French Lover by Frédéric Malle - Editions de Parfums {New Perfume}

Frédéric Malle is going to launch a new perfume in May of 2007 called, yes, French Lover (do we see an influence from Etat Libre d'Orange here? See for example the humor in the name of their latest Delicious Closet Queen). Apparently, the name was retained after a female friend of Frederic Malle's exclaimed as she smelled him while greeting him "Very French Lover!". The scent was created by perfumer Pierre Bourdon. Reportedly, Frédéric Malle's initial idea for the fragrance was to compose a more robust version of Angéliques Sous La Pluie (by Jean Claude Ellena). Both the designer and nose soon moved away from the idea to create a sophisticated masculine scent: "A hyper sensual aroma, but without it being vulgar/showy".......

Notes include pimento, galbanum, orris, cedar, trimofix (Trimofix 0 is an amber woody note with vetiver and smoky tobacco nuances), angelica, incense, vetiver. Further, mosses, musks, ambroxan (a strong amber note with dry and woody nuances), and karanal (a tenacious woody amber note) bring to the perfume "a sort of vegetal animality that soon enough evoked the aroma of a man to their creators." It is said to express "serene masculinity".

It is interesting to see that French Lover is billed as a masculine fragrance. Although I perceive their scents to be non-gender specific for the most part, apparently, following Vétiver Extraordinaire this would be their second masculine fragrance. There is this year a renewed interest for masculine scents and gender play as expressed in fragrances that was encouraged by the announcement of the launch of Fleur du Mâle by Jean Paul Gaultier.

A 50 ml bottle will retail for 90 Euros and a 100 ml one for 135 Euros.

You can visit Editions de Parfums. 

Sources: Osmoz.fr, Au Féminin