Maison Francis Kurkdjian - Masculin Pluriel

Picture: "The Dandy king",
Joachim Murat (1767-1815),  King of Naples etc
Portrait by Francois Gérard (1770-1837)

Masculin Pluriel created by one of my favorite perfumers Francis Kurkdjian for his own house, is the masculine counterpart to one of the very best feminine perfumes of 2014 Féminin Pluriel. Just as the latter, Kurkdjian in Masculin Pluriel interprets a classical theme in a contemporary setting but still retains the timeless expression of the fragrance.

Masculin Pluriel starts with a beautiful note of lavender on a light, woody background. The lavendernote is the featured note during the rest of the dry down and it shows off a bit different at different stages, influenced by the surrounding and supporting notes. Masculin Pluriel is truly aromatic, lighter in the begining and darker in the later stages. The woody notes never get sharp or chemical and interacting with the herbal notes, the fragrance explore both dark and light accords, bitter and even if an overall non-sweet fragrance, there are some sweet elements, I can smell some woody vanilla, the vanillic note coming from wood, in the middle of the fragrance. There is also a very light, smoky element present in the fragrance but it's almost not detectable as smoke, there is absolutely nothing sharp or offending about it. The patchouli in the base are dark and desert-dry, like dried patchoulileaves, no moisty texture but anyway it lends a slight earthy impression to the mix. The patchouli blends perfectly and highlighting the deep and dark facets of the lavender, here the lavender reminds me partly of the lavendernote of Vero Profumo Kiki Extrait. There is something, the bitter, slight smoky impression, in Masculin Pluriel that reminds me of  the new By Kilian "extreme" Smoke for the Soul where Masculin Pluriel is the polished, elegant and wearable one. I read on Fragrantica that the fragrance trend for the coming years are woodsy and piny notes, as for example birch and likely  there is room for woody-aromatic fragrances in this trend which Masculi Pluriel and Smoke for the Soul could be some of the forerunners to. Another fragrance that comes to my mind testing Masculin Pluriel is the classic Aramis Tuscany (vintage) even if that one is bold and big compared to the former.

Picture: Masculin Pluriel
Photo: PR Maison Francis Kurkdjian (c)

Masculin Pluriel is an elegant, understated, very wearable choice for daytime officewear. There is something dandy-ish over the whole composition. The longevity is very good, for over a day and the fragrance is suitable for every season except the warmest summermonths. As Masculin Pluriel is a very well constructed and easy to wear fragrance, it should have been included in my best of 2014 list if I had tested it properly on myself and on Mr Parfumista before year end.

Rating: 5

Notes: Lavender, cedar, patchouli, vetiver, leather, woody notes