Parfums de Marly is a brand that gets a lot of love.

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 review, we’re gonna talk about the top five most popular fragrances from Parfums de Marly.

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.

Parfums De Marly are 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 review 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 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. Now let me know about your experience with Parfums de Marly in the comments, love to hear your thoughts. That’s all for now and until next time, thanks for reading 🙂