Lately, as I was looking through my past reviews of the Malle line, I saw that I never reviewed Angeliques sous la Pluie. That is an oversight I need to remedy quickly, because Angeliques is a perfume I really love to wear when the moment is right.
Angéliques sous la Pluie was created by Jean-Claude Ellena and includes notes of angelica, coriander, pink pepper, and cedar.
Angéliques sous la Pluie – angelicas in the rain – has its creator’s signature all over it. Quiet, still, deceptively simple, luminous and of a bewitching clarity that bestows a zen-like calm on its wearer.
Angéliques opens with a zing of peppery juniper, cool and aloof, like a sparkling, ice-cold cocktail. It progresses to a warmer, woodier, pleasantly dry place soon where it stays for at least six hours.
I see Angéliques in shades of transparent grey, like shifting curtains of gauzy fabric swaying in the soft breeze on a cool summer day, shortly after a rainstorm.
In style, as well as in smell, although to a lesser extent, Angéliques reminds me of perfumes like Voyage d’Hermès, Le Labo Gaiac 10 and Hermès Santal Massoia, also Penhaligon’s Juniper Sling comes to mind, both because of the juniper note they share and their lightweight luminosity.
Angéliques sous la Pluie gives me a sense of being cool, calm and collected, even when I am anything but. The only issue I might have with it, is that it is not enough of a statement scent to make its way into my collection. I have used several samples and always see that I have one left, but it always gets overlooked in favor of more flashy fragrances, when it comes to bottle decisions.
Angéliques is perfectly genderless and lasts considerably well on my skin for such a muted scent. Ultimately, it can’t fulfill a purpose in my collection that Voyage or Gaiac 10 wouldn’t already fulfill. But if you have neither of those, I recommend taking a sniff of Angéliques sous la Pluie if you are looking for quiet beauty and calm in a bottle.
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I love this one on my DH, but I’m not sure how I feel about it on me. It’s like a more complex Voyage. You got the coloring exactly right!
I like on myself quite fine, it’s perfectly unisex to my nose. I bet your DH smells lovely!
I tried this for the first time last month and really liked it. I’m a sucker for anything with juniper berries and this has beautiful angelica too. Not sure if I need a full bottle either. Most probably a decant or the travel set. It’s just perfect for the rainy spring weather we have in the UK (especially this year unfortunately). I love how calming it is. You’re right, it is very zen-like.
I will make a mental note to try Voyage d’Hermès and Le Labo’s Gaiac 10. Thanks for the tip.
Funny, I always think of Angeliques as a very British scent, but was never sure why, but now I know – it is the weather of course! 😉
I’m sure you’d like Voyage, it is a lot cheaper too.
Ha ha! It absolutely fits the British weather!
Nice to have a cheaper alternative. That’s a rarity.
True. But now and then an inexpensive fragrance comes along that beats the luxury houses by far (looking at you, Cuir de Lancome 😉 ).
CdG Kyoto is my only truly zen perfume, it just isn’t a mood that suits me. I would love to admire this and it would help fill my spring/summer perfume wardrobe. But it just doesn’t work on me – give me warm and snugly or a touch melodramatic any day…
Kyoto fits exactly in this genre too.
I’m mostly like you, but there are days when a zen perfume really helps. 😉
Wow, the photo is magic ! After our breakfast today, plus this review I have to revisit the Malle line again… (after all, there might be more revelations there than Une Fleur de Cassie…).
You know I won’t wash my right hand until any traces of Metallice are perceptible on it…
A beautiful photo, isn’t it?
There is a lot to explore at Malle, just as we said.
Metallica is quite addictive, isn’t it? 🙂
I love this one. Cool, wet, sheer juniper – it’s my gin and tonic perfume. You’re right, it’s very unisex; I would love it if more men would wear this.
Gin and Tonic perfume is nice. Cocktail hour with Monsieur Malle. 🙂
I love that photo, Birgit — it’s perfect for Angeliques Sous la Pluie. You’re right, it’s such a centering fragrance and also a beautiful scent to wear in the stillness of winter, which is when I seem to crave it most.
I think it is too cool for me in winter, when I crave heavier scents. For me it is more a scent if summer (or at least spring) rain.
I agree this fragrance is rather similar to Voyage d’Hermes, but better (at least to me). In fact I think I will buy a bottle of Angeliques once my bottle of Voyage is drained.
Did you try the Parfum concentration of Voyage yet?
I did in fact, last month in Milan. The parfum was warmer, sweeter and had more depth. If had to purchase one of the two, I’d go for the parfum.
Me too, although I find them to be quite, quite similar (I have only casually and quickly tested the parfum though.)
I haven’t tried this yet, or Voyage or Gaiac 10, but I am thoroughly enjoying my generous 4ml sample of Santal Massoia. Just out of curiosity, how does this compare to JCE’s L’Eau d’Hiver? I love that one, and have a decant of it. (And just as an aside, 18 Euros for shipping? Wow, Birgit, I’m very flattered that you’d send something to me at that price. That’s….wow, that’s expensive.)
L’Eau d’Hiver is much more floral and honeyed, whereas Angeliques is cool, dry and woody. (aside: the shipping costs here are truly horrendous, but the perfume community is so worth it. 🙂 )
Yup, this is a good ‘un! VERY Ellena too. Sometimes his style just cannot be beat can it?
So true. There are definitely times when his and only his perfumes are exactly what I need.
This sound perfect for me, but since I already own Voyage and Santal Massoia…
I will try to test it though! I wonder if TDC de Bachmakov by his daughter Celine was something in that style as well, I’ll have go back to my sample and check- although not tonight since I’m drenched in Ambre Russe!
If you like those two, you should be happy with the Malle as well.
I don’t know De Bachmakov, since I have been not very enchanted by TDC apart from Bois d’Iris so far… but maybe I should.
De Bachmakov definitely also has that gin-and-tonic thing although it’s sharper and less zenlike to my nose than Voyage. It’s definitively worth trying, it’s the only one of TDCs I’ve found interesting so far (although I haven’t got around to try them all yet, the samples are not spray ones wich annoys me 🙂 ).
That annoys me too. 🙂
I’ve just read that angelica has rich herbaeus-earth note. I don’t remember smelling it ever. Like a flower or herb. Does the perfume gives such impression?
There is a cool, herbaceaous undertone to the scent, but I wouldn’t call it rich and earthy. It is transparent, as most Ellen creations are.
Good, because the last thing I want in perfume is to smell like cough syrup ;-).
No, no, it is nowhere near cough syrup. 😉
Frederic Malle’s line isn’t that big but I keep coming across perfumes I haven’t tried. I have no idea why I haven’t even smelled this one. I’ve been to stores that carry this brand multiple times in the last 2-3 months and somehow I decided that I’d tried everything what there was to try. I think that subconsciously I avoided it because I cannot pronounce the name 🙂
I will correct that the next time I see it. I enjoyed the review and the choice of a picture.
It is interesting how we tend to overlook things that somehow don’t appeal, like the name of a perfume. I am the same with numbered perfumes, I just don’t engage.
But I think Angeliques could be something you might like.
For me it is difficult to throw this refined and light scent into the same pot like Gaiac 10. Gajac 10 is completely different with very clear musky notes. I agree that kyoto by CdG has much more of the incense hierher they compete with the musk base. For me Le Labo’s 10 is quite similar to Etro’s Musk.
Angeliques is a typical “Ellena” and for an Angelica-scent quite lasting on my skin. You are absolutely right to compare it with the Voyage, however for me it’s more another Navegar by L’Artisan, also an Ellena. You might think that knowing one of his creatures means that you know all…
Hi Stefan,
that’s fine if you don’t see it the same way I do. 🙂
I don’t know Etro’s Musk well, so I can’t comment on any similarity there. I perceive Angeliques and Gaiac 10 as comparable, not necessarily in structure and smell, but in feel. There is one “theme”, so to speak.
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