Uncut Gem
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle (2022)

I absolutely love citrus dominate fragrances, so Uncut Gem is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites. I absolutely love the fresh and leathery opening followed by the heavy ambroxan and woody like smell. It’s uber masculine but yet refined. It can be worn super casual or to a black tie event. I find it unique in that it doesn’t smell like anything I’ve encountered out there. Longevity is off the charts with all day performance but it’s not in your face and doesn’t scream of cologne guy. In an odd way, it resembles the classic British colognes (but modernized) of another era. All in all, I really like it. Uncut Gem took me a few wearings to fully appreciate it. It’s a true work of art. To top it all off, Malle makes one of the best atomizers out there and I love the bottle design.

Give it a few wearings. I find it works well in all seasons. I often wear Molecule 02 (that stuff is amazing with its light salty vide, Wow!). In fact, I think Molecule 02 works really well with Uncut Gem as an evening and lazy-around-the-house scent.

After all the negative reviews I got a sample and thoroughly enjoyed it. *shrug emoji* —- must wear on a hot dry day so the ginger and citrus shines but yeah… nothing dazzling but smells great. (In damp climate it’s a one note ambrox-style watery mess)

Chemical Hazard

I avoided trying this perfume after it was badly received by more seasoned noses in my circle. I knew it would smell bad, but my God, I didn't think it could be this bad. This is one of the worst perfumes that I have tried in many years. As soon as I sprayed it I got hit by a massive Ambrocenide that burnt my nostrils and hurt my brain cells. I thought to myself, "Let it settle down, it's Malle, have faith" but nope. This stuff is straight-up garbage. Stuff like this one would smell in all designer/commercial boutiques, and airports, heck, drug stores, supermarkets. The fact that Malle put this one out, and all the blabber about this being Roucel's personal scent and the price. Outrageous. This one should have been called Synthetic Jungle, or Synthetic Mess. Or Outrageously Bad. This house is going down full throttle with these sorts of releases. The Moon was also a synthetic beast, Promise the same, then Superstitious. Small flickers of hope then with Rose & Cuir and Synthetic Jungle, and then this epic failure, and now the boring Heaven Can Wait. It was a great house, but shit started going way South around 2017 for them. Used to love this house.

The scent is not bad but it leaves me perplexed.... The opening is very beautiful, citrus, spicy and sparkling and you can immediately feel the base that will be the protagonist of all the evolutions. Just the base makes me think.... essentially it's a musky plasticy leather accord, very very similar to the one heard in the Gualtieri such as Bergamask, Cuoium, Nudiflorum etc... in short, it sounds to me like I've heard before, a sort of Blu de Chanelle with a Gualtieri base, it's hard for me to imagine it as Rouchelle's personal perfume... It didn't strike me, not at all.... It's not bad but today I wouldn't buy it because I find there are better in the genre , at least for me. Discreet projection, good durability thanks to the leather base

I'm in the minority here, as I rather enjoy this quite a lot. Sure, its not earth shattering by any means, but it smells mature, well-groomed and sophisticated and would make a excellent office scent. Upon first spray, the combination of ginger, cedar and angelica gave me a vague impression of something I imagined an 'Eau' version of French Lover would smell like, but things quickly shifted towards something in the same realm as Tabarome by Creed. In the mid, I can also smell a hint of tobacco leaf which would count for its darker undertones, while the citruses keep everything bright, and cheerful - I suppose the references to Tom Ford for Men are somehow justifiable at this stage. Leather is noexistent overall but perhaps a hint of petrol can sometimes be sensed. The ambrocenide is front and center, in what I can only describe as a fuzzy, salty, sparkling, and warm molecule. It basically smells like a reconstructed version of Creed's ambergris accord. The angelica accord never fully leaves and that is part of the reason why I like the scent a lot since its one of my favorite notes in perfumery. Overall, I think its great and certainly does not deserve the title of worst scent from FM. That title goes to Rose and Cuir.

Reminds me of older, darker, very masculine scents from the ’80s or ’90s. I see comparison’s to Tabarome, which I get, but the scent that immediately comes to mind is Mr. Blass. It is slightly more modern than the Bill Class scent so mix in Dior Homme 2020. Leather, frankincense, and musk make this a highly masculine amber scent to me.

This smells refined and classy but the scent profile won't be for all. A gentlemen's scent, probably 50 or older.