like the nape of a woman's neck after an illicit tryst with her lover. I thought the description a bit overblown at the time, but I can definitely see where that sentiment came from. There is something very animalistic and musky about the base notes in this perfume which clings to the skin, hair and even the clothes long after they have been worn. It's lovely; complex, carnal and yet comfortingly familiar - a little known (beyond perfume connoisseurs) but truly sophisticated classic.

This was a love at first sniff for me. Perfect blend between fruits and white flowers (even though the white flowers arent listed in the notes breakdown). Very very beautiful and although this was initially made for edmond roudnistka's wife, i find it to be unisex. When i learnt about its backstory, im thinking to myself how romantic the guy must be when he created something so beautiful and delicate for his wife. It projects quite heavily for the first hour, before staying close to the skin and create a soft aura around you for about five to six hours. Applied before going to bed and its still there faintly on my skin after waking up. To me its one of the hidden gems among frederic malle's offerings. People just go straight to carnal flower or musc ravageur, but oh boy, this one deserve much more love and recognition than it currently get. A perfect and terrific balance between fruity, floral and aquatic - how can a perfume get any better? Definitely top 3 best fragrance i have ever put my nose on - truly majestic. Couldnt be more happier to own a 100ml bottle.

My (rather florid) thoughts about the current formulation of Diorella are available elsewhere on Fragrantica, but since reviewing the new stuff I've been able to sample the vintage formulation - and I absolutely love it. As the vintage formula of Diorella is so hard to find, and so expensive when you do find it, Parfum de Therese strikes me as a very nice alternative - but there are a few differences. To my nose, Parfum de Therese is a bit smoother and a bit sweeter. Diorella has a stronger chypre vibe - it undoubtedly contains more oakmoss, and the presence of patchouli and basil give it a drier, slightly more masculine vibe. Parfum de Therese, on the other hand, contains more of the bright, ripe fruit and a sweet rosy note, drying down to a soft handbag-like leather. If the two perfumes were released today, they might be flankers - "Diorella" and "Diorella Esprit du Melon" or something of that ilk. Another key difference - my sample of Parfum de Therese dries down faster, and remains closer to the skin than its Dior counterpart.

Le Parfum de Thérèse is the most similar to FM - Superstitious from their offer, but again they are different enough that you need them both in your collection. Le Parfum de Thérèse is a juicy, fruity and retro creation. The gentleman who made this perfume for his wife (Therese) was rejected by Dior and some other companies at the time in the 1950s because the scent was too futuristic and different from the existing offer back then. For the next 40+ years, the perfume was worn exclusively by his wife - Therese. After Edmond's death, Therese gave Frederic a "secret recipe" so that the scent would be remembered forever. Since Frederic is not afraid of innovative and different scents - Le Parfum de Thérèse was gladly accepted for the initial FM line-up! Melon, plum, vetiver, a little rose and leather and a lot of cucumber in the opening. Although the name states that it is exclusively for women - it is not. Sillage: around you, near to skin Longevity: on the skin 8+ hours, on clothes 24+ hours