Alternatives to Maison Francis Kurkdjian Grand Soir

Perfumer: Chris Maurice

From the master perfume responsible for most of the Xerjoff range, Moon Glade is a very unconventional take on lavender. The perfumer added a charred coconut shell nuance and poured sweet peach compote to the clean musky vibes of the herb.

More is less. Orchestrated with just three main ingredients. One: Iso-e-Super (with its sensation of soft, transparent wood). Two: white amber (with its comforting, almost skin-like warmth). Three: orange (lavishly applied). The effect: a warm/fresh velvetiness that intensifies the longer it lives on the skin.

Opponax: fun to say, fun to smell. Yin launches with this spicy-sweet resin, twinned with the fruity-booziness of davana. Labdanum and benzoin keep it cuddly.

This perfume is part of Perris 'perfume gold' collection celebrating staple vintage materials and the formula is a true recreation of sweet the salty/vanillic haze of ambergris with that alluring radiating volume only ambergris would have.

As the blare of a jazz band fills the room, sensual wafts of rose and tonka bean arise from the flushed skin of couples on the dance floor. Invigorating sage intertwines with the percussive patterns of the dancers. This dazzling night doesn’t last forever, but it leaves behind a musky memory that makes you want to do it all over again.

Created in 1934, this timeless icon is the perfect balance between the sparkling, herbaceous freshness of exceptional French lavender (overdosed at 61%)  and the smooth, ambery depth of vanilla. This duo, subtly enhanced with Turkish rose essence, reveals a masterful amber accord blending styrax, opoponax, and musk.

The juicy sweetness of red fruits meets warm spices and a creamy woody base. This is an incredibly layered production that manages restraint among its “cast of thousands” notes. Blackcurrant, cherry and raspberry open the composition, enhanced by saffron, star anise and lavender. A wooden plinth of vetiver, cedarwood and patchouli support the structure. Opulence with a melancholic depth.

Perfumer: Ralf Schwieger

Perfumer: Sidonie Lancesseur

The Materie Premiere collection. 

A soft, bitter-sweet tonka and cooling lavender blend. Marie Jeanne’s beautiful vision of a 21^st century fougere.

AER translates to air and is pronounced "air-r".

Cool coastal breeze in a bottle. This uplifting niche perfume offers an initial hit of cool aromatics, crisp and light on the skin. A slight wood-smokiness unfolds, dry and elegant, bringing you gently back down to earth.

From LO’s Parfum Intense collection, this is an amber with the darkness turned up to 11. There’s no white space here, just expensive raw materials piled high. Its vibrant opening with fruity notes is enriched by the bitterness of coffee, deepening into a powerful chorus of rose, iris, jasmine and lily of the valley. And this valley is a deep one, a soft black expanse of leather, nagarmotha and patchouli, cushioned by a dirtier-than-usual amber.