Maison Margiela is a French fashion house founded in Paris in 1988 by Belgian designer Martin Marginal. Both masculine and feminine, oftentimes fusing the two genders, the brand’s universe can be described as conceptual and enigmatic, mysterious and iconoclast. Today, the House is recognized internationally for its unique approach to modern elegance.
Maison Margiela ventured in the world of perfume with great success, with the brilliant and understated Untitled in 2010, Maison Margiela followed up with the Replica line of fragrances in 2012. These are fragrances based on memories of specific places or events:
Marked with its provenance and period, each fragrance recreates moments and olfactive memories, triggering images that echo the collective unconscious as well as our own personal history.
I LOVE this idea so much. The connection between scent and memory is undeniable and strong. One whiff of something familiar can take us on a journey into the past. I can gauge my earliest memory by perfume, the first one I remember was on my mother’s dresser. Even thinking about takes me back to being very small, standing on tip toe, straining to see all the magical things on that dresser.
I received a couple bottles, Replica Flower Market and Funfair Evening, for review. My daughter loved Funfair Evening and it smelled sweet and pretty on her, so I gave it to her. I fell in love with Flower Market on first sniff. The “Provenance and Period” of Flower Market is Paris, 2011, and the “Fragrance Description” is “crisp, petal freshness”, which sounds quite enticing and perfect to me. The bottles have an apothecary look to them, with pure cotton labels that mirror the tags on the Replica fashion line. Even the cotton string tied around the neck of the cap is an ode to the fashion house. They don’t have caps, which is fine with me. I love the cool and simple modern look of these bottles, and they look lovely on the dressing table.
Flower Market is very me, in that it’s a soft gentle floral with a very clean and pretty aura. When I smell it with my eyes closed it sort of makes me think of a beautiful and expensive French floral soap, or perhaps a bath sprinkled with flower petals. The notes:
crushed leaves, freesia, sambac jasmine, jasmine infusion, tuberose infusion, rose from Grasse, peach, cedarwood, oak moss
Oooh how I love freesia! Freesia is a lovely delicate flower and to my nose, it’s fragrance reminds me of pretty soap and shampoo, and I mean that in the loveliest way. The freesia sets the mood in Flower Market, with the green leaves and mossy notes keeping things earthy. The jasmine, tuberose and peach combine to create a sweet, dewy Juicy Fruit vibe. No – this perfume does not smell like soap and Juicy Fruit, but when you’re like me, your crazy nose and brain picks out little things like this.
The best part of Flower Market is that it’s what I call a Happy Perfume. It’s so simply lovely that it just makes me feel good to wear. Now, here is where it gets interesting. Maison Margiela Replica put out two layering products to wear with these perfumes, called Filters. Layering perfumes isn’t really new, but this concept certainly is. A multipurpose product that can be mixed and matched with the entire line, or even worn on it’s on if you’re feel delicate and soft. They are a soft perfumed dry oil, meant to be applied before you put on your perfume. I received Blur, which is described as:
The Blur Filter softens and envelops olfactive memories with a delicate, ethereal embrace. The softness of cotton and the gentle caress of white musk and gray amber accords blend effortlessly with the ‘REPLICA’ fragrance collection, creating a calm and intimate perspective.
Honestly you had me at cotton and gentle caress of white musk. Swoon! It is so soft and lovely, I’m afraid I may have become addicted to this loveliness. I wear Blur with my Flower Market, or on it’s own, and it smells simply beautiful. The clean and gentle vibe of Blur emphasises the soft clean aspect of Flower Market perfectly. There is a hint of warmth from the amber that changes Flower Market from being all flowers to flowers and warm skin.
I love most of the Replica scents I’ve tried, but somehow I have not managed to sniff Lazy Sunday Morning which sounds like it was made for me:
Close your eyes and let the fragrance transport you to the lazy memory of soft, sunlit warmth. You roll over to feel the delicate summer softness of cotton sheets and silky smooth skin. Breathe in the reassuring scent of fresh laundry from the line and feel completely at peace
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