French niche line Frédéric Malle will launch Uncut Gem, a new fragrance from perfumer Maurice Roucel.
“It’s the kind of man which we never had — more rugged, more extreme, more manly,” Malle said of the scent, which goes against the grain of men’s fragrances today and tends to skew toward the feminine.
“We always begin from the scent itself. We never have a marketing idea,” he continued.
Malle had long adored how Roucel smelled — of something he had created for himself. It took a lot of coaxing, but ultimately Roucel agreed to use that juice as a base and extend it with more complexity and richness for Malle.
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There was something not only cool, technically – especially that mad overdose of ambrocenide – but completely irresistible,” says Malle. “With a lot of fresh naturals, and musk, it was not only magnetic, but chic.” Clear spicy top notes of ginger, bergamot, mandarin, angelica root and nutmeg lead you to the fire within: a leathery accord, vetiver, frankincense, generous amounts of amber, and a musk that vibrates with the skin. A muscular corollary, in a sense, to the classic Musc Ravageur.
The result is both straightforward and enigmatic: raw sex appeal gives way to a lingering subtlety. The result somehow renders the smell of skin deeper, warmer, cleaner. Uncut Gem is a study in contrasts. It’s rugged and sensitive, classic and fresh, first impression and haunting echo.
Frédéric Malle Uncut Gem will debut in September. I will update with sizes when I can.
(first quote via statusmarkets.in, second quote via fichier-pdf.fr, additional information via wwd, hat tip to Coumarin!)
Update: Frédéric Malle Uncut Gem is available in 10, 50 and 100 ml.
I’m shaking, can’t wait for this! The third by Roucel for Malle, promising. This also makes me think of Musc Panache by Roucel for Maison Rebatchi. For sure sweeter than this one, but very good! Check out Roucel’s own words to this on YouTube,interesting.
Thanks, have not heard of Maison Rebatchi.
Sounds intriguing, looking forward to sniffing, even though it is apparently a masculine.
I think so as well. I like a number of the notes listed.
Doesn’t sound like it will be all that masculine? We’ll see.
I’d like to try this.
I’m sure it will eventually be easy to find.
I think we’re certainly going back to sex with this ad! 🤣
Seriously.
Here I am with my curls and lip gloss and red toenails and sundress, wanting to smell like “the kind of man which we never had — more rugged, more extreme, more manly…”
Malle seems to always be coaxing someone!
A bit less interested to hear this is masculine -leaning but I will eagerly try it.
Hey Coumarin, did you get a chance to try Uncut Gem? I tried a sample of it, went back to this post and saw your comment. I’m not a big fan – something in the base is just too much. The ambroxan, perhaps?
yum!
If Tom Ford released a fragrance all about ‘raw sex appeal’, used a picture of a mans crotch in the ad & called the fragrance ‘Uncut Gem’ people would be complaining about his childish sexual double entendres ! LOL
Well, we did have Marc Jacobs with his perfume Bang. He posed nude with a BIG bottle of Bang over his privates. The perfume wasn’t half bad. But the ad…?
I have a good friend who works at Estée Lauder head office & apparently in the office they referred to this one as ‘Uncut c**k’ – not sure that name would have driven sales !
I managed to snag a small sample of this, and at first wearing it reminds me a lot of Bel Ami — and maybe Noir Epices in the opening? The oud reminds me of TF Oud Fleur, which might not be that close a comparison, but I’m not a big fan of oud, so I may not have a wide enough basis for comparison.
Is it going to make me more rugged, extreme, or manly? Probably not for me to say.