En Passant

• Everyday
• Work

En Passant opens on a light, damp freshness, with a feel of water and greenery that instantly brings a breath of fresh air. Then the lilac appears, soft and slightly powdery, with an aquatic touch that makes it very realistic, like a flower still wet with rain.

With time, the fragrance grows softer and more blended, with musks and green nuances that extend this impression of nature. It stays discreet, like a memory that passes by without imposing itself.

Les Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Malle was born in 2000 from a simple, radical conviction. Frédéric Malle, grandson of the founder of Parfums Christian Dior, a former evaluator at Givaudan, trained in art history and photography, started from an observation: the world's greatest perfumers work in the shadows, constrained by marketing briefs, limited budgets and imposed deadlines. Nobody knows their names. He decided to turn that logic on its head. His model is not a perfume house. It is a publishing house, modelled on the literary world. Frédéric Malle chooses his authors, gives them complete carte blanche, no brief, no time constraints, and signs each bottle with the name of its creator. Dominique Ropion, Jean-Claude Ellena, Maurice Roucel, Olivia Giacobetti, Pierre Bourdon: some of the most respected noses in the industry, who for the first time could compose without compromise and publicly own their work. Portrait of a Lady, Carnal Flower and Musc Ravageur have become absolute benchmarks of contemporary perfumery. The bottle follows the same philosophy: neutral, pared back, minimalist, designed so that nothing distracts from the fragrance and its author. No muse, no advertising campaign. The house's reputation was built by word of mouth and by the strength of the juices themselves. A house that changed how an entire industry sees its own craft.