Perfume-MDCI Parfums-Vepres Siciliennes

I’m really impressed by Vepres Siciliennes by MDCI Parfums (despite of the question why MDCI picked such a name for this fragrance, which has been bugging me a lot, you can check out the history of Vepres Siciliennes). Even though it is categorised as a chypre fruity perfume, it smells more like a sophisticated floral to my nose.

The beginning is really promising sweet orange-y type of citrusy mixed with juice ripe peach. I know this will be a short-lived opening, which is like a wonderful trailer that sets the tone and makes me want to smell the perfume from the beginning to the very end.

As the fruity accord gradually becomes less dominant, a well blended, tuberose-dominant flower bouquet is what I can smell for quiet a good long time. The tuberose has its soul, but not as aggressive or intensive, somehow a really floral aspect of jasmine comes and goes, which lightens up the scent from time to time, while a rather syrupy, raspberry-jam-y rosey accord mixed with some mouth-watering plum-ness keeps the warmth and sensuality of Vepres Siciliennes. I saw coconut listed as one of the notes in this perfume, however, I can smell none, but there is this overall creamy factor of this scent which makes it quite cosy in a way.

After a while, I can smell the osmanthus note! This is a rather miracle surprise to me because most of the perfumes claiming have osmanthus in the notes don’t smell of this delicate flower at all. The osmanthus here leans towards a rather peach-y sweet end, while the rest of the perfume anchors the osmanthus down with tuberoses and other flowers. This is like a duet, there is brilliant breezy freshness as well as the more grounded, sensual, deeper aspect of the scent, all coming together at a quite harmonically blended concoction.

Towards the dry down, I find the tuberose/jasmine-y accord is a bit too dominant for my liking (mind you, I’m a self-claimed white flower hater), yet I still find this perfume nice.

If you love Chinatown by Bond No.9, you might love this one too. To me, if Chinatown is the dark, woody, mysterious gardenia-y perfume to wear with a little black dress at night, Vepres Siciliennes is the day-time, more floral match of Chinatown and can be versatile enough to be worn from a mundane workday to a fancy brunch if you are a floral fan who likes the flowers to be unapologetic. Apply with a light hand, it works magic.