M.Micallef Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture

This year fashion designer Denis Durand and perfumer Martine Micallef joined their artistic forces to create Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture. Thanks to their close relationship and thanks to their graceful collaboration the charming, mystic and sophisticated perfume was born.

On my skin the opening of M.Micallef Couture is brilliant! Right from the start I smell a lovely mandarin note. It’s not very juicy or tangy but aromatic, slightly citrus sweet with a noticeable tone that to me smells like the wax that coats the mandarin rind. It’s pleasant and warm, without any weird candle-like, artificial smells. Few minutes later cinnamon unfolds on my skin. It doesn’t smell similar to the fragrances with a cinnamon chord I tried so far. Instead it’s powder-like, dusty; sprinkled all over the mandarins it shimmers revealing its delicate spicy character. I love the smell of this combination, it’s so soft and warm.

After 30 minutes, when the first impression of Couture slowly subsides, the evolution of the scent gets easier and easier to notice. I smell rich, golden honey infused with a high quality rose accord which actually smells like real rose petals dipped in honey. Without a doubt this smell is sexy and seducing. A little bit more into fragrance development brings oud to my skin. In very minimal dose it smells not like a hospital or a nasty resin. The way it smells makes me think of a dimmed lights at night-time. Oud is a source of midnight glamour in this fragrance. But for Kafka it was dominating.

Then Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture surprises with animalic tones. A friend said she smells fur, and she was quite right – the more I tried it the more I could distinguish this note. I also think I get a little bit of suede. It all blends so nicely with the rich smell of honey that even if there are other animalic notes they’re impossible to notice and they don’t influence the great quality of the perfume.

The sensual drydown consists of soft, slightly vanilla-sweet amber combined with a gentle smell of sandalwood, here introduced in a very elegant and charming way as a tender perfumers material. Hint of patchouli adds some darker, more mysterious and secretive side to Couture. White musk is the note that crowns the concept of the whole fragrance making it highly polished and long-lasting offering that is worth attention for those who look for sophisticated and charming fragrance. I really enjoyed testing it for this review.

M.Micallef Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture (ah, what a long name!) was created by Geoffrey Nejman. It’s an eau de parfum introduced in 50 mls bottle. The flacon is shaped like a cube and it’s dressed in Chantilly lace, wearing a black satin ribbon around the neck and a golden pendant with the initials of the two artists.