Edmond Roudnitska, the great perfumer, had an idea noodling around at the back of his mind: a fragrance with plum as a base. He gave it a working title, 'La Prune' or 'plum' in English, and worked on it for years, refining and modifying it until the mid-fifties when he was satisfied with it. La Prune was original and bold. His wife, Thérèse was taken by it and Roudnitska decided that it would be her perfume alone. He kept the formula a secret so that she would be the only one ever to wear it. Fast forward to 2000 when Frédéric Malle launched his Editions de Parfums line. He had heard of the fragrance and approached Ms. Roudnitska, asking her to allowhim to publish the work. She agreed and Le Parfum de Thérèse was born.
Le Parfum de Thérèse opens with a soft note of sweet tangerine, flanked by melon and cucumber notes. Together they create a fruity aquatic accord that gives the opening a watery-airy freshness and ushers in a floral-fruity heart of jasmine, rose and plum. I get the jasmine first, erotic and fleshy as it wafts up to my nose. The jasmine is joined by rich, voluptuous rose in such a proportion I don't think I've ever smelled before. The jasmine then deepens, drawing out a note of lush, sensuous plum. The base is woody from cedar and vetiver, which also contributes a gentle greenness to the scent. A note of soft leather smooths it all out so that the drydown is carnal yet elegant. On me, Le Parfum de Thérèse is like a languorous cat, sitting on my wrist, purring, and purring.
Malle writes, "When smelling it today, one believes that Le Parfum de Thérèse is a vintage perfume encapsulating the delicate and ladylike Parisian chic of the 1950's, a sharp contrast to the futuristic impression it generated back then." After all this time, Le Parfum de Thérèse still generates interest.
Notes: Tangerine, melon, cucumber, plum, rose, jasmine, cedar, vetiver and leather
Type: EdP
Parfumeur: Edmond Roudnitska
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