- Parfums de Marly is a brand that gets a lot of love
in the comments section of my other fragrance videos.
It's a brand that really seems to have a huge following
and to be honest, it's a brand that I had not been
super familiar with.
So I have been getting familiar with them and in this video,
we're gonna talk about the top five most popular fragrances
from Parfums de Marly and yes, I'm Brian Sacawa
and you're watching HeSpokeStyle.
(lo-fi hip hop)
Before we get into each individual fragrance,
let's take a quick look at the history of the brand.
Now, Parfums de Marly is a rather new brand,
it was founded in 2009 by Julien Sprecher.
His father actually was a representative for Guerlain,
so that is obviously where his love of fragrance came from.
He worked with his family business for a while,
which was a distributor of fragrance in Asia
and the Middle East, before breaking out on his own
and starting Parfums de Marly.
Fragrance is an incredibly evocative art
and all of the Parfums de Marly fragrances are inspired
by France in the 18th century,
particularly the times of Louis XV, who actually appointed
the very first royal parfumier.
Parfums de Marly also pays homage
to the tradition of horse racing, which was
one of Louis XV's favorite pastimes
and each fragrance is actually a tribute to the character
of one of the horse breeds that were popular
at the French court.
If you can imagine back to that time
and think what it would be like to live
in a royal court like that, you really start to get an idea
of what these fragrances smell like.
They're rich, they're complex, they're elegant, opulent,
I'm running out of synonyms but I think you get the picture.
They're also quite unmistakable and highly complimented.
Now let's get into the five most popular fragrances
from Parfums de Marly.
Up first we have Layton, now for a brand that started
in 2009, it might seem weird to call
one of their fragrances a classic but dare I say that
Layton is a, let's call it a modern classic.
I can't remember what particular video it was that I did
but I distinctly remember tons of people leaving this
as a recommendation down in the comments.
This was a blind buy for me and I have not regretted it.
Let's get to the notes:
top notes are apple and bergamot,
heart notes: jasmine and violet
and base notes are vanilla and pepper.
This is such an interesting fragrance,
especially the way that it transforms over time.
Now a lot of fragrances do take on different qualities
as they dry down but this one just kind of takes you
on a deeper journey.
You think it's gonna be one thing to start
and then it changes into something completely different.
Right off the bat, it seems like it's gonna be more
in that citrus-y realm, the bergamot's there,
it's sharp and you get a hint of sweetness of the apple.
Don't let the heart notes fool you
because this is not floral but then when it dries down
you have this wonderful dichotomy and contrast
between the roundness and elegance of the vanilla
and the sharpness of the pepper.
It's really quite brilliant
and just makes for an exceptional fragrance.
It's very powerful, very long lasting
and an absolute compliment getter.
Up next is Sedley, rather new, introduced in 2019.
I would say that in general Parfums de Marly fragrances
tend to be on the heavier side
but this one is quite different.
It's a citrus-y fragrance that does surprise you
with a little bit of a twist at the end
but let's get to the notes first.
Top notes are bergamot, spearmint and watery accord.
Heart notes are geranium and lavender
and base notes: sandalwood and vulcain incense.
So when you first spray this, you think,
"okay, another citrus fragrance, I understand it,
"nothing fancy," but it is pretty fancy
because just like Layton, and I would also say
every Parfums de Marly fragrance, you get taken
on a journey as this dries down
and the most interesting thing, well there are actually
two interesting things but the first is
the way this transforms from a straight up citrus fragrance
to something kind of woody and slightly smoky
but it doesn't have a deep smoky scent.
What it really reminds me of is
when Robin and I went to Tulum, in the jungle they'd burn
these bunches of something or other,
I believe it was called copal, to keep the bugs away,
that's what this smell reminds me of.
Pretty interesting to go from citrus to that.
Now the other thing I find really interesting
about Sedley is that as a citrus fragrance,
you wouldn't expect it to be very long lasting
but it lasts much longer than your typical citrus fragrance.
It's also a little more mild mannered
than the other Parfums de Marly fragrances,
I would say it has about a moderate projection.
Next up we have Pegasus, which I would say is
kind of like a cousin to Layton and I will also say
that I apologize for the B-roll of this one,
it's a mirror-finish bottle,
which is very, very hard to shoot.
So this one definitely is worth putting
side to side with Layton and comparing and contrasting
but before we do, let's list off the notes.
Top notes are cypress and violet leaf.
Heart notes of lavender and jasmine
and base notes are amber and vanilla.
First spray, you definitely get a big zing,
thanks to the cypress but then that really dissipates
as this dries down.
Now what you're left with is something that's very round,
slightly, and I do mean slightly, floral
and really just rich and elegant.
With the Layton dry down, you still get that punch
because of the pepper but that is not present at all
with the vanilla and amber of Pegasus.
They're similar in terms of like,
when and where I would wear them,
like, a really elegant evening event
but the one I would choose would really depend on my mood.
Layton, overall I feel is sort of more overtly masculine,
where Pegasus really has more of an overall subtlety
and elegance to it.
Still very long lasting, still great projection,
and listen, there's no wrong answer
when it comes to choosing between Pegasus or Layton.
Next, another extremely elegant fragrance, this is Herod.
Now what's striking to me about all these fragrances
is that you can instantly tell
that they are Parfums de Marly.
They have the same DNA but they're all so unique
but still recognizable as that brand.
Herod is consistently cited as a favorite by many
for a signature evening fragrance and smelling this,
you can really tell why.
Top notes here are cinnamon and pepper,
heart notes, tobacco leaf and incense
and base notes are vanilla and musk.
This fragrance is super sexy
and it's really interesting to me
because it's not like, huge projection, cloud in the room,
in your face but it just sort of seeps into you
and really sort of becomes a part of your skin
and you just have this beautiful aura around you.
I think with a tuxedo, if you put two sprays of this
on your chest, people wouldn't know what hit them,
it's that good.
So the balance between the smoothness of the vanilla
and the musk with the pepper, again, it's great
and you really do pick up that note of tobacco
as this dries down.
Finally, we have Kalan, which is really geared towards
the niche fragrance connoisseur.
If you don't have a developed nose, actually even if you do
have a developed nose, this one is a bit strange.
Although maybe intriguing is a better word.
I think the notes will help me tell the story here.
Top notes are blood orange and black pepper,
heart notes, lavender, solar notes
and orange blossom absolute
and finishing off with the base notes, we have moss
and precious wood.
Really interesting mix of scents here,
the most prominent I would say being moss.
You really have to like kind of green and vegetal,
is that a word?
Fragrances to enjoy this one.
Up front with the first spray, you do get hit
with a really nice blood orange and then that mix of pepper
but then it really kind of melts into that mossy,
wet, forest floor aroma.
I'm gonna say that this is not going to be for everyone
but again, if you are a connoisseur of niche fragrances,
this is a must smell.
Links to the Parfums de Marly website, as well as
each fragrance I reviewed in this video,
down below in the description.
Now let me know about your experience with Parfums de Marly
in the comments, love to hear your thoughts.
Thumbs up, subscribe and hit the bell.
That's all for now and until next time,
thanks for watching and stay tailored.
(clearing throat)
I wanted them all to be kind of like, dark and stuff
and so I started shooting the solid bottles
and I was like yeah, they look great
and then I got to the mirrored ones and I was like oof.