Maison Francis Kurkdijan fragrances are the hot thing on the fragrance block right now it seems?! I cannot scroll a fragrance account or a fragrance article without seeing the Maison Francis Kurkdijan Baccarat Rouge 540
I have a few of his stunning scents in my collection and wanted to talk about two of the more interesting and less-talked about Maison Francis Kurkdijan fragrances : The morning and the evening scents. I have the old packaging and the name has changed ever-so-slightly on these fragrances : The ‘Pour Le Matin’ is now called ‘Petit Matin’ and the ‘Pour Le Soir’ is now called ‘Grand Soir’. I have the oversized 200ml bottles in both. They also come in the smaller 70ml sizes (£165) with the 200ml costing £295.
Both these fragrances are really gorgeous and as expected : one has been created to wear in the morning, and one in the evening. The Maison Francis Kurkdijan Petit Matin is fresh and vibrant. The Maison Francis Kurkdijan Grand Soir is richer, sweeter and heavier. So let’s have a quick overview of both of this wonderful and wildly different scents.
About Francis Kurkdijan.
I love to know the backstory and history of fragrance houses : here is a little about the man behind the brand, Francis Kurkdijan. He is is a French perfumer and businessman of Armenian descent. He has been a perfumer since 1985 and over this time he has created some of the most famous fragrances for various brands. He is known for creating the men’s fragrance Le Male for Jean Paul Gaultier in 1995, which has become one of the world’s best-selling perfumes. He has since created an additional 40 fragrances for major companies worldwide, including Elie Saab Le Parfum for Elie Saab; My Burberry for Burberry; L’extase for Nina Ricci; and Narciso Rodriguez for Her for Narciso Rodriguez, Green Tea for Elizabeth Arden.
Francis Kurkdjian co-founded the luxury fragrance house Maison Francis Kurkdjian in 2009 with Lebanese-French businessman and former Ernst & Young partner Marc Chaya, which has become a major niche brand in the fragrance industry. It continues to grow and is sold across the world in the best stores and boutiques. Francis Kurkdijan has won a huge amount of awards in the fragrance industry and in 2021 was appointed as creative director of perfume for Christian Dior.
Maison Francis Kurkdijan Petit Matin (formerly Pour Le Matin)
This is as expected from the name : uplifting, fresh and energetic. It’s one I love to reach for when I just want something easy and light. This is also unisex and smells incredible on all! This is inspired by first light and early morning in Paris, rising at dawn and walking through the quiet streets and arcades with the slow noise of awakening around the city. It is a luminous citrus floral fragrance : vibrant and fresh.
It contains notes of Lavender, lemon, orange blossom, exotic verbena, musk and hawthorn. I’ll explore a little more on notes below.
LAVENDER : Lavandula X Intermedia is a hybrid cross between fine lavender and lavender aspic, which provides better yields. Steam distillation produces an aromatic, fresh, herbaceous, camphorated and aniseed oil.
EXOTIC VERBENA : Also known as Litsea Cubeba, this evergreen plant can reach over ten meters and grows in tropical areas of Asia. The small green fruits is produces are distilled to obtain a fresh and delicate oil: similar to verbena and lemongrass.
MUSK: This used to be extracted from Tibetan musk deers which has been banned in perfumery since 1973. Now perfumers use synthetic molecules to replace this scent. It is a wonderful and robust base note for a lot of perfumes.
HAWTHORN : A distant cousin of the rose, this thorny shrub is very fragrant in spring. Francis Kurkdjian combines sweet, flowery, slightly honeyed notes with almond accents that express themselves in the heart of the perfume.
LEMON (from Italy) : A fresh and joyful fragrance, with green, zesty, rising top notes.
ORANGE BLOSSOM : One of my favourite notes in perfumes, I LOVE orange blossom! The absolute is used for middle and base notes, with solar floral overtones, in turn fresh or heady, honeyed and animalic. Neroli oil has much more citrusy and green floral inflections, used in the top and heart notes of a fragrance.
This combination of oils and extracts is really beautiful. I actually don’t *love* very citrus / lemon-based fragrances but this is an absolute exception because of the intricate blend of accompanying notes. The orange blossom makes it soft (one of my favourite notes!) and the musk gives it a bit of sexiness and depth. It’s a truly beautiful fragrance.
SHOP Maison Francis Kurkdijan Petit Matin HERE.
Maison Francis Kurkdijan Grand Soir (formely Pour Le Soir)
This is such a SEXY and sensual fragrance. Again, I think this can be amazing on both men and women. It’s Parisian, smoky bars and late unexpected nights. Grand Soir Maison Francis Kurkdjian is a sparkling amber perfume that invites you to Lose yourself in an endless night and enjoy the never ending brilliance of an evening in Paris when bridges and monuments glow as though lit with a thousand lights.
It contains notes of Tonka Bean, Vanilla Amber Accord and Benzoin. I’ll explore a little more on these notes below.
TONKA BEAN : (from Brazil & Venezuela) The tonka beans are dried into a kernel /black bean. It gradually develops its flavors : gourmand, powdery, almondy, slightly honeyed and smoked.
VANILLA AMBER ACCORD : This combines two main ingredients : cistus labdanum (warm, resinous, animal facets) and vanillin (a sweet aromatic compound, the primary component of vanilla). The heady combination of these two warm and persistent notes has been considered to form the ‘amber accord’.
BENZOIN : The resin of Styrax tonkinsesis is obtained by cutting the trunk of the tree, and ‘the tears’ are collected which are a whitish liquid that turns amber-yellow as it solidifies. The smell of benzoin is multi-faceted: sweet vanilla, with a gourmand caramel effect, honeyed, syrupy.
These main notes combined are a dream, hazy and heady combination. Honestly it’s stunning and I’m so glad I’ve re-aquainted myself with this fragrance. It’s delicious and it has that musky sweetness too , but not overpowering. It literally melts onto the skin and develops beautifully over time on the skin. It’s warm, it’s comforting and it’s a true stunner of a fragrance.
Shop the Maison Francis Kurkdijan Grand Soir HERE.
Maison Francis Kurkdijan Price : Are they worth it?
This is a distinguished and luxury brand. Of course they are worth the price, but of course they are not for everyone. It’s definitely a niche brand – bordering now into a little more well-known (thanks Baccarat Rouge) but for the most part, these scents are very unique and undiscovered by many. The packaging is beautiful, they come in beautiful boxes and the perfume bottles are hefty, luxe and formidable.
Maison Francis Kurkdijan Baccarat Rouge 540
The *MOST* talked-about and converted fragrance from this fragrance house. EVERYONE has been falling over themselves over this the last year or two and I feel like it’s hit that ‘very popular’ aka slightly dangerous fragrance territory for the niche lovers. Ya know Tom ford Black Orchid?! I hate to say *common* as that’s not the word to describe a near-£300 perfume and does a disservice to the incredible Maison Francis Kurkdijan but you get the gist. As my dear friend said (in London) ‘Every f*cker on the tube is wearing it’. LOL. I am very intrigued by it as so many people are saying it’s one of the best fragrances ever but I am yet to smell it ! I need to find a shop that sells the range but I fear leaving in deep Somerset, this may be an arduous task.
Maison Francis Kurkdijan Baccarat Rouge 540 has notes of jasmine, saffron, amberwood, cedar and resin.
I am re-exploring my love for Maison Francis Kurkdijan and I’m so glad I have dig up these gorgeous scents. Morning and evening, light and dark, fresh and sensual : a perfect pairing and of course you absolutely need both. You can shop Maison Francis Kurkdijan online at Selfridges (my fave) and a few other places. For physical stores its going to be the big / glossy department stores in the bigger cities : Selfridges, Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
Talk to me all things Maison Francis Kurkdijan ! Are you a fan, have you tried the infamous Baccarat Rouge 540? Are there any other fragrances I need to try?!
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