Femme Rochas 2013

Finally managed to try this in store today. The bottle of the current version available is not the packaging displayed in the image here by the way. Opens very strong but quickly dries down to a gorgeous warm fruity floral with a slight spice note to it. I don't get a strong cumin note from this like some people get but a spicy warmth that is very lovely. For reference I dislike very spicy fragrances, this is nowhere near one of those. Also confused about the comments saying it smells like BO it doesn't smell like that at all! Will definitely be buying this eventually. Update 28/10/24 - Just purchased this. Batch code says it's from March 2021, gold and clear cap. Such a gorgeous fragrance. Very strong opening of bergamot which softens over time blending with the plum and peach. The rose and jasmine add a lovely softness to it. The cumin surprisingly adds the perfect amount of warmth and spice to it. The patchouli and oakmoss (unsure if my version has oakmoss) adds a beautiful earthy woody green base to it. Heavenly fragrance.

Buckle up, because this one is no joke. From the start you are met with huge notes of stone fruits and cumin presented on a mossy base. Over time everything becomes a dense combination that plays right on the edge of being unctuous, but never quite crosses the line. It’s safe for family dinner, but I wouldn’t wear it to church. The cumin here is important, because it allows Femme stand on its own in the chypre fruity genre. Where Mitsouko is coy, Femme is ... let’s call it ... forward. Fatale could easily have been the second half of its name, because she takes no prisoners.

In one word:Wonderful! powdery Irish,sweet,leathery leopard fur coat,elegant,lascivious,lecherous, seductive,femenine,Catherine Deneuve in Bunuel's La belle du jour.A good example of how an old fashion chypre can be still modern and weared by both women and men in 2020,a time capsule to the 40's. What people indentifies as cummin I believe is Orris root, at least in my bottle unless is so well blended I can't detect it or your batch is different to mine.

I think the best description of this is from @amandavolpe : "smells like a woman wearing Mitsouko just had sex". It does indeed have the makings of a beautiful fruity chypre but with an added cumin note that makes it smell sweaty and BO-ish. Is it beautiful this way also? Of course. Definitely unisex. For around $30, this is a no brainer. Easy blind buy only for those who already like animalics or are accustomed to cumin.

The cumin doesn't scream at me like it seems to everyone else. Instead I get a slight animalic flavour, with beautiful floral and honey notes. On me this screams decadent, opulent, confident and sex. Pure sex. Will always have a bottle of this!