Music For a While
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle (2018)

Music for a While is the fruity gourmand in the range. It is part quirky, innovative - especially the opening, with a smooth and seamless dry down. It does feel a bit discordant for the opening ten to twenty minutes, with the sugary pineapple and lavender jostling for attention with patchouli; the pineapple recedes quietly as the lavender shines - a sweet, smooth variety, and grows subtle over a few hours as it meshes into the dry down of patchouli, vanilla and fruity notes. Stylistically it reminds me of perfumes like Angel, A* Men, and even Le Male. On my skin it has moderate sillage, though it lasts over eight hours, and has fantastic longevity on clothing.

Most of the mixed reaction to Music for a While seems to be about the opening. I would definitely suggest fans of this style to suspend judgement, and invest just half an hour more. The rest of it is very approachable, and the fragrance overall is more versatile than it would appear. It took me wearing through a 10 ml travel spray to form a proper assessment of it. I admire how the sweet notes are carefully balanced with the lavender and patchouli, quite obvious yet quite refined - as one would come to expect from this brand.

Malle's perfumes are often accused of being cold and clinical, lacking in warmth, as opposed to things like classic Guerlains or Serge Lutens. Music for a While is noteworthy as it is anything but the stereotypical Malle in that regards, and has the all cordiality of a warm and loving hug. One could be forgiven for thinking of it as an unreleased Lutens in a blind sniffing test. While I find it elegant and casual, this can be easily dressed up or down by all genders. And it's fun!

Did I say that I think it is a smashing fragrance?


4/5

Lavender, fruity cocktail, anise, patchouly. Very good performance and a whole ton of compliments. This is very polarising, you are tempted to loathe it at first, but then you'll start to perceive it very differently

The opening blast combines a bight and somewhat crisp patchouli with a spicy pineapple impression. The patchouli carries brief undertones of citrus, is a bit peppery but lacks any harshness, and the pineapple is a bit excessive in a mundane laboratory-feel that reminds me of butyric-acid at times; both together create an impression that has an unusual and quite original touch. Soon a pleasant lavender arrives and merges with the rest quite seamlessly; it adds a green-ish touch.

Whilst the mix was not sweet so far, the addition of a vanilla-caramel dyad sweetens it considerably, and later it transiently becomes rather sugary. The sweetness is reduced with time, and morphs into a fruitcake-like note later on.

I get moderate sillage, good projection, and 5 hours of longevity on my skin.

A interesting and quirky, bright scent for cooler summer days, which has some unexpected features - I mean that in a positive scents - yet there a some times where it is rather generic and overly synthetic. A mixed impression, but not boring. 2.75/5

Lavender, pineapple, patchouly...interesting concept, but the result is a quite boring and somewhat incomplete scent... not a great perfomance!

After a basic first try I am changing my mind...I like after initial blast, then scents shift and it's less intense. Think this one will take some time to decide. The blend does change flawlessly from form to form, orchestrated rather than lurching.Wore it again today around the house (COVID). The longevity is amazing, and I don't find either the notes or drydown at all discordant; just unexpected. I am only a perfume fan, and wear what smells interesting and good to me. At this price point, i won't be buying it, but it was a fun fling! Am liking it more as I try it.

I absolutely love the pineapple note. However, I am one of the few that can't stand lavender.
I wore this multiple times and loved it until the lavender showed it's face.
Fantastic scent and construction, thus the reason for the thumbs up. Just not for me.