Frederic Malle Contre-Jour review – Annick Menardo; 2026 –

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For years, the arrival of a Frederic Malle perfume has been a cue for a total nerd-fest. But the brand’s latest release, Contre-Jour, pushes the opportunities for geekery to greater extremes, urging us to read and consider it through many more lenses than are normally used to peer at the subject of a review. For a start, the very fact that it’s the first scent since 2024 from what was once a peerless brand means it’s worthy of the highest level of attention. In addition, it’s the first Frederic Malle perfume not to have been directed by Frederic Malle himself. Or at least, we assume it is. It’s possible he was working on it before unexpectedly announcing his departure from his eponymous house, which he sold to Estee Lauder in 2014, but even if Contre-Jour was born during his tenure, it’s almost impossible that it wasn’t developed and finished by other players before being released on the market.

To read the rest of this post, please click on this link to my Substack: Frederic Malle Contre-Jour review.

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