Maison Francis Kurkdjian Cologne Pour Le Soir

We are starting to see the beginnings of the current crop of star perfumers creating their own Houses where they can create and maintain their own aesthetic. Earlier this year we saw Mark Buxton release a line of seven fragrances. Now Francis Kurkdjian has done the same, releasing seven new fragrances.

I found all seven fragrances for Maison Francis Kurkdjian to be interesting. Aqua Universalis is meant to conjure the interface between skin and fabric and it does it perhaps too well for me as this feels like the most sophisticated laundry detergent known to man. Which is only appropriate because M. Kurkdjian has made a detergent, as part of this new line, which is scented with Aqua Universalis.

The remaining six scents are thematic pairs. APOM (A Piece Of Me) pour Femme and pour Homme uses orange blossom and cedar as the central components common to both scents. APOM pour Femme emphasizes the orange blossom and adds ylang-ylang to create a woody floral. APOM pour Homme enhances the cedar and slowly warms it up with amber. This is the most masculine of the six fragrances.

The second pair is M. Kurkdjian’s interpretation of rose and patchouli in Lumiere Noire pour Femme and pour Homme. Just as in APOM one note is emphasized in each version and one differing note is added. Lumiere Noire pour Femme is a spicy rose which is paired with one of my favorite floral notes narcissus before the patchouli comes in.

Despite it being named pour Femme this is my second favorite fragrance from this group. I think it is extremely wearable by any man who is comfortable wearing a strong rose fragrance. Lumiere Noire pour Homme has mugwort herb added and as the name implies this adds a more herbal bent to the rose and patchouli and accentuates the herbal character of the patchouli over the rose. This is more masculine feeling than the pour Femme version of Lumiere Noire but I keep finding myself drawn more strongly to the pour Femme, mainly because of the narcissus in the pour Femme. The final pair of scents are two Eau de Colognes meant to be worn during the day and the night.

Cologne pour Le Matin is the daytime scent. It is meant to evoke that moment when the sun breaks into your bedroom. The smell of lemon followed by the light herbal quality of thyme and lavender on top of a base of light orange flower. Cologne pour Le Matin is the possibility inherent in the new day. The counterpart to Cologne pour Le Matin is Cologne pour Le Soir. If Cologne pour Le Matin is the promise of a new day; Cologne pour Le Soir is the realization of the richness of the night. Cologne pour Le Soir is the hands down winner, for me, of these first seven fragrances from M. Kurkdjian.

Every time I wear Cologne pour Le Soir I am reminded of Guerlain Bois D’Armenie. I find this very appropriate because along with the fragrance M. Kurkdjian is also selling scented papier, for burning, just like the papier d’armenie Bois D’Armenie is based on. The similarity between these two scents is most apparent at the top as in Cologne pour Le Soir the benzoin is right out front in all of its lightly incensed glory. This is followed by a rich honeyed rose which again mimics the sweet middle of Bois D’Armenie before settling on a frankincense base. All of the fragrances in this initial collection are simple three to four note constructions but the four notes in Cologne pour Le Soir create the best harmony and the most unforgettable tune out of these seven olfactory compositions. I think all seven fragrances have something interesting to offer and if you are a lover of Francis Kurkdjian’s previous work you really need to find these scents and try them out for yourself. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

One last thing to mention is some of the ancillary products from Maison Francis Kurkdjian. Besides the laundry detergent and the incensed papier mentioned above. There are two other unique scented offerings which are a huge amount of fun. The first are leather and silver bracelets with the leather containing the fragrance. These bracelets are called Tour Atour and they are something to behold. A beautiful piece of scented jewelry.

The second unique offering are called “Les Bulles D’Agathe” or Agatha’s Bubbles.

Now you might be thinking that these would be a bubble bath but instead they are named for 6-year old Agatha and they are blowing bubbles. They come in three scents; pear, mint, and cut herbs. I played with all three of them and blowing scented bubbles and giggling made me feel like a 6-year old again.

I applaud the care Francis Kurkdjian has put into creating this new Maison Francis Kurkdjian and if the future offerings all continue at the same high level of creativity as this initial group we may be seeing the start of something big.

For more on Francis Kurkdjian and his thoughts on forming Maison Francis Kurkdjian please check out Michelyn Camen’s interview with him here on Fragrantica.

Images: Maison Kurkdjian, Fragrantica, Jeff Kubina