Dries Van Noten par Frederic Malle 
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle (2013)

An exceptional gourmand. It smells like a combination of fresh pastries, vanilla bean, high-quality sandalwood oil, and a spicy component presumably from the clove, nutmeg, and maybe saffron. The sweetness tones down on my skin very gradually over time while a slightly animalic musk creeps in. I have a tough time with vanilla-centric perfumes and gourmands in general, but this really works for me. I think it is the way it wears on my skin. Many gourmands have a thickness to them that I find cloying over time. Dries Van Noten avoids this, creating a nice airy scent cloud. It also does not smell like any particular food per se, which is a good thing in my book. Though it is hard to describe without mentioning the foody components, it is blended very well and those components are unified into something that is as addicting as it is hard to pin down. Performance is great. It sticks to clothing for days, but as mentioned, I do not find it cloying in the least bit. It is office appropriate and unisex. A great fragrance. 9/10.

What a gourmand bomb this is.

Warm milk, biscuits, lots of vanilla, sandalwood, balm and a little bit of patchouli.
Creamy, rich, cozy, thick, sweet, comfortable, sticky and sweet.

It smells of biscuits and warm milk. It is incredibly creamy and edible.
They have announced that DVN is going to be discontinued, so this looks like that DVN will be the first Frederic Malle to be discontinued.
Since it has been on my wish list for a long time, this information made me buy it immediately because I do not want to miss this masterpiece by Bruno Jovanović.

I’m not sure that there is better gourmand sandalwood than Dries Van Noten!

It smells like luxury.

A luxurious rendition of a - to me - very spicy woody gently gourmand perfume, without any of the crass maltol can bring. I love the arguments about the quality of Malle's collection being lessened by the partnership with Lauder, personally I thought it was a clever move to protect his brand from the ravages of the perfume sensors, in hope for the industry lobbying successfully at some stage to protect it self from them, and the bleak future of niche luxury perfumery, the David & Goliath fight may not end up in this arena in quite the same way as in the biblical allegory, the rising cost of ingredients both natural and synthetic is never ending for various reasons and the availability to smaller houses also more challenging every year, and now Covid exasperating those issues and footfall challenges have to make you wonder how many small houses are already in line for the chopping block.
So is there Mysore sandalo in here? my bottle is ancient as it was purchased on launch, so yes I would trust that it has, do the newer (dear I mention the dreaded B word) batches post Lauder? well considering the ethical difficulties now entwined with the glorious Indian wood I would imagine that they may have had to go a to a different country to secure it as many other houses have done too, and I also feel certain it has nothing to do with bottom line profit but ethical and responsible sourcing, so all the doubters and conspiracy theorists please take off the tin hats, sadly life is much duller and logical than is sometimes imagined! The quality of the E.D.P. collection remains outstanding - within the censorship parameters.
Anyway this is simply perfect for a chilly English autumn Sunday, cosy, warm and glam, and now pouring a glass of Glen Garioch to go with...

An adult gourmand-woody, with the emphasis on the sweet wood notes. There is a definite confectionary aspect due to ethyl maltose, but it is a little abstract and gradually subsides. The woody notes are an amalgamation of sandalwood (not Mysore), guaiac wood, patchouli fused together with vanilla. There is a creamy (but not Mysore sandalwood creamy), milky aspect that's persistent throughout. Opening note of saffron with touches of other indiscernible spices provide an interesting counterpoint to the ethyl maltose, and the woods/vanilla accord that develops later. There is a bit of development in the first one or two hours, and thereafter it is linear, with an accord of sandalwood, guaiac wood and vanilla. This dry-down is warm, cosy and comforting. It is reasonably diffusive on skin with adequate sillage, and excellent duration at over eight hours. I find the dry-down to be a tad unexciting at times, which more of a reflection of my personal taste. It reminds me of Jeux de Peau and Petits Papiers in passing, and the sweet gourmand aspects in Music for a While released later are vaguely similar. Fans of Angel / Angel Men might also find much to love here. A very refined essay on the gourmand-woods genre (with the focus eventually on the woods) that doesn't push boundaries, but the quality and execution are top notch.


4/5