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Post by Sandra
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Hey there fellow perfume lovers! Hope ya’ll are doing well.
The pea soup has arrived in Vienna, as it does every year, end of October. The mornings are dark and lately have become murky. My son’s bedroom window overlooks the cathedral steeple and every morning we open up the blinds to see if the steeple is shrouded in thick undulating fog. It is either the pea soup or David Copperfield has managed to sneak into Vienna over night and make the St. Stephen’s cathedral disappear as a Halloween magic trick!
But with all of this looming grey comes the start of my favourite season in Vienna. Namely Christmas! The city goes whole hog and decorates the streets, shop windows, grocery stores with dazzling lights and brightly coloured ornaments. It takes them several weeks to set up which is great for building up the anticipation.
This year I have found a wonderful perfume to accompany me during this transitional phase in the city.
Fêtes Persanes by MDCI Parfums 2016
Fêtes Persanes by Cecile Zarokian
Fragranticagives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, black pepper
Heart: Rose, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves
Base: Guaiac wood, vanilla, cedar, patchouli
This is a beautiful spicy oriental fragrance that smolders quietly for hours shifting ever so slightly so that the embers can finally die down leaving me warm and cozy.
The perfume starts out quite spicy with a large dose of black pepper and a hint of the spices that are to come. The pepper is thankfully not abrasive or sharp nor sneeze inducing. After spending the summer with family members who are pepper aficionados (seriously – they import pepper corns from all corners of the world – and yes, they do all taste different), I really appreciate the way that Cecile Zarokian has incorporated pepper throughout the entire development of the perfume.
There is a sprinkling of cardamom and cinnamon – but not too much. It never veers into the gourmand territory of a sweet fragrance. The spices bring to mind a celebration where family members gather around together to feast and catch up.
Several hours in the rose is making a debut with just a few tendrils reaching my nose. But with it comes the guaiac wood, cedar and patchouli. Truthfully I do not detect much vanilla but perhaps my skin is just amplifying the woods. The drydown is my favourite part of Fêtes Persanes with the woody notes really whispering and teasing all of my senses. I would love to sit down in a room full of lit candles, surrounded by my family and friends basking in the glow of a big celebration.
Further reading: Now Smell This and Colognoisseur
LuckyScent has $250/75ml
Surrender To Chance has samples from $6/0.5ml
Please give this a try – MDCI Parfums have a marvelous selection of perfumes offering something for all tastes.
Do you have a favourite pre-holiday season perfume?
Let me leave you with some images of fog and grey and holiday décor set up.
Sandra xoxo
(Ed: Photos donated by Sandra unless specified. thank you princess, they’re lovely)
Australian Perfume Junkies 
I just wanted to say that your beautiful photos make me want to visit Vienna!
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Thank you so much Jen! Come to Vienna – you won’t be disappointed. Sandra xo
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I agree, Jen, Christmas in Vienna would be wonderful!
And Sandra, thanks for the article. The fragrance sounds swoon-worthy and the bottle would be a gift in itself.
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Hey there Sue. Christmas in Vienna is special – after we move I plan on coming back every year during Advent. The bottle is stunning! Sandra xo
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Yes, fabulous pics and how cool that S has been able to see St. Stephen’s steeple from his bedroom window! I adore that cathedral.
This MDCI sounds like it’s fitting the pre-Christmas bill for you. For me, that perfume is Tea for Two. I think it’s the smoke and cinnamon that do it.
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Hi Tara. S has been spoiled rotten with his bedroom view. The church bells themselves are something to behold. I love Tea for Two – so perfect. Sandra xoxo
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We will spend a couple of days doing all the Christmas stuff in Vienna. Tale lots of pictures and drink tea. That MDCI bottle is amazing. I hate cinnamon in perfume but will try a spritz of this anyway. Hugs. Xxxxx
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Can’t wait for you to come. The bottle is so beautiful and perfect for a gift. I am jot sure you will like the spices – but it is worth a try. Sandra xoxo
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That bottle! THAT BOTTLE!!! Quick question….is that your son’s window in all that gorgeous autumn color? Love the holidays as well, and Un Crime Exotique and last years Noir Exquise are my dousers of choice….
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Hi Robert, I am wirh you on that bottle! Swoon worthy. The autumn glory is a view from our living room and dining room. Your perfume holiday choices are wonderful. Sandra xoxo
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Love, love your photos! I visited Vienna in my teens and thought it was the most wonderful city. The day I went to St Stephens Cathedral is the day I remember most vividly, how beautiful it looks through the fog. Now I have a new ambition: to revisit Vienna at Christmas.
I must try Fêtes Persanes, it sounds exactly up my (cinnamon-scented) street. My own Christmas scent for the last couple of years has been TF Sahara Noir, with its strong notes of resin, incense and dry pine wood – my sister even calls it ‘the Christmas scent’!
I’ve just acquired myself some Theorema from eBay though and I think that might be this year’s Christmas fragrance.
(Given that our New Zealand Christmas is in midsummer I have also been known to wear Carnal Flower or Le Labo Lys 41 throughout the season, but for the day itself I must have spices or incense).
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Thank you Malmaison! I am sure you would love Vienna during Christmas – pure magic. You have lovely perfume choices. I remember Christmas at the pool with a BBQ for the first six years of my life in Argentina. Carnal Flower would be an excellent choice for the celebration. Theorema – that’s one perfume I have never tried… shame its so difficult to find. Sandra xo
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Hey Sandra
Hug the crew from us.
This MDCI sounds right up my fragrant alley.
Portia xx
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Hi dear Portia! Will do. You may actually like this. Hope you are all well. Sandra xoxo
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This one just bowled me over, stunning perfume……
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So glad you loved it Marion! Have a great day. Sandra xo
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How interesting, I didn’t realize it came in a non-standard MDCI bottle. Love it! I have only smelled a sample but it is on my wish list after my perfume budget recovers from this year of excess. The photos are great! I have only visited Vienna in the summer.
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Thank you Tara. It is sold in a standard MDCI bottle but also in a Silk Roads bottle. I has ended up on my wishlist as well! Have a great day. Sandra xo
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On the MDCI website it seems that they are offering the perfumes in the three different bottles.
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Love the bottle, as well as the photos. I have tested some MDCI perfumes, but the one I really wanted in FB was discontinued. I do find they have a lot of interesting fragrances, but I am not sure I would pay for the extra decorations. Cardamom and cinnamon are among my favourite spices, but how much cedar wood and pepper is in this one, I Wonder? Cedar wood seems a bit sharp on my skin usually.
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Thanks Ingeborg. I usually buy the simple bottles from MDCI, but will admit that the new flacons look stunning. I do get quite a bit of pepper, but never sneeze inducing. It is woodsy, but very well blended and smooth. Hope that helps. Sandra xo
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Ah Vienna! Wish I was there! This bottle is so beautiful as is the view from your sons bedroom!!
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