Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris : Luxury Perfume House with a touch of fun difference

2 weeks ago, I showed you something quite interesting – fragrance incense paper – a strip of paper you burn to release the scent into the air, which helps fragrance a small area like a small room. It was by Maison Francis Kurkdjian – a luxury perfume house that has just opened its proverbial doors on our shores exclusively only at Metrojaya stores at Midvalley Megamall and The Curve.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian is the home brand of award winning perfumier Mr. Francis Kurkdjian. He is the nose behind many celebrated perfumes from different brands, which he had created or helped create. I guess he felt that rather than only making perfumes for others, he wanted to make one of his own. A luxury brand of perfumes and fragrances that was his own take on luxury. News was that it put a few noses out of joint when word first got out, but Mr. Francis Kurkdjian opened Maison Francis Kurkdjian in 2009 and he went on to also create Elie Saab Le Parfum in 2011 so perhaps the noses weren’t THAT out of joint 😛

It is quite interesting reading about the man who started out not as a perfume nose, but as a classical ballet dancer! An accident at 15 put paid to his dancing career and he decided to turn his artistic talents to designing perfume and getting himself into the ISIPCA, the international school for future perfumers. He made his name at 25 when he signed his first fragrance, Le Mâle for Jean Paul Gaultier. Some of his main creations can be seen here – familiar names most of them 😉

For Monsieur Kurkdjian, fragrance isn’t something you just spritz on as you go out the door. It embodies the scents of a day from morning to evening. And his range of perfumes and products reflect that belief.

His popular perfume is Aqua Universalis – a fresh scent with a fresh citrus top note that dries down a little muskier. It is a scent for men and women and its very interesting and different. I like the light citrus notes and to my surprise, it does last quite a while before the woodsy scent emerges.

The MFK perfumes come in heavy square bottles and the tarnished looking stoppers are actually made of zinc to represent the rooftops of Paris where Francis Kurkdjian lives. The heavy glass bottles are luxurious to feel and the heft reflects it.

The other scents by Maison Francis Kurkdjian (RM490-RM770) are:-

• Cologne Pour le Matin and Pour le Soir (fresh citrus cologne for the day and a heavier scent for night. Being a cologne it does not last very long but has just enough so you know you’re wearing a fragrance)
• APOM for men and women (A Piece Of Me – a scent inspired by the Mediterranean. Spicy cedarwood with a sandalwood scent for women and a woodsy musky scent in the men’s)
• Lumiere Noire (a femme fatale heavy evening fragrance with spicy rose and patchouli favoured by Catherine Deneuve – and incidentally, me!) This is my favourite of the lot, despite the heaviness of the scent.
• Absolue Pour le Matin and Pour le Soir (stronger versions of the colognes)

We were led through each of the scents during the press launch and by the end of it, my nose was left reeling. I know I liked the smell of Lumiere Noire and I will save up for a bottle some day but at this point in time, I can’t tell you much about the others. Sorry! You’re going to have to go and smell it for yourself.

Other than perfumes, Maison Francis Kurkdjian carries, quite interestingly, household products like laundry detergents and fabric softener. The rationale behind this was that you don’t want your perfume clashing with the fragrance of your fabric softeners so MFK has them in the Aqua Universalis scent so you can envelop yourself in Aqua Universalis from the time you wake up and put on fresh clothes to the time you go to bed between your sheets. Personally I find this just a wee bit gimmicky but I have this crazy urge to give it a go. At RM145/1 litre its no laughing matter though 😛

There are also conventional home items like home fragrances (RM210/70ml) in APOM and Lumiere Noire, candles (RM260) in all scents, and a perfumed leather bracelet (RM925) which was inspired by Marie Antoinette and the past when treated leather was fragranced with one’s favourite scent to mask the smell of urine that they use to treat leather. Erm. Ok.

But I just have to show you my favourite item in the range, after the incense paper. Its perfumed bubbles called Agathe’s Bubbles (RM70/45ml) and comes in 4 scents – Poire (pear), Menthe Froide (cold mint), Herbe Coupee (cut grass) and Violette (violets). These perfumed bubbles were created for children and perfumed bubbles seem to feature a lot of Monsieur Francis Kurkdjian’s creations. He perfumed the Gardens of Versailles with orange blossom in 2006 and he has used his perfumed bubbles in numerous installations worldwide from the Shanghai Expo 2010 to filling the Grand Palais, Paris with scented bubbles for Noctambulles.

These bubbles are beautiful stuff. Pretty much soap bubbles, when the bubbles pop, they release the scent of whatever they are scented with into the air in a heady sort of way. I absolutely loved it! There was a demonstration of the Poire (Pear) scent on press day and I swear everyone just turned into 7 year olds for a few minutes.

I got a bubble on the tip of my nose and when it popped, my nose was filled with the smell of sweet pears. I could almost imagine myself biting into a soft sweet pear, its juice dripping down my fingers. Beautiful! And So. Much. Fun! I was so tempted to buy a bottle just to be frivolous. I just might some day.

Price wise, expect to pay luxury prices. But at least you don’t have to smell the same scent on everyone else around you 🙂

Have you come across Maison Francis Kurkdjian perfumes before? From the last feature I did, a couple of you mentioned that you were familiar with this range of fragrances. Do you have a favourite? Don’t you just love the idea of scented bubbles? 😀

Paris B

The full range of Maison Francis Kurkdjian perfumes and related items are available at Metrojaya MidValley Megamall and The Curve. Prices are as in the post above. Learn more about the brand here