In the spring of last year, following an extraordinary (and I daresay almost timeless) journey to Seville, I fell in love with a scent: the gentle, sunlit perfume of orange blossom. You know the scent I mean, that radiant, almost diaphanous clarity of neroli. It sparkles at first, airy and luminous. But beneath that initial freshness lies something softer: a creamy sensuality, a honeyed warmth, a powdery veil that carries something of childhood within it. At times, there’s even a trace of green bitterness, like the crisp snap of a young leaf or the tartness of unripe fruit. It’s a scent one would recognize instantly, distinctive, unmistakable, and in Seville, it seems to be everywhere.
It perfumes the salons of grand hotels, drifts through narrow, winding alleys in the old Barrio Santa Cruz, and lingers in the air of sun-drenched squares that feel like oases when the afternoon heat becomes too much to bear. But nowhere did it strike me more than in the Parque de María Luisa, where we wandered in the golden hush of late afternoon, seeking refuge from the oppressive warmth of the day.
The moment you step through the gates of the park, the air shifts, cooler, softer, and you’re immediately enveloped in the most delicious scent: fresh yet mellow, delicate yet present. As we strolled through its shaded paths lined with fountains and palms, I eventually traced the fragrance to its source. It wasn’t, as I’d thought, the familiar orange blossom. It came from elsewhere, more secret. From the delicate ivory blooms of the Pittosporum tobira, or Japanese cheesewood.
When in bloom, these modest little flowers release an unexpectedly rich perfume, one that echoes orange blossom laced with jasmine. It’s soft and sun-warmed, with creamy, honeyed notes that feel almost edible, yet it never overwhelms. Beneath it all, a trace of green vanilla and resin lends a gentle, woody depth, extending the warmth like sunlight on skin.
As soon as I returned home, I wanted to recapture that scent, to hold onto the memory of those Seville afternoons a little longer. So I turned to Jovoy Paris, ordering a handful of samples and sifting through hundreds of perfumes, studying their olfactory notes like an archaeologist on the trail of a lost artifact. I was searching for a perfume that might bottle that Andalusian spring, now suspended in memory.
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So I selected and ordered samples of the following perfumes:
- Chœur des Anges by Atelier des Ors
- Tubéreuse by Le Galion
- Nuda Veritas by Atelier des Ors
- L’Astre by Le Galion
- Neroli Botanica by Essential Parfums
- Le Rivage des Syrtes by Parfums MDCI
- L’Aimée by Parfums MDCI
And while none of these perfumes quite managed to transport me back to that Andalusian spring, to those languid afternoon walks through the Parque de María Luisa, or to that distinctive scent of orange blossom mingled with jasmine, which perhaps can only truly exist there, beneath the golden sun of the South, I found something else. A surprise. An unexpected discovery.
Among the samples, it was the creations of a perfume house I had never heard of before: Parfums MDCI, that truly enchanted me. Two in particular: L’Aimée and Le Rivage des Syrtes, both absolutely sublime. What struck me at once was their complexity. Usually, I can identify one or two dominant notes in a fragrance, but here, it was impossible. These perfumes aren’t about chasing a single familiar scent. They unfold more like olfactory paintings: layers upon layers of notes and hues, blending into something entirely new.
And what’s most disarming is that these perfumes felt, to me, at once strangely familiar and entirely unknown. As if they were recalling a place I’d never truly been, someone I’d never met, or something I’d never had, but somehow remembered all the same. Naturally, I couldn’t stop there. After rediscovering those two samples in my sample drawer last week (a drawer that likely holds hundreds, and releases the most intoxicating cloud of scent each time it’s opened), I decided to order nearly all of the feminine samples from Parfums MDCI. (All except Nuit Andalouse, which, sadly, wasn’t available at the time.)
And I must admit, the experience has been nothing short of enchanting. I can say, without hesitation, that Parfums MDCI is, at this moment, my favorite perfume house. The hardest part, truly, is choosing which one to wear. So, to give you a glimpse into this remarkable house, and perhaps to help you choose your own (or, just as likely, to help me decide), I’ve put together a personal ranking of my favorite feminine creations from Parfums MDCI. I hope this guide helps you find your MDCI, the one that opens in the air like a dream you hadn’t remembered until now :).
1. La Ravissante
Sparkling and gourmand, with restraint. Starfruit, jasmine, marshmallow, driftwood, it opens like a glimmering fruit cocktail on a seaside terrace, and settles into a soft, creamy musky skin scent. Surprising, but so comforting.
2. Vepres Siciliennes
Baroque yet bright. A complex floral-fruity tapestry: white flowers, orchard fruit, and creamy woods layered like an embroidered Sicilian dress. It’s dramatic but polished, full of sun and shadow. A statement perfume for golden evenings.
3. Péché Cardinal
Velvety, juicy, decadent. As decadent as biting into sun-warmed peach flesh on velvet sheets, with a breeze of coconut and tuberose drifting in from a faraway island.
4. Le Rivage des Syrtes
The golden hours of the South. Orange blossom meets incense and ambergris in a warm, saline breeze, like the scent of skin after a day near the sea, tinged with salt, light, and memory. This is my Andalusian dream reinterpreted: mysterious, meditative, and sensual.
5. Promesse de l’Aube
A sunlit morning bottled: golden citrus melting into creamy jasmine and sandalwood, like the promise of something tender just beginning.
6. Un cœur en mai
Poetic green floral. Mossy, rosy, fresh, with just enough spice and wood to ground it. This is the scent of a spring garden after rain: introspective, tender, alive. Perfect for mornings, walks, quiet inspiration.
7. La Belle Hélène
Elegant and grand, yet intimate. A fragrance full of classical references: aldehydes, pear, mimosa, rose, patchouli. Sophisticated and powdery with a soft gourmand plum note. If À la recherche du temps perdu were a perfume, it might be this.
8. Enlèvement au Sérail
White floral opulence. Lush and opulent like a stolen moment in a secret garden, where jasmine and tuberose bloom under golden mandarin light and dissolve into sandalwood and spice.
9. Rose de Siwa
Soft, clean rose musk. A delicate bouquet in soft pastels: dewy roses and violets strewn over silk, with the crisp brightness of litchi and the elegance of powdered musk.
10. La Surprise
A fragrant kaleidoscope: green rhubarb and rose tumbling into a bouquet of white petals and sunlit woods, as joyful as an unexpected spring afternoon.
11. L’Aimée
A composition of luminous florals and powdery woods, wrapped in a halo of orris, heliotrope, and amber, soft yet expansive. Nostalgic, feminine, elegant, the perfume of a woman who writes letters, and remembers things others forget.
12. Les Indes Galantes
Rich, resinous, baroque gourmand. An opulent, baroque dream of spiced vanilla and burning incense, where almond and raspberry sweetness is laced with leather and ancient smoke.
13. Fêtes Persanes
A fragrant tapestry of Persian festivities: rose and spice entwined with warm woods and golden resins, glowing softly on the skin like sunset silk. A winter mood.
14. Cio Cio San
A breeze from a Japanese garden at dawn: petals of cherry blossom and peony float in oolong tea, cooled by ginger and shaded by ancient cedar.
P.S. The featured painting in this article is The Progress of Love: The Pursuit by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, the very artwork that inspired the creation of the perfume La Surprise by Parfums MDCI. If you’d like to learn more about this enchanting painting and its history, I recommend this beautifully narrated video.
