John Galliano’s Parlez-moi d’Amour fragrances are finally available in South Africa. I’ve been aware of these scents for a while, having spotted them in a French airport a while back, and remember thinking how cute the bottles were. Each one looks like a little love letter which is pretty apt though considering Parlez-moi d’Amour means ‘Talk to me about love’.  While there are several PMDA scents available off shore, those available in SA include the following; the original EDT, the original EDP (each smells very different), Eau Fraiche and …encore.

Gossip Girl actress Taylor Momsen is the face of the EDT.

While the scents are inspired by ‘young love’ and intended for a younger audience, I think any woman could appreciate them with the exception of EDP which is very sweet and that makes me think it’s a bit more ‘girlie’.

Notes-wise, the EDT is all about blueberry, ginger and bergamot top notes, a floral heart of jasmine, lavender and Turkish rose and a musky patchouli base. When I sniff it, however, I get the zesty top notes followed by an immediate rush of patchouli that smells almost exactly like those teensy pink cachous sweets. It reminds me a helluva lot of Issey Miyake’s Pleats Please which I wore quite a lot last summer and is definitely my favourite of the lot.

The EDP is super sweet and all about blueberries, pink raspberry, a floral heart and a bed of patchouli, vetiver and vanilla. I can only really pick up the raspberry note. To me, it smells like one of those flat red lollipops that came in white and red animal-bedecked strip packet back when I was a kid in the 80s? Anyone remember those?

As for the Eau Fraiche, this is a lot more grown up. A refreshing zingy mix of grapefruit, ginger, white flowers, cypress and musk, it reminds me a bit of Armani’s Acqua di Gioia Essenza or possibly even Clarins Eau Des Jardin’s grapefruit-infused treatment fragrance and is my second favourite of the lot. In fact, there are days where I’m pretty much torn between this and the original EDT.

Last of all, we’ve got the latest Galliano scent, Parlez-moi d’Amour …encore. This is the most demure of the four and is supposed to open with mandarin and blueberry, reveal a rose, gardenia and iris heart and dry down to a mix of sandalwood and patchouli. Still, my nose only really picks up on the citrus, iris and a bit of powder.

Staying power-wise, with the exception of the EDP, these scents don’t really go the distance but as they’re so subtle, you could happily keep them in your desk drawer, cubbyhole or tote and top up throughout the day. I reckon using the Eau Fraiche scent would be a lovely sensory ‘pick me up’.

Keen to give them a sniff yourself? You’ll find all four of the new Galliano’s sitting in Edgars and Red Square stores going for R775 for 50ml.

Love, love

Leigh