Marc-Antoine Corticchiato of Parfum D'Empire 

In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s often easy to overlook or totally miss December fragrance releases. Fortunately, this wasn't the case for maître perfumer Marc-Antoine Corticchiato of Parfum D’Empire new fragrance Le Cri de la Lumiére, which was three years in the making. Le Cri is a study in simplexity; a seemingly simple combination of three notes and is one of the “must-have” floral releases of 2017.

Photo Tim Walker©

Le Cri de la Lumière translates from French to “The scream of the light”, but I like to think of it as “the call of the light”; the beckoning that urges us to move forward towards the light. It could be the light at the end of the birth canal as we are brought into the world, or maybe the light that many believe we move into at the end of life. Or perhaps the illumination of understanding that humankind is always searching, the light of wisdom shining upward from the Buddha’s head, or the soft glow of the halos crowning the heads in the representations of so many holy men, women, and children.

photo via tumblr

Whatever your beliefs, the call of the light is what drives much of our holiday traditions at this time of year. The search for light in a season of darkness; candles flickering, trees glowing, houses twinkling a myriad colors as we await the solstice and the return of the light to the Northern Hemisphere.

England's Dreaming, Vogue UK August 2006, photographed by Tim Walker.

Le Cri de la Lumière opens with a blindingly white burst of light, a bright sharp slap of ambrette saturated with an Eau De Vie (water of life) note, evoking the slightly sweet double-fermented brandy made from many fruits other than grapes. It has lots of familiar names in different countries; Schnapps, Raki, Arrak, and Pálenka, the Czech brandy of my father’s homeland. It’s the fragrant epitome of a wake-up call; shocking, dazzling, and in Le Cri de la Lumíere, a clear indicator of the beauty that awaits.

Detail from Tim Walker Rose Garden©

The heart of this scent is Iris and the Rose. The contrast between the powdery fust of the orris with its hint of the bitter and the softness of the rose, is overtly floral and beautiful.

Tim Walker for Vogue ©

These two notes mingle in a dance, a rondeau of back-and-forth steps with each facet weaving in and out creating a Mille Fleurs tapestry where the sum is greater than the individual notes. They  are so seamlessly blended that combined they create the illusion of a field of flowers.

England's Dreaming, Vogue UK August 2006, photographed by Tim Walker©

Throughout, the ambrette sparkles and warms, adding a musk-like beauty and ajoyous effect to this elegant, quintessentially chic and luxurious perfume.

Notes include Ambrette, Rose, Iris and Vegetal Musk

Disclosure: My sample was supplied by ZGO Perfumery of San Francisco whom we recently featured in WE LOVE THIS STORE here; I thank them deeply. Opinions are my own.

–Robert Herrmann, Senior Editor

-Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

photo of LE CRI apped via ZGO Instagram @zgosanfrancisco

Thanks to ZGO Perfumery we have 3 generous samples of Le Cri De La Lumière for 3 registered readers in the USA, so be sure to register here if you have not done so. To be eligible please let us know what appeals to you about Robert’s review, if you have a favorite Parfums d’Empire perfume and what the term  call to light means to you. Draw closes December 5, 2017

We announce the winners only on our website and on our Facebook page, so like Cafleurebon and use our RSS feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.