Spanish Scent

Spanish Scent opens on a very ripe, juicy melon and a sour-sweet tangerine - the unmistakable, almost paradoxical fruit accord that opens Frederic Malle's Le Parfum de Therese (2000), Edmond Roudnitska's legendary composition. The heart reveals a spiced, dried plum threaded with rose, before the scent settles onto a sophisticated chypre base of leather, grassy vetiver and dry cedar. Perfume Parlour's interpretation captures that distinctive ripe-fruit-meets-leather idea, but the famously complex original - which smells like dried flowers under a scorching summer sun - reads simpler and flatter here, with the melon less uncannily realistic and the leathery base less plush. The dupe leans more straightforwardly fruity-woody and less haunting. Longevity is moderate, where the original could last eight hours or more. The effect is still sophisticated and quietly sensual - a grown-up fruity chypre. Best from spring through autumn, it suits casual wear, evenings, dates and smarter occasions.