Le Chypre

Chypre Palatin by MDCI is a modern homage to the old-school chypre - oakmoss, leather and plush florals built on a base of resins and balsams. Le Chypre goes after that same territory, opening with castoreum and green oakmoss alongside plum and galbanum for a vintage, slightly animalic first impression. The heart brings in rosemary, ylang-ylang, iris and jasmine to soften the moss with florals, before a base of leather, vanilla, labdanum and patchouli closes things out with a warm, resinous trail. The bones of the original are all present, but the execution is more one-dimensional - the moss and leather read louder and less integrated than MDCI's polished, gala-ready original, and the whole thing settles faster. It works as an accessible introduction to true chypre perfumery for anyone curious about the genre without the MDCI price tag.