Promesse de l'Aube

Galbanum whizzing, accompanied by sharp Bergamot, gradually turned into round and gentle retro silty white flowers. The rich and ripe fruit chypre made my heart flutter. It is quiet and beautiful, like Giorgio's "Sleeping Venus". The fragrance is named after Romain Gary's novel of the same name. Promesse De L’aube can present a gauze-like effect, while being thin and transparent, it also takes into account the subtle changes between the fragrance materials to avoid the heavy feeling of the pile. And it smells really good (which isn't easy). When I got acquainted with Promesse De L’aube and started to analyze its composition, the one I saw the most was Samsara. Promesse de l’Aube has sandalwood, but I think I feel just as much about the middle notes of floral fruit. I've heard that Promesse de l'Aube is very similar to 31 Rue Combon. In fact, wear them a few times, and their differences will gradually become prominent. The experience of the nose is rich with time. Now, I already feel like two completely different fragrances. Promesse de l’Aube has a peach and apricot sweetness on the palate, with a bright and cool floral aroma that makes it clearer than 31 Rue Combon. Reminds me of the Peer Gynt Suites morning song. Promesse de l’Aube is just the right amount of plumpness. The image color presented is rose gold, a very traditional French perfume. 31 Rue Combon is not as bright as Promesse de l’Aube. Probably because of patchouli, it has an indescribable deep and stagnant, very warm, dark orange color close to brown. Looking at the infrastructure, spices can be used alternately or at the same time, MDCI is committed to restoring the chypre of "the past". As for the 31 Rue Combon, which was launched in 2007, Chanel has long determined that it will be a "new" chypre. They have different goals.

The bottle is a true work of art,I would be proud to display this on my dresser!Now for the scent,I am picking up a strong Chanel Allure EDP vibe.It`s a lush,warm, floral oriental.Smooth and creamy with a hint of citrus,which at first is sharp,but thankfully calms down to give it just enough edge.I would prefer to wear this in the evening,it seems a little formal for day.Lasts about 4 hours average,medium sillage. Sophisticated and totally femme,timeless elegance. I would wear this if not for the price,so for now, I will wear Allure,and Frederic Malle-Iris Poudre, both,just as beautiful,less $$$.

FK is a greatly respected parfumeur and he has some current big hits. I have faith in him, so I purchased a 10 ml decant blind, having read that a generous application is needed for decent sillage. I'm halfway through after only a handful of wears. Promesse de l'Aube feels natural; you are walking into the depths of an overgrown garden where all of the plants the notes represent are present in abundance, melting away before your eyes... leaving their essence and a wash of colour. Another reviewer says it reminds her of waking up in a centuries-old farmhouse in Provence in the very early morning. This perfume is dry. When guest A. Rose says creamy and waxy, I don't know what she means. The jasmine, ylang, and sandalwood combine to create a dryness that nearly catches in my throat. It is a quiet perfume, wears softly against the skin, and yet it has a tone that is a bit, dare I say, screechy to me. I do agree that Promesse is nostalgic and that a mommy could wear this scent. I already have a similar fragrance, with a similar mood, that I like better: Juste Un Reve.

Random thoughts I'm having with this fragrance: -The opening is very similar to Guerlain's Philre d'amour with its big BOOM of a citrus jolt -Francis Kurkdjian was meant to be my soulmate, but since we've never met I make do with his awe-inspiring fragrances -the Execs at MDCI need to put their heads together and come up with a way for their amazing fragrances to last more than 3-4 hours -I thought En Couer en Mai was this line's best scent, but now i'm not so sure -This fragrance reminds me of when I woke up in a 350 year old farmhouse in the rolling vineyards of Provence. The morning dew had not yet lifted, the surrounding hills were various shades of purple, and everything was serene, pure, and fresh -I would give this a 'Love' and a place on my perfume shelf if it were longer lasting and had more sillage. sigh.

I agree with many of the points of the previous reviewers: -- A very natural smelling jasmine and citrus. -- Very low sillage. So disappointing in that way, because I think it's a gorgeous scent. But for the price, is it really worth it when it so quickly becomes just a skin scent? -- Has a quiet quality that would make it work for an everyday perfume. -- I think Francis Kurkdjian is my secret perfume soul mate too. I love everything the man creates. This one must have a high percentage of natural ingredients, though, because my skin just eats it up.

It is a wonderful creation! Smooth, creamy, sophisticated. Starts with delicate mandarine and lemon. After the citrusy beginning, the ylang ylang and jasmine play the major part that lasts forever, however stays close to the skin. The story ends with absolutely stunning sandalwood. I do not much of the vanilla, just a whisper. Do try, it is a masterpiece. Unfortunately costs a small fortune...

The overrated robber baron, Francis Kurkdjian, is at it again, plundering another French enclave of Chanel and Guerlain lineages after storming the Champs Elysees and taking Mitsouko captive in Enlevement. The flag carried for MDCI bears the niche perfumery crest of a stamp, its motto “We will be different. What is yours is ours.” Sourness and flesh of citrus fruit a la Enlevement open Promesse, a mix of bergamot, tangerine, and noticeably more lemon than in Enlevement. Descension into an abstract floral heart of jasmine and ylang ylang happens quite quickly. Heady, bright white florals, and citrusy jasmine, and yellow, starchy, banana like ylang ylang fully mix into a saturated solution. Well done, but lacks any sort of energy and comes across as flat and lifeless. Creamy sandalwood and earthy vanillic tonka begins rising from the base quite quickly as well. No need to wear this a second time. I know this story by heart. At least Enlevement succeeded by being very pretty in its derivation. Promesse offers derivation and nothing else, which makes it feel very cynical and boring. It’s well made, but it also feels like it’s giving me, you, and the traditions of classical French perfumery a big, apathetic, middle finger. Firm pass.

This morning I must have been tired to the point of non-functioning because I grabbed a sample of what I thought was PRIN Noctournal Poetry and dabbed some on my arm. Right away I knew something was off because I got a Chanel like vibe - aldehydes, citrus and something prim and floral. I was sure it was something I'd smelled before. Close to No. 5 Eau Premiere but not nearly so bright and juicy. Way to start the day off with some cognitive dissonance - but at least I know my nose works! At that point I figured out it was this and I looked it up on Fragrantica to see what it was that it reminded me of. And of course, the reviewers here nailed it - Samsara! Samsara was my signature for years before it was reformulated. I'm not really a fan of it now and this one seems to emphasize the floral heart, leaving off the delicious spice and sandalwood drydown and adds a sort of Tresor like something to it, Lily of the Valley maybe? Anyhow, this sure does bring back memories of the early 90's. But, if I wanted to time travel, I'd just reach for one of the perfumes from back them. No need to spend this kind of coin for something so wan and derivative.

Perhaps I got a dud? This smells like 5 minutes of citrus if I douse myself and smash my skin to my nose, then as it starts getting softer it just disappears. Silage is nonexistent, longevity is about 10 minutes. Edit: ok so perhaps longevity is 45-60 minutes, but I still say one shouldn't have to work this hard to smell their perfume

Synthetic floral. As a lover of ylang ylang and florientals, I imagine I would have loved the first formulations. In the current reformulation, the aroma chemicals gave me an instant headache and I had to wash it off.

This opens like Chanel 31 Rue de Cambon (yay, fantastic! oh, no, wait a sec, Rue de Cambon is waaay cheaper) and stays that way about 5 min. Then it morphs into a Balensiaga Paris /Guerlain Chamade hybrid, (which I like both quite a lot, and which are way-way-way cheaper), in other words, it feels like a mettallic violet/hiacynth (despite the listed notes). It sure is very elegant, enjoyable and ticks the lable "Classic", as is the creed of MDCI house, just fine. Whether or not it has been done with better materials than Chanel (doubt it), Guerlain (in case of Chamade - doubt it) or Balenciaga (more than likely), it does feel "Luxurious". But "Innovative"? I beg to differ. For a mortgage payment price you'd expect a niche brand to produce something groundbreaking, trendsetting, or at the very least, unusual, otherwise you'd feel duped. l'll use up my sample and that's that. The bottle is lovely though. As LT commented on a reasonable price for a perfume:"the price of a dinner for two with a decent bottle of wine in a decent restaurant was about the upper limit for me, so let’s say $120 or so for 100 ml of EdP or a half ounce of proper extrait. To my mind everything way above that, e.g. Lutens’ Section d’Or and a swelling host of others, are simply sad jokes perpetrated on sad sacks. And if anybody tells you that the exquisite raw materials upped the price, just laugh. ...Bear in mind that formula cost in all but a handful of fragrances is less than 10% of sales price. Don’t give these people your cash: get a decant and smell that $50/kg woody amber first." Indeed, 1 ml of Rose Damascene Absolute costs about 17€ and 1 g of whale ambergris is about 29USD (both retail prices).

The first time I wore MDCI Parfums Promesse de L'aube, I found it a bit sweet, and almost too "nice" for a jasmine perfume. Today, however, I am appreciating it much more for some reason. I was wearing Molinard Jasmin last night, which is not a sweet jasmine perfume at all. It does smell very natural, which is why I am able to don it after a bath and before going to bed. Despite my general disdain for fruity-floral fragrances, I am noticing this morning that the fruit and vanilla and tonka are well-balanced in Promesse de L'aube, a creation by Francis Kurkdjian. Another reason why this seems nicer than the slew of sweet jasminoide fragrances on the mainstream market today is that it smells much more natural and far less abstract. My distinct impression is that plant life was sacrificed in the production of this perfume. I would recommend Promesse de L'Aube for people who like the standard office-friendly scents being issued by the design houses today but are looking for a higher quality, more natural-smelling sweet jasmine perfume.

Promesse is a lovely yellow floral. This is like Poeme by Lancôme but far more expensive and also less intense. This is worth the high price. The ylang-ylang flower always manages to brighten my day especially when it's the middle of winter and it rains and it's cold. The fragrance starts off with fresh citrus. Then the jasmine and ylang-ylang flowers are beautifully harmonic and smells great on your skin and on clothes. I spritz this on my scarf and coat. Smells sunny warm and so good. The vanilla stands out towards the end. Vanilla makes everything sweet and tops it off beautifully. It's a simple floral and yet smells like there's more going on. At times I get amber and woods. This is a gorgeous fragrance. I love the MDCI Parfums bottles. Always great to see the Venus busts. Beautiful spring time scent.

A sort of old-fashioned white floral with some soapy facets and a distinctly fruity-sweetness poking through. It’s a bit shampoo-ey at first, and then settles into something a tad bland. A low wattage parallels the reserved nature of the florals, and there’s a buttery warmth to it that flickers away in the distance. Everything’s in place as it should be, but the scent doesn’t inspire me in any capacity. It’s an extremely polite (bordering on clinical shyness), sweet and ephemeral thing that sets the clock back by about 50 years or so.

A mix with Joy Patou, Dia Amouage and some Chanel vibes. Nice, but nothing to write home about. Headache inducing, probably from aldehydes, in my case. A very common smell, nothing unique or spectacular. The price is a joke, indeed. Pas.

Incredibly smooth ylang-jasmine, vintage-smelling but not at all dirty. Thankfully the citrus is not prominent on my skin. Very subtle and classy, the sort of scent a real lady would wear!

Retro/vintage aldehyde, citrus and white floral mix. Soapy yet natural smelling without being sharp. Not for me, but I can appreciate that it is well done.

From the notes listed here, I understand that this has been reformulated and is no longer a chypre. What a shame...