PARFUM D’EMPIRE
UN BEL AMOUR D’ETE
2024
PERFUMER
MARC-ANTOINE CORTICCHIATO
white florals
gardenia
magnolia
champaca
cumin
turmeric
sandalwood
vanilla
‘Forever love. Forever summer. Forever flowers. Flesh-soft corollas exhaling fleshly scents: gardenia melding skin and petals, radiant magnolia, exotic champaca conjure the mad intensity of a season of passion on the beach…’ – Parfum D’Empire
What an interesting release we have here in Un Bel Amour D’Ete. One that I couldn’t really find the words for to describe, but bear with me.
What on paper may seem like a suntan lotion scent, turns out to be a style of fragrance that I would expect to see in Asian/Middle Eastern indie perfumes. Champaca being a noticeable, distinct floral scent here and an overall spiciness, that steers Un Bel Amour D’Ete away from the comforting, but generic sun tan lotion. It is crisp, it is tart, it is bitter; imagine spicy ginger, sharp florals, some cumin, mixed with the softer and sweeter side of yellow florals.
Because it does have the essence of a sweet sun tan lotion, with it’s ylang-ylang and vanilla and the vanillic floral gardenia. However, it is clearly different from most of those scents. I don’t find the cumin here sweaty or daring, but it is a pretty spicy scent. As it dries, it goes greener and it remains fresh, in an unconventional way for a long time.
What I find hardest to pinpoint is the daring edge I find in this fragrance. To my nose, there’s a slightly animalic, civet-like direction. Not as prominent animalic as their Musc Tonkin, but still. Presumably this is just the brightness combined with cumin. The texture has some fizziness like beer or hops. This facet of the fragrance smells more retro and vintage than the otherwise modern styling.
Un Bel Amour d’Ete is not mass appealing and can be bit piercing, as many of the releases from Parfum D’Empire are (arguably one of the few remaining houses at their level that’s staying truly ‘niche’). This would equally appeal to fans of Areej Le Dore for example (like Aquilaria Blossom in my memory). Almost medicinal tinged florals. Un Bel Amour D’Ete being much sweeter, but not in a gourmand direction at all.