Year: 2000
Notes: white lilac, cucumber, fig, rain accord, orange leaf, wheat
En Passant is a delicate olfactory essay on the dewiness of white lilacs after the rain.
With a minimalist structure, it exudes a vividly damp and bitter green simplicity throughout. As a top note, the white lilac immediately bequeaths a faint floral sweetness, before both the cucumber and fig add an additional verdancy. The fig isn't as prominent but one does detect a decaying vegetal aroma, during this stage, primarily from the cucumber (in a very similar vein to Fresh's Cucumber Baie).
As it further evolves, it morphs from an abstract floral evocation of innocence into something more melancholic, aloof and detached, courtesy of an aquatic note. And when combined with the wheat, which possesses a faint doughiness that's reminiscent of L'Artisan's Bois Farine, the composition suddenly comes across as waxy and synthetic. From here onwards, its demeanour changes to that of a bona fide floral-aquatic.
Now smelling akin to a murky floral room freshener one minute, and a slightly peppery Issey Miyake flanker the next, En Passant's drydown fails to uphold that initial charm and structurally falls apart. Furthermore, although its performance is understated, it's still weak for an Eau de Toilette – barely lasting beyond two hours.
Composed by Olivia Giacobetti, there are numerous Frédéric Malle releases worth investing in, but En Passant unfortunately isn't one of them.
With a minimalist structure, it exudes a vividly damp and bitter green simplicity throughout. As a top note, the white lilac immediately bequeaths a faint floral sweetness, before both the cucumber and fig add an additional verdancy. The fig isn't as prominent but one does detect a decaying vegetal aroma, during this stage, primarily from the cucumber (in a very similar vein to Fresh's Cucumber Baie).
As it further evolves, it morphs from an abstract floral evocation of innocence into something more melancholic, aloof and detached, courtesy of an aquatic note. And when combined with the wheat, which possesses a faint doughiness that's reminiscent of L'Artisan's Bois Farine, the composition suddenly comes across as waxy and synthetic. From here onwards, its demeanour changes to that of a bona fide floral-aquatic.
Now smelling akin to a murky floral room freshener one minute, and a slightly peppery Issey Miyake flanker the next, En Passant's drydown fails to uphold that initial charm and structurally falls apart. Furthermore, although its performance is understated, it's still weak for an Eau de Toilette – barely lasting beyond two hours.
Composed by Olivia Giacobetti, there are numerous Frédéric Malle releases worth investing in, but En Passant unfortunately isn't one of them.
