Lys Mediterranee

The loveliest (green) lily of them all: green, crisp, refreshing yet rich, dense with glorious gingery zing and the tang of sea salt. Only just enough vanilla, blossom and musk to keep it alive, rather than to over-sweeten the whole effect. Searching for my platonic ideal of a lily scent, the closest I've ever come is Lutens' amazing Un Lys, but that is a much warmer, spicier, and more feminine species than this one. Yet Lys Mediterranee seems a bit more manageable and wearable, less of a total lily-diva like Un Lys. Moreover, it is beautifully balanced and smells of real nature, not a perfumers' shop; despite the lily-of-the-valley and the angelica, it never ends up reminding you of soap. (Some people pointed me at Cartier Baiser Vole when I mentioned I was hot on the trail of lilies, but they were wrong: the absolute overdose of sweetness and vanilla in that one turned me right off.) It's perhaps closer to Tom Ford Lys Fume, but with a much more outdoorsy and botanical feel, without the sweet spiciness of LF. In visual flower terms - aptly enough - Un Lys would be a giant theatre-presentation bouquet of overpoweringly heady Oriental lilies, congratulating you on a big public achievement; Lys Fume would be a smaller, intimate bunch of really sexy stargazers, presented just for you by someone who cares; and Lys Mediterranee would be three or four stalks of the most perfect, immaculate, white Madonna or Easter lilies, perfuming the calmest, cleanest bit of your home space with their glorious aroma. The set-up that makes you feel cool, calm and collected. Lys Med is quieter, but simply has all I need: beauty of both hot and almost-icy kinds, a bouncily assertive sillage and well-rooted longevity (up to 7-8h even on skin, beyond on clothes, which counts as an entire season on my skin which drinks perfume), and most important of all - it just makes me sigh with pleasure whenever I put it on. One to keep smelling yourself for, chasing the after-shudders of beauty which will keep unfolding all day. I'm unlikely to end up on a millionaire's yacht on the Med in summer any time this lifetime, or probably in any other - but if it ever happened, I'd always hope that I managed to be scented with Lys Mediterranee. Just absolutely beautiful.

I had a small sample of this a while back, tried it on and thought 'nice lily, a bit clean, elegant' and wasn't particularly wowed. But, the second time I tried it I sprayed more on and wore it out for the evening with what I call my 'Breakfast at Tiffany's dress'(black, with ivory cotton lace-trim) which changed my perception completely! I'd already felt this was an Audrey Hepburn-esque sort of floral, but I hadn't noticed the dry down before as I'd not worn a generous enough spray. After a proper wearing I'm now convinced this is my absolute favourite from the FM perfumes. I really 'get' the Medittareanean feel of it now. It's not just the subtle hint of salt, it actually smells like Mediterannean skin - there's a hint of olive oil and muskiness, overlayed with this slightly clean yet creamy lily which almost reminds me of lily of the valley but nowhere near as 'guesthouse soap as that tends to be. It also reminds me for some reason of my childhood friend's mum, who was from Rome, stunningly good looking - almost Loren-like (she always smelled of olive oil and soap)she had a kind of beehive hairdo well into the 80s! A bit naff, but nice. Anyway, this sort of Dolce Vita feel is in Lys M I feel. I think ginger gives this perfume the peppery edge that lily perfumes need, without it becoming too carnation-like. As usual I'm havering on about notes and places, but to cut a long story short, this is a sexy, pretty yet elegant and timeless perfume, I feel. I was complimented on it twice the evening I wore a more generous spray, first by a female friend, then by a handsome Japanese cellist who kept sniffing my neck. We had a kiss while dancing, but he was too young for me. (Not that I'm complaining!) Maybe it was that last fact which swayed me to buy a bottle! But really it's the beautiful drydown, and the fact I find it difficult to find good perfumes for evening. My other favourite for evenings is Lumiere Noire, but for spring/summer Lys Mediterranee is perfection. Gorgeous. Sillage and longevity moderate to strong depending on application

This is such a beautiful and naturalistic perfume that does exactly what it says on the box! It's a lovely and light as well as slightly aquatic ginger lily perfume that is a bit green and salty and makes one think of the beach. The seagulls pass by and you sniff these lillies on the beach while the salty air also wafts through your nostrils while you're wearing a white bikini and a white linen dress. It's so naturalistic smelling, which is what I like in fragrances. It's a very feminine and white floral perfume too that is very calming and serene and also isn't indolic smelling. It smells like a summer vacation! I could imagine being in Rhode Island in the United States, Greece or Cyprus during the summer wearing this. I can smell the sea salt and the slightly spicy ginger at the top, which gives this perfume a light and fresh character that goes through the whole life of this fragrance. I can then smell all of the notes listed here in the heart notes, but the lily note is the strongest of course, followed by the orange blossom. I can then smell hints of the green and rooty angelica and the aquatic lotus. Finally, I can smell some musk at the base. I can't really smell the vanilla in the base though. Both sillage and projection are moderate on me, with this fragrance lasting 6 hours in total on my skin before dissipating completely. It's a perfume that's unusually both inoffensive and unique smelling, so you can definitely both wear this at work and not smell like everyone else with their La Vie Est Belle, My Way and Coco Mademoiselle's. I think that you could wear this during the evening too, making it a very versatile fragrance. I adore this perfume and I would give it an 8/10 in total for how good I think it is. Two thumbs up from me! 👍👍

I LOVE the ginger note in this, it works so beautifully with the white lily! I just wish the "sea water" didn't become as pronounced as quickly as it does. The notes pyramid lists sea water in the top notes, but the pyramid has to be reversed or something. As it is first sprayed it's full on, powerful white lilies with a warm touch of spicy ginger and clementine. However, to soon for my liking, the lotus and sea water start to dominate. It starts off as a warm spring evening with the last rays of sun casting everything in a red glow, but then transforms into a pink waterlily on a rainy summer lake. It still smells lovely later on, just not as divine and gorgeous as that warm lily + ginger combo from the beginning. If you know what the plant Stephanotis floribunda/waxflower smells like it smells very similar to this perfumes top notes. This is probably my favorite from Malle at the moment, at least as long as the top notes stay around. It's a shame that it has to change so dramatically in the dry down though, as is the same with at least some others from this line too, unfortunately. En passant for example, starts off as the most gorgeous, photorealistic lilac, bordering on indolic, but then quickly starts smelling like a sharp, watery hairspray thanks to the water notes and cucumber. Later on it even starts smelling like a rotting wase of lilacs, due to the cucumber + yeasty notes... Similar story with Une Rose/Rose Tonnerre as well. Starts off as a perfect and magical, dark red rose, but to soon it turns into a thin, and weirdly synthetic, musky mess. Such a shame, and a huge let down when a fragrance that starts off as a clear 10, devolves into a 5 or a 4 by the time it hits the middle notes. And this brand isn't exactly cheap either...

The most overtly solar soliflore Malle has ever given us, in my opinion. I'm not sure I understand the Mediterranean reference as this doesn't strike me as Mediterranean coastal at all. There are a humidity and saltiness to this that makes me think of a lily in the South Pacific. Thankfully the sea water notes in this are not huge doses of screaming calones like it is in so many marine-note perfumes; it's a lot more tasteful than that. The bright and salty hesperidics at the top string down to a green heart of angelica, and, of course, lily. But there is quite a bit more besides. Orange blossom is well-accounted for in the heart, and I also want to say there is some neroli and ylang-ylang as well. White floral, but with a strong citrusy and tropical bent that does not quite lend itself strictly to lily. It's a bit too green, a bit too citrusy, and a bit too fresh and bright to really be a sumptuous and sweet lily accord. It comes across as botanical and very natural, but at the same time it's abstract because it's clear Flechier wanted to string the various notes of lily together without actually using much actual lily material. The final dry down to the base is a very pleasant sweet and soapy musk accord that, to me, is the most overtly "lily" note so far in the perfume. As a whole, I thoroughly enjoy Lys. It's breathtakingly pretty, and, a unlike the majority of Malle perfumes, it is remarkably simple and straightforward; no tricks, no need to heavily interpret anything, the abstraction is easy and never distracts from the mission, and it is incredibly easy to wear. A simple and lovely perfume made with excellent care and materials; you can't get an easier win than this.