Eau de MagnoliaFloral Hesperidic Eau de Toilette

Eau de Magnolia by Frédéric Malle is a floral, citrusy, and chypre unisex eau de toilette, created by Carlos Benaïm in 2014. Magnolia sitting on vetiver and patchouli.

The perfume publisher

Frédéric Malle is not a perfumer: he is a publisher. His model, which he formulated himself: creating perfumes like Gallimard publishes novels. He therefore commissions his fragrances from great noses without budget or time constraints, puts their name on the bottle — an unprecedented gesture at the opening of the house in 2000 — and, above all, leaves them their royalties: they are not service providers, they are authors. Malle is the third generation of a dynasty: his grandfather Serge Heftler-Louiche founded Christian Dior Perfumes, his mother ran its creation for thirty years, and the filmmaker Louis Malle was his uncle. Eau de Magnolia is the only eau de toilette in our selection.

An opening of Calabrian bergamot

Calabrian bergamot and lemon open on a clean and acidic citrus, prolonged by green notes. A cologne opening, frank and unsweetened, which announces the lightness of the concentration.

A heart of magnolia, vetiver and patchouli

Magnolia unfolds its lemony white flower, supported by jasmine. But it is vetiver and patchouli, placed on the same level, that make the interest of the perfume: two earthy materials sitting directly under the flower. Calone adds its marine transparency.

A base of moss and cedar

Moss brings the forest humidity of the chypre, cedar its woody dryness and amber a discreet warmth. The base is short — it is an eau de toilette, and it assumes its longevity.

The house's gesture

Vetiver and patchouli in the heart, next to magnolia. The floral citrus genre usually places its woods in the base, where they serve as a foundation. Moving them up to the heart, in direct contact with the flower, transforms what could have been a pleasant fresh water into a true chypre. Calone — the marine molecule of the 1990s — is used here with a restraint rarely accorded to it.

For whom, for what occasions?

Floral, citrusy and chypre, this eau de toilette is for those looking for a fresh water with a real structure. From spring to summer, during the day. It is the lightest of the selection, and the easiest to wear at the office.

With Eau de Magnolia Frédéric Malle, the woods move up to the heart instead of staying in the base.