MATIERE PREMIERE
FRENCH FLOWER

2022

PERFUMER
Aurelien Guichard

Pear
Ginger

Tuberose
Orange Blossom
Chinese Tea

Ambroxan

‘INITIAL IDEA: « The intoxicating smell of a tuberose field at night ».
MAIN INGREDIENT: Absolute and Enfleurage Tuberose France, extracted from tuberoses organically grown by MATIERE PREMIERE.
CREATIVE APPROACH: Create a bouquet of Tuberose with Absolute and Enfleurage of Tuberose petals. Nigeria Ginger amplifies the whiteness of the flower. Chinese Tea Leaf Essence and a Green Pear accord underline the vegetal character of this stemmed flower.’ – Matiere Premiere

French Flower was a release from Matiere Premiere that I looked forward to. It follows up the release of Oud Seven, which was my least favorite from the house (that I otherwise really enjoy) and I figured tuberose would serve me right.

And mostly, that’s true. French Flower is a very interesting fragrance and I’d argue one of the more unique ones in the Matiere Premiere line-up. It’s not a style of tuberose that I’ve come across often.

There’s a nice floral touch, but straight from the opening I get this weird connection to banana. Like a very artificial candy, chewing gum banana in a cardboard packaging. Or maybe a banana cleaning spray. I know ylang ylang went in that direction before for me, but I’ve never encountered it with tuberose; perhaps it’s the pear (I thought I was going crazy, but several others shared with me that they fully understood what I meant with the banana).

That’s only in the opening; it grows more floral and slightly clean. It’s not an indolic or heavy tuberose, but it also doesn’t quite remind me of the fresher or greener ones (I bought Carnal Flower the day before writing and it’s incomparable). It’s creamy, candied and slightly fruity, but the brightness is almost un-perfume like to my nose (hence the reference to cleaning spray above). If I had to think of any reference point I’m thinking more along the lines of Perris Jasmin de Pays (minus the skank). It comes across very modern in styling.

Instead of growing sweeter, it becomes greener, which is a a positive considering how sweet the opening is. The sweetness itself alsof gets better for me; the fruitiness goes away and the sweetness becomes a more cozy, powdery one.

I’ve tried this in stores 3x now and I’m writing this during my second wear of the sample; it’s a grower. I appreciate it more and more, especially as it dries down. However, it’s not a love… yet!