Elle 25 Maison Francis Kurkdjian for women

I feel incredibly privileged to have been given a small vial of this rare beauty (thank you again JJ).

Elle 25 graced my skin today in all its glory. White blossoms of muguet peeking through a delectable musk.

Quality craftsmanship combined with uncompromised ingredients certify Elle 25 is a creation to behold with reverence.

Those of you who own more than 4mls of this glorious stuff may I confess I am pea-green with envy. Enjoy!

Francis Kurkdjian:He was honoured to a ceremony of Oriflame Greeece when he launched his creation of Amethyste Fatal perfume sponsored by Oriflame House.
I was among the people of the party!
Well, Elle 25 sample arrived yesterday from dear Kterhark.
This is a nice floral bouquet undertoned by notes of cedar and musk.
It's so simple but yet so wonderful.I can't separate the floral notes because they are blended all together without one being stronger from the other.
It opens and stays with the floral notes from the beginning to the end.It's not heady or loud but intimate and you feel its sensation.Inoffensive and feminine ,wearable to all occasion and seasons.

I didn't realize only 25 were made!!! I hope they bring it back to his fragrance line.

Lovely Dianthus gave me a generous decant of this beauty and I feel genuinely honoured. Did I really deserve it? I love its spring freshness, subtle elegance and a great quality - one spray lasts and lasts. Great sillage, too! Thank you, dear Dianthus!

A very kind gentleman offered to share with me this anniversary edition perfume. Thank you! :-)

I find this fragrance interesting in that in the very beginning as the scent hits my skin I can barely detect it at all. It develops though, into a wonderfully pure floral where I definitely smell lilac, the lilac seems to be a dominant note for a while. Lilacs are probably my most favorite spring flower so this is a bonus! It transforms into what my mind envisions, a white bouquet, with a good abundance of dainty little lily of the valley interspersed throughout, (I happen to grow Lily of the Valley in the depths of the cool shade, their smell is amazing). Elle 25 is not heady or headachy, but a pure uncomplicated scent that smells to me like the cool, crisp spring air that carries the scent of new fresh blossoms. A beautiful change of pace for me and very, very enjoyable.

An anonymous angel offered a chance to review this rarity, and I couldn't turn down this opportunity. Big Big Thanks!

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The first rain of spring: The rain washes away the dirt and dust of winter and brings colours back alive again. Elle 25 is just that. Like taking a walk among the first flowers of spring.

Really,
Elle 25 felt like taking a deep, invigorating breath of fresh air after spending an hour in a humid, suffocating room. I live by one of Helsinki's busiest and most polluted streets, and I couldn't have asked for a better timing to review this fragrance. Indeed, mother nature had just cleaned the streets from dust, and air was as clear as Elle itself.

The fragrance reminds me a bit of Diorissimo, Idylle and even the elusively sexy Narciso R for her. Then again, Elle is in its own league: it smells like real flowers in a bottle, like Gypsy Parfumista said.
If you want to smell it in your mind, imagine this... Elle 25 is like a perfectly balanced bouquet of freshly picked flowers: Plenty of lily-of-the-valleys accompanied by roses, narcissi and beautiful lilies. It gets a bit smoky at the drydown, but still feels so so very balanced. Soft, perfect(!), alluring. I can only say that Francis Kurkdjian is a master of perfume!

Gypsy parfumista, I bow before your review. It must be the best one I've ever read, and reading it sent chills down my spine. Thank you. And thanks to Naheed, Dianthus and Kterhark for reviewing this rare beauty. It was my pleasure to read these!

Good things DO really come to those who wait!

It took my bottle (#14/25) almost 60 days to reach me...and took me almost two weeks of sniffing and testing to be able to even review it.

The first fragrance I have ever smelled from this House is absolutely divine. It arrived sealed in the box, flacon side numbered & signed in GOLD ink by the hand of the man himself (FK), outer box festooned with ribbons and a little note inside about the fragrance and its development. The bottle itself is heavy like crystal and the cap is also very weighty and "lead" colored.

I am deeply honored and so very flattered to have such an scent in my collection!...A million Thanks to British ELLE magazine, Mr. Kurkdjian and Fragrantica for running the article and link to the contest (and that sweet girl in London, who answered each one of my string of relentless questioning e-mails)!

The scent?
My submission was a piece about all facets of the gem that is "woman" and this captured them all very well. It is playful, luxurious, romantic and happy all at once. There is a bit of citricity in the opening; just enough to brighten it, but not overpower it. The floral bouquet is an understatement, at best. It is like someone squeezed fresh, living flowers into a bottle! I get narcissus (more of the daffodil type), lily of the valley, and oodles of soft sexy jasmine. There are many more in there (for sure) but these are the ones that touch me. This never becomes cloying, and is in fact: a joy to wear. Flowers, flowers everywhere! Swirling all around me, but they never suffocate or intimidate; just exist in the purest experession of their beauty. Springtime distilled. This may be an EDP...but it develops and FEELS like parfum! The cedar is gentle and dreamy here; not like dry wood, "hamster cage" chips or even needles/leaves but more like cedar "milk"-it's that creamy! The chypre base comes in a bit later with some powdery (but not overly dry) greeness, and finishes with a very classy and elegant aura...

This is a very exclusive and superb fragrance, but I tend to agree with Naheed! This is something that should be available to every person, as it is absolutely gorgeous. I feel very priveliged to own some, but a bit guilty as well for there being so little (only 25 bottles made) and wanting so many who would appreciate it to experience it...

Sillage: Very good
Longevity: great
Overall: 4.75/5

There is a Chinese goddesss called Kuan Yin (Quan Yin, etc...) who personifies kindness, compassion and unconditional love. This is how I os-magine HER smelling. I cannot imagine anyone (male, female or anything in-between) smelling this and not liking it or falling under its spell! No being or creature within 10 feet of Kuan Yin can even think of anything negative or harmful...that is what Elle25 is to me: a lovely healing balm for the Soul!!

When I saw the contest, I thought: "Yeah, like I'd ever win!". Let me tell you people something: Dreams can (AND DO) come true...if you follow them! :)

Thanks Elle for choosing me among the 25 winners and yes, I am the 21st one.

The juice smells to be of high quality perfume extracts and the bottle is lovely and is like other bottles of Maison Francis Kurkdjian in the database.

It starts like a carefully organised bouquet of flowers with a hint citrus gloves. From the notes, no citrus seem to have been added but it has a minor quantity for sure. The fragrance changes only two stages. It's like florals in the top and heart and then mixes with woodsy notes in the base. This is almost my third test and on the third time of wearing, I am sure to say a hint of vetiver has also been there.

Upon spraying Elle 25, I go back in the memory of my uncle's wedding day when everything was so fragrant and had flowers like roses, jasmin and marigold. It is very feminine and elegant and the longevity is just excellent.

Sharing a little from my sister. She wore it on her visit to the dentist and while treating on her teeth, he couldn't resist and asked "Which fragrance are you wearing? It's so beautiful!". My sister replied it's Elle 25 and is a rare fragrance. The dentist absolutely admired it.

I think Elle shouldn't restrict it to 25 bottles and should continue producing it.

This is a fragrance that you had to win, and oh yea am I happy I entered! (My bottle is autographed by FK himself and marked 1 of 25)

Privately I was skeptical, because I've tried some of FK's commercial frags that were clearly a waste of his time (Bebe, anyone?)

But this bull came out of the chute with a coat and top hat, and I give it a standing ovation!

Bull came to mind because to me this is a 'Taurean' fragrance. It's sensuous, slow-burning, and dripping with all the right sins. Think Venus in all her self-gratifying glory. Nothing is denied here, this is straight up Eden with no barrier to the tree.

I want to say it has orange blossom or narcissus because the florals are heavy. This could pass for a Guerlain, and if I dind't know any better I would think that it was. It's marketed as a chypre, but if there is oakmoss here it is very weak. I'd be surprised if vetiver wasn't included, because at the tail end of a deep sniff it dips into the 'stinky body' category. The halo is what sells this, as it's like tinkling piano notes of a tender ballet tune. Nice.

Again, thank you British Elle!

If it is a game, I think I play with Masterpiece :)...and want it on and on :D.

Burst of heady sparkling floral notes at the beggining - I feel Lily of the valley, jasmin, maybe some lilac? With time flowery freshness melts in bright softness of gentle petals. Smooth and soapy, then after few hours clean warmness stay on my skin and last, last... so long! Very feminie, with kind of spirit like such creations: CH 212 and Rumeur. Oh I can't wait to put my romantic dress and take a sunny, late-afternoon June walk with my love :)...

Bottle - elegant simplicity, with very heavy metal cap softly (like butter;) settling on the top. Gold signature of Francis Kurkdjian and number of bottle :D

Thank You for this happiness !!!