When Suzanne wrote and raved about Chypre Palatin and her Parisian adventure on her Perfume Journal, I envied the Paris part, but thought I would not miss much when I never smelled Chypre Palatin. Her review is beautiful and I knew this would be a good perfume, but I just thought it was not for me. As a sad, but definite Mitsouko failure, I am not ideally suited to chypres, they easily turn dank tomb on me.
But thankfully I’m not swayed from trying a new Duchaufour creation by my own misgivings (if I were, this blog would be a lot smaller). And boy, am I glad I did try it. Suzanne, sorry, you have been right – as always… and thank you for sending that decant!
Chypre Palatin was created by Bertrand Duchaufour and was released in 2012, it includes notes of hyacinth, clementine, aldehydes, cistus, galbanum, thyme, lavender, rose, jasmine, iris concrete, prune, gardenia, benzoin, styrax, leather, vanilla, tolu, castoreum, costus and oakmoss.
I have heard from a few sources (Suzanne among them) that Chypre Palatin reminds them of Amouage Jubilation 25. I have a sample, or several actually, of this perfume, but I couldn’t say what it smells like aside from cumin. Sadly, cumin is all I can smell in Jubilation 25. I know there must be more in there, but it is sadly lost on my cumin amplifying skin. It makes me happy that Chypre Palatin seems to be a version of a cumin-free Jubilation 25.
Intended for men (you get the masculine bust stopper should you choose to go for it, or rather should you have the money to spare, to go for it), Chypre Palatin strikes me as highly wearable for every gender. It has great sillage and extraordinary staying power.
Chypre Palatin is a very unique perfume. I don’t have anything like it in my collection and I love its total recognizability. This is a perfume you could immediately identify when you smelled it “in the wild”.
So what does it smell like?
Chypre Palatin opens green, slightly herbal and with a tiny whiff of my dreaded dank tomb note, but this stage is fleeting, before a quick floral accented phase leads into the main show: a bombastic oriental full of woody creaminess, spicy leather, smoky resins and sweet vanilla served with a soupçon of oakmoss to keep the green alive in all this rich, oriental glory.
Sounds overwhelming, but isn’t. Sounds heavy, but isn’t. Sounds gorgeous, and is just that.
Parfums MDCI is not a bargain brand. It is a luxurious, high quality line with perfumes that hold what they are promising. I’m all for great packaging and if only I could I would let one of their beautiful perfumes be graced with its appropriately beautiful bust stopper, but since I can’t, I am very glad the line also offers a simpler presentation. You can also order a sample set directly from Paris through their website, the cost of which is deductible from a subsequent full bottle order. But the samples are 12ml each, so this is more of a discovery set and we are all in favor of that, aren’t we?
What do you think of the line? Have you tried any of their perfumes?
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I love many of their perfumes and am really looking forward to trying this one in Paris. Thank you for reviewing it and for already telling me what I suspected. “Go try it – you won’t regret it!”
I just made you a small sample to bring next week, no need to wait for Paris! 😉
I graciously accept your gift – but there was no need to part with your gift. See you soon.
I made the sample this morning, long before your comment. We don’t share perfume because we need to, do we? 🙂
I liked Chypre Palatin a lot and I agree that it doesn’t smell like anything else I tried so far.
I’m considring the discovery set… I just have to decide for which one to go first – this one or Xerjoff (I’m not being sarcastic).
At least those two very expensive brands have such great discovery sets. That is a huge plus!
I’m glad you agree with my take on Chypre Palatin! It is unique.
I finally stopped burying my head in the sand with this line as I had a sneaking feeling I would most probably want it, I was hooked on La Belle Helene, I am wearing and love Peche Cardinal today, I tried Promesse de’ Aube but thankfully wasn’t overwhelmed by it, I will have the sampler set one day soon and Chypre Palatin was on the list to try, the only note that made me wary was the Lavender, so far I have to say I have been very impressed with this line and the offer of the cost of the sample set off a full bottle purchase, well it would be rude not to right? 🙂
It would be totally rude! 😉
Yay, you like Péché Cardinal! I must keep myself from wearing it every day, it’s so great. 🙂
Ah, you beat me to it. 🙂 I’m planning a review of Chypre Palatin soon.
Does it seem to you that the work of Mr. Duchafour is getting better and better? I want a bottle of Seville and luckily for me, I have a decant of Chypre Palatin thanks to Suzanne’s generosity (otherwise I would be contemplating how to get my hands on some).
I agree, Duchaufour is really on a roll!
Suzanne is spreading the MDCI love all over the world! 🙂
Looking forward to your review, Ines!
Parfums MDCI joins Puredistance and JAR on the list of perfume houses I intend to resist for as long as possible, but I have a feeling your blog may weaken my resolve! A Duchaufour chypre that finishes as a bombastic (great word) oriental *whimper*
Okay, keep on avoiding JAR, I’m fine with that, but don’t miss out in the other two! 🙂
I agree with Birgit, keep on avoiding JAR as long as you can. I didn’t and now I’m completely in love with Bolt of Lightning. 😦
Thank you – I will! And as a balance I think the Parfums MDCI sample Set might find its way onto my birthday wish list…
That is a great idea! 🙂
Birgit, you’re the first person I thought of when I tried on Chypre Palatin and fell in love with it, as I know how much you love both the work of Duchaufour and a gorgeous amber oriental, which, as your own beautiful review affirms, is really the direction this one leans in despite its name. I’m feeling really swoony towards the whole line right now (hello, Peche Cardinale!) and didn’t realize that the MDCI offered a sample set with 12-ml samples … so thank you for this potentially dangerous but much appreciated information!! 🙂 ❤
Thank you again for sending such a generous decant! I’m very flattered that you thought of me when you forst smelled it.
The sample set is a great thing, 12ml gets you far and this is a line where one easily finds five scents to love. 🙂
Chypre is definitely the most difficult of fragrant families. I find that my thoughts toward most are more appreciation than love, although I do enjoy Mitsouko. This sounds like an interesting take on the style and is worth a sniff!
It is a chypre for chypre skeptics. 🙂
Since it’s a chypre of course this is a must-try! I already like Promesse de l’Aube and Enlevement au Serail, so I’ll add this and Peche Cardinal to my next sample-order. Haven’t been severly tempted to buy a FB from MDCI so far though. That might be just as well since I’ve just tried the new Guerlain exclusives and I love them all! Songe is perhaps a bit too masculine for me, but Mythique and Rose Nacree are really FB-worthy. I remember you found Mythique to be quite sweet, but it didn’t turn that sweet on me, luckily. Don’t get much insense though, Elena on Perfume Shrine described it as more of an ambergris, musky scent than insense, the name seems a bit misleading. The liquids are quite oily, I guess because of a lot of naturals?
Glad you like the Guerlains!
Chypre Palatin is very much worth a try, especially since you like the style so much.
Jubilation 25 without the cumin sounds ideal to me! MDCI definitely is not a bargain brand but it’s good to hear that at least with this you’re getting something nnique and long lasting. I will make a point of trying it, for sure.
Perfect pic too!
With this brand I feel you are getting really high quality for the price you are paying.
I haven’t tried it yet, but I will someday…..
Sounds like a good plan! 🙂
Another terrific review! I do like chypres, so I would probably love this. I saw that discovery set that they had online too. Very generous for the price 🙂 So far I have only tried Péché Cardinal. Big and beautiful! Heckuva lot of tuberose, which I thought would give me a headache, but I was blissfully headache free!
The discovery set is great.
Tuberose has great headache potential for me too, but there is none with PC. 🙂
Wood, resin, leather, vanilla and oakmoss… it sounds really dull in wording, – I do want to try this line, but it’s just not captivating me 😦 But then neither does Amouage (I got the opportunity to try both Interludes the other day and disliked both intensely), oh dear 😦 Maybe my taste isn’t up to scratch these days.
But, with a Duchaufour name attached to it, I’ll be sure to give it a promising sniff, maybe I’m subconciously not wanting to like them becuase of the price 😛
Mind you, the peach one you reviewed previously had my mouth watering!!!
I have the impression that you are in the “I’m looking for weird and wonderful” phase, so regular beauty holds no sway over you. 😉
Haha! 😦 Ow – I sound like a try-hard, I can’t help it, I am wierd and wonderful hahahh.
Well, my new hunt as a summer tropical floral – does Manoumalia can’t as w&w? :’)
Lol, it does! 😀
I like weird and wonderful guys! 😉
I turn most chypres to dank tomb too – between us we are a two-woman catacombs! Not sure a “bombastic oriental” has my name on it, but I will keep an open mind. : – )
Lol, two-women catacombs – lovely!
We could be the Kaisergruft together, when you visit next time! 😀
Thank you for this interesting and informitive review. I have always wanted to try one of Parfums MDCI line and now thanks to you I have found an afordable way to do so. Great review I really enjoyed it.
Hello Lanier,
thank you very much!
The sample set is an economical way to get to know this excellent line.
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Thank you for your reiview.
I haven´t tested this perfume yet.
I wanted to present Invasion Barbare to myself, but your review makes me not to buy Invasion Barbare yet, but test Chypre Palatin.
I know that the both perfumes are completely different from eachother, but could you tell me what you like better?
Thanks.
Hi Kuggi,
I personally prefer Chypre Palatin, but that is just my opinion after all.
It is definitely worth testing, it is a gorgeous chypre and a very unusual scent.
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