A La Francaise

A cool spring morning ,in a lovely garden under black currant trees is a table on which lays a basket of red and sweet smelling roses and iris plus three glasses of cool and tasty drinks. Three young and middle aged ladies are talking and drinking in a comfortable manner. A cool breeze comes and take the scent of black currants, roses and pancakes and other cosmetics of ladies. These aromas plus the green and earthy scent of the garden, soil and grasses (represented by notes of patchouli, galbanum and oakmoss) have been brought together in a bottle of perfume called "A la Francaise". A la Francaise is a niche-like perfume regarding quality and ambience of the scent as well. It is "a la Francaise" (i.e. French style)indeed. As you've probably noticed, the center of this perfume is black currant and all other notes evolve around it and complete it beautifully. Despite its simplicity, it is luxurious and exudes elegance and doesn't seem to get boring easilly. It's just simply lovely! یه روز خنک بهاری و درختان انگور یک باغ رویایی. یه میز قشنگ و سبدی از گل های رز وسط میز. سه تا لیوان نوشیدنی خنک و معطر و سه بانوی جوان و میانسال، گرم صحبت و خنده و نوشیدن. نسیم خنک بهاری از راه میرسه و با خودش بوی انگورهای تازه، بوی رز و بوی پن کیک های خانما رو بر میداره و می بره. نسیم بهاری این بوها رو بهمراه تلخی و نم خاک باغ و سبزه ها (به نمایش درآمده در عطر بواسطۀ نت های پچولی، باریجه و خزه) رو با خودش آورده و جمع کرده توی یک شیشه عطر که اسمش شده ا ل فرانکز(بمعنای سبک و استایل فرانسوی). مرکز منظومۀ این عطر همونطور که احتمالا تا کنون متوجهش شدین انگورفرنگی هست که باقی نت ها به زیبایی اون رو آذین بسته و تکمیل کرده اند. انگورفرنگی یه نت حساسه و کار باهاش آسون نیست چون میتونه گاهی وقتا خیلی شیرین یا ترش و بیرون زده بنظر برسه. اما اینجا شیرینی اون با تلخی خزه و گبانوم متعادل شده و بر بستری از پچولی کمرنگ جاخوش کرده. اون بوی پن کیک های قدیم هم حاصل از ترکیب زنبق و پچولی هست. عطری که در عین سادگی زیباست و فضای شیک و مجللی داره و بعید بنظر میرسه علیرغم سادگیش به این سادگیا کسل کننده بشه. این عطرو از نظر جنس رایحه و کیفیت هم میشه فراتر از عرف رایج دیزاینرهای امروز دونست که یکی از دوستان هم بدرستی در زیر بهش اشاره کرده و یه حالت و کیفیتی داره که اونو متمایز میکنه از دیزاینرها و حالتی نیش گونه به عطر میده. ماندگاری خوبی داره اما پخش بالایی نداره اما هر کس نزدیک شما بشه ته بوی ملایم و دل انگیزش رو حس خواهد کرد.

A strong bitter green accord created by the potent blackcurrant leaf and bud, (no fruit) combined with oakmoss and galbanum, powerfully animalic, a bitter black currant, green. The iris here is earthy, not floral. A very French perfume that will not appeal to some, as this slightly urinous black currant is an acquired taste. It has a crisp, spare effect that is belied by the complexity of notes. Sophisticated, but this is very black currant. A dark red velvety rose arrives late and comes and goes.

Really a true classic, a resinous sweet wood and powdery, very elegant and charming for a miraculous price. It has an element of old fashioned hairspray to it, which adds to the delightful "retroness" for the whole composition. My driver said is reminded him of his elegant and fashionable French mother, so there you go.

If you want to be in heaven and not have to die for it, this is the way to go!

At $7.99 for a 3.4 oz bottle how can you NOT try this??! First I want to say that the box and bottle are very nice, the presentation is totally gift worthy and bottle is heavy glass. I had not tried this house before. Frankly for this price I didn't expect a lot, I found out about this fragrance after purchasing Ethere and while still hunting for an herbal fragrance that I will like. Upon first spray you do get that bitter green note that I do not like yet seems to be in many vintage fragrances, I think it must be the galbanum, but thankfully that bitterness seems to calm down rather quickly, but remains throughout and the fragrance settles into an herbal, vaguely floral, yet intensely soapy fragrance. Very unique! The longer you wear it the soapier it seems to get, which is totally fine with me! While it is not a love it is the most agreeable herbal fragrance that I have found to date. Longevity and projection are weak on my skin. Still I think this would be a great fragrance for people who enjoy vintage type fragrances especially if you want to take a break from sweet fragrances for awhile. 10/27/2020 It's really strange how I seem to crave this fragrance after an evening bath. It is not one of my favorite fragrances, not one that I even liked at first sniff, but it has this sour, soapy quality that I find very appealing after a bath. A very clean fragrance. As the weather gets colder I find myself reaching for the deep, sweet gourmand fragrances, yet this fragrance is a polar opposite from sweet that it is very refreshing. I highly recommend giving A La Francaise a try!

Nose Note #472 I bought an old official free sample. Maybe it went off, because this smells like a little lighter version of Vermeil Pour Homme... I don't see it being any feminine. Unisex at best. I vote more male. Black currant is very prominent, just like in Vermeil. Very aromatic, earthy, green. Hardly feminine. It's also a little like Minotaure Paloma Picasso (for men), but Minotaure is sweeter and rumy. Nice to accidently find something like Vermeil. Super strong stuff. Too bad they don't make them like this anymore. Rest in peace, A La Francaise. 7/10, interesting, but challenging

A very green chypre mainly composed of oakmoss, galbanum and rose with a hint of patchouli and maybe some other woods. Not fruity. Green yet bitter. Not fruity in the least. Verdict is out on this one.

UPDATE April 2018: I have this now and yes earthy it is, with tantalising florals. Very well blended classic chypre that screams high class. High class with down to earth appeal. Its like the best of the Avon earthy fumes I remember as a child. To a Wild Rose, Charisma, Occur and Timeless all dancing together, bound by the Oakmoss. The green patchouli heady flavour is strong to start. On me it takes about 10 minutes for this to be so well blended I want to dive into it. Its a versatile all season smell for me and transitions from day to night seamlessly A la Francaise is the free-thinking and intriguing Aunty you want to share all the things you cannot do with your parents. Comforting but edgy - she is not conventional. Not many around you will smell like this. So happy to get this at a good price on Fragrance X. It is similar to Trillium from House of Matriarch with Trillium being a more subdued less animalic meditative engagement. Get this one if you love classic timeless and earthy Spring florals. Highly recommended. The packaging and bottle are superb. ........................................................................... On the way in the post!.....I ordered two 50mls of this on a blind buy. Am getting bolder My record is about 99% like with this strategy. the one tragedy being the Vampire body Spray by Parfum de Coeur. (may it RIP) From all my research this feels like a winner with the oak moss all over the flowers. Will update when I get it. Ebay prices are crazy. Good value on Fragrance X at the moment.

Despite the lack of mention of musk in the notes, A la Francaise really isn't a chypre floral, its an immensely musk-laden chypre. I would undoubtedly say that it is very "francais" and very well named, however, the animalistic musk note is a deal breaker for me, additionally, I do find it somewhat dated, but not in a sexy vintage Miss Dior/Diorissimo/Joy way. A La Francaise would have been perfect on one of those drop dead elegant, exquisitely soignee yet effortlessly put together french women of the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's. In the 2nd decade of the 21st century, I think its a musky chypre scrubber and vow to find it another home. Since A La Francaise is not a good thing in my nose, it would be unfair of me to rate it, except to note that it possesses killer great lasting power and atomic blast radius sillage.

This is an elegant evening perfume for the autumn and fall. It's a chypre aromatic scent but it does not follow the top middle and base note structure. The scents are hitting you all at once. Fortunately it's not fruity or too floral so this is not a headache inducing fragrance. It's got a little bit of rose and iris but a lot of patchouli, oak moss and galbanum, notes typically found in chypres and woodsy scents. Think Aliage by Estee Lauder. This feels like a walk through a forest under a full moon. The aroma of galbanum is my favorite in chypre perfumes. This smells expensive and amazing for such a cheap price. I'm so glad I discovered this fragrance. Highly recommended for women who love aromatic fragrances.

First dab sampling: the notes and reviews for this one seemed promising, so when I saw it at an excellent price I decided to go for the "blind buy." I'm certainly glad I did, as the notes seem spot on and the quality seems niche or nearly so. The blackcurrant is strong but the other notes seem to be there too, especially patchouli (though it's not too strong, and it's not camphorous at all). If the note combination sounds good to you, I'd be very surprised if you didn't at least like this one! I consider it unisex. NOTE: This might even satisfy your desire for a bottle of Silver Mountain Water!

A La Francaise is a sophisticated perfume. It does have a retro French vibe to it. I seem to have a complicated relationship with this perfume. The top notes are almost too much, and gave me headaches. However, once the bitter notes fade (about half an hour), I get wonderful earthy, floral, soapy notes. More than one spray is over powering. Silage and longevity are strong. To avoid headaches, I have found the best way to wear this perfume is to dilute it with unscented body lotion. I will catch whiffs of this perfume on my clothes and love it. A La Francaise is a very memorable perfume.

Kind of a surprise....happily. At first spray,I get galbanum...full on...then it blends with the patchouli/wood notes. Earthy...green. The iris/rose combo is very woody floral...with a tiny tad of floral sweetness way underneath....black currant???..... Sillage/projection is "medium" so far... For $9.....I am not complaining. This, IMO, leans masculine, but yet still unisex. An interesting scent...different too. Edit: This scent "reminds" me of Serge Lutens Arabie......not the same,but in that category...IMO.

Someone else said this was very bitter and green. When I think of bitter and green, I think of Paloma Picasso or Cabochard. With À La Française, to my nose at least, it’s like galbanum and oakmoss with maple syrup. Perhaps the maple syrup smell is partly the black currant? Maybe considered to the perfume standards of 2024, this might be bitter... but it’s maple-y. Edit: I know how to describe this now. It smells like someone who has diabetes or maybe even kidney disease. Sorry...

This was a blind buy from Ebay - the price was incredible!! I have spritzed it on for the first time and I'm finding it to be a very elegant scent!! The iris note was definitely there at the beginning, welcoming me into this royal French creation. This is my very first perfume from Princess Marina de Bourbon and I am definitely impressed!!