Absolue Pour le Soir

Absolue Pour Le Soir. Experiencing this perfume would be quite a shock for people who endorse this house nowadays. I'll refrain from giving my opinion on their scents and aesthetics. I will say, however, that seeing how Francis wasted his potential by releasing cotton candy synthetic bombs at the expense of works such as this one is rather disappointing. This perfume has a powerful pheromonal allure that will take one by surprise. I remember back in those days, reading about it and how people said it smelled like stale urine. I laughed it off and pursued it with a blind purchase. After all, I loved, and still love, Orientals. The first thing I did once the bottle arrived, I remove the cap and take a whiff. "Oh my God, it does smell exactly like stale urine!". The rumors were true. As shocking as it came off, somehow, it had a weird appeal that I couldn't place. I sprayed it on. I wore it. And the more I did, the more I fell for it. A deep, carnal scent. The interplay of polarizing notes such as Cumin, Frankincense, and Beeswax, alongside other Oriental notes and accords, created this deep sensuality that seemed out of an ancient Roman or Egyptian banquet. To me, this perfume is all about the frankincense, the honey and the beeswax, and of course, the main course, the one and only, the cumin note. Few other notes play along, such as the rose and the benzoin in the dry-down. I believe it is the combination of the major players mentioned that creates the "stale urine" accord. And oh boy, it is so vivid. At times, the perfume has an almost "churchy" feel in the most Unholy way. But when you stroll at night in Paris, especially on the smaller and less-frequented alleys, you'll realize why Francis chose the name for it. It smells just like Paris at night. And some people will understand where I'm coming from. Years since I got this perfume, the stale urine accord has not left my mind, it just became more tame, or perhaps I learned to enjoy it. In my books, this perfume is a work of art, a carnal use of frankincense, cumin, and honey to exude an Oriental extravaganza like few compositions manage to capture. IG:@memory.of.scents

We, who tries to describe Oriental Exotica, often show Pictures of Bangal’s “Durga Puja”. The golden Ornament Cladded Devi with an age old Purohit (priest) standing in front of The Huge Pratima (idol), with “Aarti Stand” in one hand and “Ghanta” (Indian Bell) in another, uttering Mantras. Other Priests are busy, offering Goddess, Oriental Flowers or are blowing the Shankha (Conch Shells). Huge stands of Dhuno (Frankincense Dust) are burnt, which creates huge waves of Incensed Smoke. All these things create a powerful but subtle picture of light and shadow. The smell mixed with flowers, frankincense, and other incensed materials of Puja (like Sandalwood, honey, Fruits, milk, etc) has a powerful attraction of it’s own. APLS draws this exact image of Durga Puja “Ashtami” on me. It definitely falls under “Smokey” Fragrance category, but it is one of its kind. It is never over polished. On the contrary has an earthy feel to it, which makes it more realistic. It makes me feel, like standing outside the “Mandap” (The Temple Porch), on a barren land, just after a little downpour. I can see the mystical light and shadow show of the Aarti, can get the smell of Aashtami Evening, but all these mixed with the smell of the earth. Leaving, behind the impression, if I try to analyze the perfume more technically, I would start with Honey. This note explodes, with the first spray. Thick and Balmy. Soon joined by Smokes of Frankincense, more specifically Benzoin and Olibanum (The Incense Note is quite similar to Guerlain’s “Sahara Noir”). It also has distinct notes of Caraway, some Flowers and an Earthy Sandalwood. I also get amber, slightly animalic, most probably due to caraway. (Think of Tom Ford’s “Amber Absolute”. APLS amber is Not as Heavy as Amber Absolute though, but the amber style is quite near.) If I ever choose a Signature Perfume, this definitely will be The One. Mysterious and Interesting. Sillage: Heavy Longevity on My Skin: Almost 1 Day Longevity on Fabric: Almost 2-3 Days, Even More. Occasion: Formal Occasions, like Wedding or an Evening to Attend an Opera. Rating: 10/10 (The 1st Perfume to get a 10/10 for me)

This is one of the best perfumes made in the 21st century in my opinion. A shining star in the crowd of average via mediocre to boring niche and mainstream offerings. Not only does it use excellent quality ingredients, not only is it pleasing and beautiful, but it is also interesting and intriguing at the same time, changing, shifting and shaping on my skin. Yes, it is animalic, but it is not animal pee or poo, but fur: lovely, soft, warm fur, the likeness of which I only found in vintage fumes like Lanvin's My Sin. I used to bury my nose in the fur of my late cat and inhale the smell of him for a long time...I adored it! I can smell the same pleasing, caressing fur note here. The other dominant note to my nose is incense. I use an Indian incense powder blend with frankincense, benzoin and gum dammar, which has a similar deep, balmy, sweet aroma. The honey in APLS is the most pleasant I have ever smelled, not urinous, not sour, not sharp or cloying - just right. Even the cumin note is extraordinary. Usually it translates to BO to many people including myself, but here in this perfume it is not sweaty but simply wonderfully spicy, adding a nice twist to the creation. APLS is very sexy, a beast indeed, but an irresistibly purring one. It is a feline that can never be really tamed, but for the moment it lies langourosly on your lap and tentatively lets out and pulls back its claws. Although they don't really smell similar, yet I could compare this perfume to my beloved Bal a Versailles in the vintage parfum extrait formula. Both have the similar deep night in a dark palace atmosphere...the sense of immense spaces not quite visible in the darkness, just dimly lit by the embers glowing in a huge fireplace where someone scattered some exotic insence powder. One can rather sense the rich oppulence obscured by the penumbra, most of it is left to one's imagination. To me APLS is absolutely wearable, very pleasant, very comforting yet sensual and never fails to intrigue. 10/10 EDIT: For a while it was out of production, but the lovely lady from the Paris MFK Boutique informed me: IT IS BACK! 12/05/2015

I was looking for something diferent, something that would take me out of my confort zone, something polarizing, something Wow. This came across. Manny people mentioned it as a chalenging, daring sexy fragrance and it sparkled my curiosity. By all means, I'm not a sexy person. Those who know me know that. I'm cute, a little bit quirky,a wallflower, a plain Jane, but not sexy. Yet, reading these reviews and my usual love for Francis Kurkdjian fragrances, made me order it. Unsniffed. A total blind buy. From the Maison Francis Kurkdjian, I've only sampled APOM which is such a lovely orange blossom, truly a wonderful feminine scent. And my style of fragrance. Openly feminine, with class and grace. But I needed a change, a departure. So, I took a chance. Well, it paid off. Absolue pour le Soir is amazing. For me, Absolue pour le Soir is the perfect combination of sweet honey with Incense and Woods (primarly Cedar). On me, the honey is very sweet and if it wasn't masterfuly tempered with the Incense and cedar, this would be in the verge of gourmand territory. The Incense is very present and it's delightful. I'm very picky with incense because sometimes it could smell like sweaty armpit. But here, it doesn't. The effect of the blend is stunning. Like a simphony, there's an harmony between the notes. Sweet honey, incense, woods, a little bit of rose peeking between, an ambery feeling. The initial spray can be a bit challenging because it comes out full of strenght, but give it time to develop. It softens and it smells like heaven. And it keeps better and better. Sillage is strong at first, but eventually turns into a skinscent. The longevity is amazing, on skin and clothes. So, for me, there's no urine, no body odour, no sweaty armpit. Just a wonderful scent. And it makes me feel so good. It's love. This is my favourite fragrance. Ever. Thank you, Mr. Francis Kurkdjian for creating this beauty and keeping it as a part of your fragrances. Thank you for not discontinued it. I just can't thank you enough!

I was long overdue to try Maison Francis Kurkdjian Absolue Pour Le Soir, which was released in 2010, and I only acquired a decant of APLS well after I tried and bought the much more recent Grand Soir. Both are highly-resinous fragrances, but while Grand Soir is cinnamon-laden and sweet, Absolue embraces the more animalic side of resins; it’s more Ambra Aurea by Profumum Roma than it is Amber Absolute by Tom Ford or Mitzah by Dior. APLS is dense and strong, and maintains a reasonable balance between the sweeter and more animalic sides of resins. Surely there’s a lot more going over but to my nose, it’s primarily a benzoin/amber mixed accented with spicy (cumin) and floral (rose, ylang-ylang) touches. I don’t experience a ton of evolution from APLS on my skin, though as the formula usually goes, it opens a little spicier and dries down a little smoother. Overall, though, it remains a fairly harmonious balance with the cumin being featured more in the opening and the woods being more a part of the dry down—again, not surprising. Its performance is impressive, too, clearly highly long-lasting and pretty darn boastful (as far as projection) for the first few hours. Clearly one I’m going to need to consider buying as I try my decant some more. I regret sleeping on this for as long as I did, as I might ultimately prefer to Grand Soir some of the time, though it still doesn’t touch Mitzah or Amber Absolute, in my opinion. I have to hand it to Mr. Kurkdjian for another great resinous creation, though, along with Grand Soir and Ciel de Gum. They’re really quite the outstanding trio. I actually couldn’t find any evidence of it being sold by a US retailer, so I’m not sure if it’s discontinued or just temporarily unavailable, or available only in certain countries or a select few stores, but I’ll have to track it down to indulge my curiosity, if nothing else. I’m really pleased that I finally bought a decant, as I love it! 8 out of 10

Zero regrets for ordering a full bottle even without sampling it first. Even, how did I not come by it before! I discovered it by some analogies that some people made with Aziyade by Parfums d’Empire, then I saw the notes and reviews and concluded that I must like it with those notes. Totally true. I love it. It’s one of those perfumes that is not just the sum of its notes, no matter how simple or sophisticated they are. To me it’s a theatrical perfume. It evokes images, places, times more than just symphony of notes and colours as others can be. However I think it has no link to Aziyade except that both are born in the middle of an oriental bazaar. But one is the day time version of a cart of spices and dried fruits spilling over in the middle of a small bazaar street, mixed with simmering smells from the kitchens around, loud noise, hot skin and cumin date, as seen from the window of a house above the bazaar at the end of a hot day. While the other is the image of a lavish dinner by an open fire in the middle of the dessert at sunset and into the night. First is Aziyade the second is Absolue. Not really twins. By some reviews I thought I would be hit by an almost equal dose of cumin as Aziyade but nothing of the sort. My skin amps up the honey, a lot of honey on top of the most beautiful warm smokey incence notes I recall outside of a church. It’s Lavs Unum that stepped out of the dark church and fully enjoyed life in the sun. I also get the smell of the wood in a hot sauna, sweet and warm. But while Aziyade is really carnal and dirty, Absolue is sensual warm, inviting and elegant. Beautiful, gorgeous, smokey gourmand. And since then I sampled all the line of MFK and nothing comes close. This is by far the masterpiece in the entire line and one of the most unique fragrances across all spectrums.

Now, this is what I call an Oriental with a capital 'O'! Francis Kurkdjian is my favourite contemporary perfumer - that man certainly knows how to create magic - and this was my first blind buy from his Maison. Normally I don't do blind buys, but on this occasion I was confident that I would enjoy this fragrance, based on the intriguing reviews, the list of notes (rose! honey! incense! benzoin! cumin! cedar! sandalwood! what's not to love!) and my overall appreciation of Kurkdjian's artistry. And guess what: I really do enjoy APLS immensely. The initial blast is a little on the harsh side, but give it approximately ten minutes for the alcohol to evaporate, and you will be rewarded with olfactory bliss. Although honey is the strongest note, it's not a sweet scent (and thank god for that); rather, it is woody, smokey, balmy and a little boozy. It is the smell of a wax candle burning in Armenian Orthodox church filled with the scent of incense, benzoin and old flowers. If you have ever walked into any Orthodox church in the world, you will remember this smell instantly; Kurkdjian, himself an Armenian, has reimagined it perfectly. If I should compare APLS to other fragrances that I am familiar with, it's a mix of Chanel Coco, Guerlain Samsara, MFK's own Grand Soir and, especially, Paloma Picasso Tentations (needless to say, I love all these beauties), yet it is significantly different from all of them. Although it is meant to be a nighttime scent, it is smooth enough to be worn in daytime too. As to gender tags, APLS is definitely unisex, maybe a tad more on the masculine side, but I don't have a problem with that as I do enjoy masculine frags. All in all, this masterpiece receives a well-deserved perfect 10 from me.

A hot summer in an undisclosed Western-European capital. I was nineteen years old. Found some people with weird accents speaking highly of Absolue Pour le Soir online. Put on some nice clothes and took a metro to a fragrance store that stocked Kurkdjian and purchased a bottle. Kind of on a whim. I don't really remember whether or not I tested it before. I wore it to classes, discussing Fellini's 81⁄2 in an auditorium. To nights out drinking cheap beer. To my airport student job, shuttling people from gate to arrivals and back. To this day, I can't believe the scent that carried me through that summer was that of cumin and sweet secretions. The honey note throbbed in the heat. Goopy. I didn't even know how to properly perceive this scent. I still don't. The humid wooden ceiling of my student room, the oil stain of it. That orange-brown tint. It's the color of this fragrance. Oily wood. Me sweating in bed under the sun beating down on that roof. It smells like that too. I sometimes pull this bottle out of the noisy wine fridge I call my 'Archive'. It's the antithesis of the sharp, mechanical, cold scents of the 2020s. This smells of highly stylized photos of sex, a hairy crevice, armpits, giving head in a confessional. It's not real. It doesn't smell like sweat. It smells like a vision of it. And it still does. It smells of walking around campus smelling like piss, honey and smoke. Of discovering myself. Spiritually. Sexually. It smells of that summer, of being nineteen years old.

Dusty spices, waxy honey, and thick banana-bread vibes mingle with a resinous, fluffy vanilla, all atop a suede layered with labdanum and dark chocolate. I initially expected something akin to Grand Soir, but this is not that at all. Interestingly, it’s more aligned with Vanille Havane’s opening, but instead of drying down into a licorice/tobacco combo, Absolue retains that "chocolatey banana leather" nuance much longer. About two hours in, it subtly shifts to a slightly more beeswaxy profile, but it stays fairly linear after that. Also, with more wear, I noticed it began to feel increasingly honey-like. It’s a unique creation, different from Slowdive or Bee, and feels like a middle ground between Vanille Havane, Tobacco Honey, Le Lion, and Musc Ravageur—leaning more toward Vanille Havane in my opinion. Someone compared it to YouthDew, and I can see that too. Interestingly, on clothes, it’s much more honey-forward than on my skin. The honey, resinous vanilla, chocolatey benzoin, woods, and spices take a backseat to the animalic tones, which are more pronounced on fabric. The beeswax even develops a propolis-like, leathery, slightly stinky facet. Yet, it remains vastly different from Zoologist’s Bee and Balenciaga’s Rumba, and honestly, much more pleasant than both. Fascinating!

The opening minutes of APLS are bewilderingly intense. Skunky, sweet, deep, syrupy and mysterious. I think it is mostly sufficient to scare away the less adventurous nose. But I'd encourage persistence, as repeated wear opens up this dark, musky prism to reveal it's hidden treasures. I'm not sure there are any actual animalics in this concoction, but the slightly sweaty cumin note, combined with the honey accord seems to achieve this deception admirably. For me though, it's the superb benzoin note which provides the real smokiness and depth that dominates the development of this scent. I feel the honey and incense also combine to achieve a sort of amber accord, which wraps itself more and more closely around that musky element creating a very sensual balance. A real compliment to the benzoin and warm woody backbone. Some subtle floral notes, particularly the rose, compliment the syrupy sweet edge to the scent and provide an added layer of complexity. The result is a profound and deeply affecting perfume. Absolue Pour le Soir truly is one of MFK's master works. A mysterious and yet perfect combination of the sacred and the profane. Sexy yet reverential. A deeply set combination of contradictions. Dark and powerful, exotic and lustful. A must smell.

Because of its silage, ingredients, and longevity this is a fragrance that should be tested before purchasing a full bottle. For some, the first few moments are so powerfully animalic that it might be off putting. Some describe the opening as smelling like urine. I do not think that is right but it is quite strong in ways that can be off-putting. . But soon the fragrance settles down and the notes of cumin incense, honey, sandalwood and benzoin. I would not describe the scent as evoking a church-like smell such as Cardinal. This fragrance has a wider appeal in that it also includes a rose note and ceder which make it both a bit floral and a bit woody. I am referring to the older version of this fragrance, so I am not sure if the newer version has the same overall effect this one has. I would say that as this fragrance has aged it is now something that I could see wearing in many more situations than when I first wore it. In other words, the scent is not going to be as divisive as it was when it first was opened years ago. I would encourage those who want a strong fragrance that is well-blended and male leaning to consider trying it. I love it during cold months and am wearing it now.

So glad to have backed this one up before it vanished forever. This is by far the best perfume Francis ever made, alongside the original Eau Noire and Enlevement au Serail. This one had no place in the MFK line, a line that is just commercially boring and super sweet. This was the outlier. To me, this is an animalic Incense perfume, the main notes that I get are Frankincense, Cumin, and Honey. There's a touch of benzoin, rose, and cedar, but the big 3 dominate. The combination of cumin with honey and frankincense does indeed, as many have noted, create a weird accord that does smell like stale urine. You know, when you take a walk around the city and you pass those off-the-path alleys at night, and you get that stale urine smell? That's what this one smells like, more in the opening and the heart before benzoin and woods mellow it down in the base. I personally love it. It's pheromonic, sexy, almost butch, and intriguing. I hope it never gets re-released because the MFK line doesn't deserve it. It'd be fun to witness all the failed blind buys if it ever returns for a limited time.

Skin scent, yes. Absolutely. I don't fill up a room with it. One needs to come close to detect it. I'm never an oversprayer, I use perfumes for me, not for others. This one: One spray is for me and only for me... To me APLS is very intimate, very sexy, raw and warm. Have you asked others if or how they detect it? Don't be fooled, only because you can smell it intensly. Doesn't project much. Get feedback on it. Or maybe you use too much? That's not doing any good for this one, if ever, if you ask me. Skin scent. I stand to my word, as I've worn it today and expierenced it again. :) framorena: I have a full legit bottle. How many sprays you used? I go through the "How many sprays of TODAY's fragrance-VOL.8" right now and I am SHOCKED on how people, imho, overspray everything big time... How about an hour after spraying? Still strong sillage for you? I never review frags for their head notes, I'm mostly interested in the middle and base.

I love Absolue Pour le Soir. To my nose it is the type of perfume that makes my pulse pound with excitement. It is the smell of lust and excess. This is an animalic bomb reminiscent of some 80's fragrance I can't quite recall at the moment. It is the fused aroma of a rich, benzoinic oriental mixed with the furry-musky scent of old mink stoles, cigarette ashes and a very present and bodily smelling cumin note. There is a lush, almost hot florality imparted by the honey, but that also intensifies the animalic nature of APLS. While I love this perfume, I cannot figure out where I could wear it. My husband despises it definitively saying that FK "just took this one too far." Despite not knowing where I'd ever wear APLS, this is one of the very few perfumes that triggered an immediate hoarding instinct in me. I am trying to resist, though I don't know how long I'll last. Gorgeous. Only for the bold among us.

Animalic Smokey Frankincense. This is the only perfume when one would be assertive in describing it with those words, without any reservations, second guessing, abstract adjectives, wishful thinking etc. It is what it is, and nothing is quite like it, period. Other "similar" indie or niches releases may try to achieve what Francis Kurkdjian masterfully cooked in his kitchen back in 2010, but I can guarantee you (ballsy statement i know) that they'll be missing a certain "knot" in their scent's construction to achieve the same effect. This is FK at his best. Smokey Frankincense, weaving deep in holes of tamed honey and ultra quality amber, with an x factor cumin kick that I find indispensable to the composition. Without the cumin, this would "probably" be a one dimensional flat leaning oriental, nothing more nothing less. But it's not, it's freakin Absolue Pour Le Soir. Masterpiece.

I don't generally do this, but it's absolutely not true that Absolue Pour le Soir is being phased out, discontinued or changed. CPLS may be changed or phased out - I don't know and won't speak to that. Perhaps that is where this rumour, which has been about for a solid year or longer now, is coming from. But Monsieur Francis Kurkdjian himself told the wonderful woman who goes to Paris for our fragrances (among other things) in March that APLS is one of his own personal favorites and will not be changed nor dropped from his line as long as he is here to decide (and he appears very healthy) He said that there *will* be times when it is briefly unavailable, as there have always been, solely due to sourcing the appropriate ingredients and that there is no reason for panic. So please, stop spreading this rumour about the impending demise of Absolue Pour le Soir. It is simply not so.

Its the white honey and cumin combo that creates the funky element. Funny that now if I stop and really take in the opening act of APLS I'm able to smell both elements very clearly and not the combined perceived smell of pee. Either way that smell dies off in the first hr for me but honestly the frag would not be as great if it was taken out. Supposedly it was made on purpose to emulate Parisian back alley ways walked through after a night out on the town. Dancing all night working up a sweat and then taking a fine, new-to-you, french girl back to your apartment, but first cutting through a couple ally ways to play kissy face and possibly hide the pickle. Its a master piece any way you cut it. Add to that the phenomenal, borderline criminally great, resinous incense base and its a Hall of Fame Fragrance rock star. LOVE IT!!

This is true to the notes, veering more toward caraway and honey with the incense following in hot pursuit with quite a bit of sweetness (though not gourmand). It is heaven in a bottle and positively growling sexy, either for a man or woman. It reminds me of Papillon Salome, though less skank and less cumin and a lot more honey (I suspect the honey note is what is making "some" people go "phew"). This is a hot "10" in my book. Some comemntators have said this is better for a man, but if you like orientals, ambers, woods, Shalimar type scents, Alahine, Barkhane--this is fantastic. I think it's very flexible though I probably wouldn't wear it to the medical office. I just want to nuzzle myself when I'm wearing this. HIGHLY recommend (though try before you buy if honey notes don't agree with you).

I love this scent so dirty and sexy... and well I got some news from MFK since I contacted them asking them if this could maybe come back in the future and they answered with this: "We understand your disappointment and your attachment to this olfactory line, but keep in mind that Absolue Pour le Soir has an important place in Maison Francis Kurkdjian's closet. As a painter retouches his painting, or a musician modifies his score to improve the execution or modernize his theme, Francis Kurkdjian wishes to give Absolue Pour le Soir a new impetus, proposing a just and tailored perfumery. While waiting for its return in our collection, we invite you to discover Grand Soir whose amber olfactory notes could seduce you." So we may have some luck, I hope it doesn't change as much as the original.

I just got the new 2024 release from Selfridges and it’s exactly like the 2010! I have a 2ml sample of the 2010 vintage that came along with a 200ml bottle of Cologne Pour le Soir. It’s the same round, slightly acidic almost waxy honey (think unfiltered honey with wax inside) with the dusty/stone like incense. Just as dense and rich but the vintage is a bit more beastly in projection which makes sense as it’s aged for 14 years. The new fragrance does project very well with two sprays but the vintage seriously needs only 1/2 spray! The cumin is not funky or too much it’s just creating this human nuance that makes the fragrance feel sort of erotic and part of the wearer. I’m so happy I splurged. The backside of the faceplate reads: Parfum Créé en 2010 Francis Kurkdjian- such a lovely touch!