When I was in high school and needed the car I would have to go pick up my father from his friend whom he carpooled with. On our way home was one of the big horse racing tracks in S.Florida, Calder. One of my dad’s favorite things to do was to follow the racing results in the daily sports pages. By looking at those results he would be able to pick out a couple of horses he liked. If it happened that one of those horses was running on a day I picked him up, we would make a little detour. It was some of my favorite time I spent with my father as he would explain to me his thought process behind his choices. It is something which has stuck with me ever since. The idea of looking for the pattern of performance which will lead to success. There is one perfume line which always brings back this memory to me because they are a horse-themed brand; Parfums de Marly.
Julien Sprecher
I discovered Parfums de Marly at the Elements Showcase in 2013. I hadn’t realized they had been around for three years prior to that. In that first exposure, I sort of felt like I was with my dad looking over the perfumes named after horses with the perfumers as trainers. There were definite thoroughbreds in Herod and Pegasus. There was also a delightful quirkiness where creative director Julien Sprecher was not looking to play it safe. Ispazon and Shagya pushed hard on my sensibilities but over time I came around to appreciating both. As a result, I am always interested when there is a new addition to the line. For the end of 2016 Layton is the newest.
Hamid Merati-Kashani
One of the things which is difficult with a brand like Parfums de Marly is while I like quite a few of the perfumes there has been no easy entry point. Until now all of them have a definitive presence that is best appreciated by those who know their perfume Racing Form. I think Layton changes all that. Perfumer Hamid Merati-Kashani has composed a perfume of charm designed to draw a new person in to the line.
The opening of Layton is a fantastic combination of lavender, mandarin orange, and green apple. When it is used correctly green apple provides a distinct focal point with crisp lines for a perfumer to elaborate upon. M. Merati-Kashani uses the lavender and orange as perfect counterbalance to the apple. It is a flat out sprint to the quarter pole as it is full of pace in the early moments. Layton settles into a steady pace over the next quarter as geranium acts as the fulcrum for jasmine and violet. The geranium is the predominant note matching the green of the apple. Now as we hit the top of the stretch the crack of black pepper applies the whip hand to sandalwood and patchouli sweetened considerably with vanilla. As Layton eases up after the finish guaiac wood and amber provide the warm down.
Layton has 16-18 hour longevity and average sillage.
What I like very much about Layton is it feels like M. Sprecher wanted something more approachable but still retaining a few of the quirkier bloodlines of the brand. Layton delivers this so well it immediately rises to one of the best from the entire brand for its combination of affability and difference; a real champion.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by Parfums de Marly.
–Mark Behnke
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