Fashion icon, Jul et Mad Stilettos on Lex

Born from the love between Julien Blanchard and Madalina Stoïca the perfume brand Jul et Mad appeared in the Perfumeland in 2012. Accident or fate made these two meet at a sidewalk cafe in Paris. No matter what force made lives of these two entwine with each other. Inspired by their feelings and passion for perfume they created a new line of fragrances. Brand is named after Julien and Madalina. So far they released three perfumes – each is different and very special.

The very first whiff of Stilettos on Lex provides a hyper realistic smell of pears. The fresh and juicy aspect of pears is an instant mood lifter and it brings smile to my face. What draws my attention is the fact that this note doesn’t smell like a whole fruit to my nose. It’s more like a mashed pulp, like some kind of aromatic pear purée that I imagine can be served as an entrée in one of those super fancy restaurants somewhere in the New York City. Or maybe it’s a pear mousse?

Few minutes after the opening impression of smelling pears this Jul et Mad fragrance develops an aquatic quality. The smells slowly waters down at the same time it gains a slightly crispy aroma. It’s violet leaf that brings crispness to the scene. There’s also a dewy feeling to it but it’s actually nice, like drops of dew on those violet leaves. Wet foliage is interesting and pure like a water.

After a short bit of time the aquatic stage subsides and Stilettos on Lex evolve in a fascinating way. When the watery notes disappear the smell of vanilla becomes stronger with every minute. It has a moderately sweet vibe with custardy feeling and delicately woody undertone to it. Joined by the heliotrope it begins to effuse an ultra feminine smell that blooms on the skin. Combination of these two notes create a cosy and custardy feeling which veers a bit towards the sweets parlour.

Smelling Stilettos on Lex that minute made me smile a lot because I got a funny association. My eyes have never seen a macaroon and I have never eaten one. Even though when I smell the combo of custardy vanilla and slightly powdery heliotrope I get the feeling like that’s how exactly macaroons could smell like. Maybe this is just a power of suggestion that I refer to macaroons here. To me this phase of the perfume is the most urban one, the one that can be associated with a big city life. Jul et Mad Stilettos on Lex was inspired by a New York women walking down the Lexington Avenue afterall. It captures this feeling nicely. Busy streets, boutiques, blings, restaurants.  The scent is fashionable and stylish without a doubt.

Lily of the valley is the next note that appears. It carries an ozonic and watery feeling which is paired with cedar and hints of patchouli that I didn’t mind there. Actually I think that patchouli didn’t allow lily of the valley to smell like a room or ironing spray. The whole perfume drydown smells kind of fruity, sometimes more fresh-fruity sometimes more candied-fruity and it’s funny as there are no more fruits except the pear in the opening. In the drydown there’s also a subtle rose element (a tea rose?) Two other notes that I have not detected were iris and carnation.

Stilettos on Lex is a confident women in New York City. She knows how to move in the crowd and how to make others turn around when she passes. Her red high heels clack as she walks down the street, Lexington Avenue in this case. It’s a really well done perfume!

Jul et Mad perfumes including Stilettos on Lex come in parfum concentration. The bottle carries 50 mls of the fragrance and it comes with a sprayer. The elegant white-silverish leather and velvet box with perfume also holds a 7 ml rechargeable Nomad purse spray which is already filled with perfume. It has its own case. It’s a nifty accessory. Perfumer behind this fragrance is Dorothée Piot from Robertet.

This perfume lasted on my skin for over 10 hours which is an outstanding result. Its sillage is moderate and getting lower, closer to the skin with time. A sampling worthy offering!

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