‘Ever since I was a teenager, I have been fascinated by the perfumes of sophisticated people from the Middle East whom I happened to meet in London, Paris or the South of France. Years later, when I was training to become a perfumer, I heard about Monsieur Martin and his ‘oriental perfumes’ for the first time and was convinced that he was referring to the same irresistible scents worn by women from distant lands.
I was mistaken. Perfumes commonly referred to as ‘oriental’ are in fact nothing more than free interpretations of the Orient created by French perfumers since the beginning of the 20th century. In this era of globalisation, however, I believe it is time for a more accurate representation of the Orient. This is precisely the core message of our latest project.
My desire to find authentic oriental fragrances led me to make numerous trips to the Middle East over the years and to open one of my Editions de Parfums stores in Dubai. Dominique Ropion and I met last year in this vibrant Arabian gem of a city to continue our projects, hoping to find inspiration for our new collaboration. After returning from Dubai, we made a few attempts to translate the ideas we had gathered on our trip into reality: our goal was to unravel the exotic beauty of the Orient, note by note.
‘The Night’ is Dominique's first fragrance creation for Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, and it speaks the language of a Middle Eastern perfume. In this part of the world, the word ‘night’ means much more than just a time of coolness in the desert: it is also the time of love and the time of the stars that are part of the Milky Way. ‘The Night’ is a naturally scented world unto itself.
Unlike oud perfumes, which at best contain a trace of this precious raw material, if any, ‘The Night’ is built on an incomparably large proportion of Indian oud, which Dominique has combined with a generous amount of Turkish rose and ambergris. ‘The Night’ is undoubtedly the most precious perfume in the world.
Without question, ‘The Night’ is the perfume with the highest amount of natural oud raw material and was created by Monsieur Ropion in keeping with his exceptional sophistication and extensive technical expertise. As is customary with Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, the retail price of this fragrance is commensurate with its cost. It is an accurate reflection of the incomparable richness of ‘The Night’. Frédéric Malle
Desert Gems Collection
The Desert Gems Collection was inspired by the sacred status of perfumes in the Middle East. It began with the Prophet Mohammed, who wore perfume himself and considered perfuming an essential part of the cleansing ritual before prayer. The times of day have religious and symbolic meanings in Arabic, which have influenced many of the names in the collection. ‘The Night’ and ‘Promise’ were created by Dominique Ropion, ‘Dawn’ by Carlos Benaïm.
