Portrait of a Lady
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- Authentic original perfume
- Try before the full bottle
- Travel-ready 3ml, 10ml, 30ml
- Long-lasting scent
Portrait of a Lady by Frederic Malle is a big, dark rose, spiced and smoky, and it wants cold nights. Raspberry, black currant and red berries give the opening a jammy brightness, sharpened by clove and cinnamon. Turkish rose then takes over, deep and rich, threaded with incense, patchouli, sandalwood and a little ylang-ylang. Later, benzoin, amber, vanilla, cedar, musk and ambergris wrap it in a warm, balsamic glow. It dates from 2010 and is mostly worn by women, though anyone who loves a serious rose should try it. Voters keep it for winter evenings and nights out. The longevity vote leans eternal and the sillage vote leans strong, so start light. A 3ml decant is a sensible first step before a bottle this bold.
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The community verdict
Turkish rose and incense give Portrait of a Lady its velvety, spicy depth, after clove and dark fruit lead in. Wear time divides between long and exceptionally long; strong projection is the leading response, with room-filling reach reported too. It suits winter nights and autumn evenings out; go light if incense or patchouli tends to dominate for you.
Summarised with AI from perfume-community reviews
- Topfirst impression
- Black Currant
- Cinnamon
- Clove
- Raspberry
- Red Berries
- Rose
- Heartafter a few minutes
- Incense
- Patchouli
- Sandalwood
- Turkish Rose
- Ylang-Ylang
- Brand
- Frederic Malle
- Scent profile
- For women
- Launched
- 2010
- Decant sizes
- 3ml, 10ml, 30ml
We ship across the EU. Orders over €75.00 ship free. Returns are accepted within 30 days of delivery.
Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady, hour by hour
How it opens, settles and lingers on skin.
Roses and incense gathering in a hall hung with heavy curtains.
What you smell
First spray0–15 min
- Black Currant
- Cinnamon
- Clove
- Raspberry
- Red Berries
- Rose
Heart15 min – 2 h
- Incense
- Patchouli
- Sandalwood
- Turkish Rose
- Ylang-Ylang
Dry-down2 h – 12 h+
- Lasts
- 12 h+
- Eternal
- Sillage
- Strong, 3 of 4
What wearers say
Votes from fragrance communities, most-voted answers first.
Longevity4,469 votes
Most voted: 40%Eternal
39%Long lasting
Sillage5,042 votes
Most voted: 42%Strong
28%Enormous
Season4,469 votes
Most voted: 56%Winter
30%Autumn
Time of day4,469 votes
Most voted: 47%Night out
37%Evening
See all votesHide votes
Longevity4,469 votes
- Very weak1%64 votes
- Weak3%150 votes
- Moderate16%711 votes
- Long lasting39%1,764 votes
- Eternal (Most voted)40%1,780 votes
Sillage5,042 votes
- Intimate5%261 votes
- Moderate24%1,226 votes
- Strong (Most voted)42%2,132 votes
- Enormous28%1,423 votes
Season4,469 votes
- Spring10%455 votes
- Summer4%198 votes
- Autumn30%1,335 votes
- Winter (Most voted)56%2,481 votes
Time of day4,469 votes
- Daytime13%581 votes
- Office3%134 votes
- Evening37%1,645 votes
- Night out (Most voted)47%2,109 votes
Which size is right for you?
Every size is decanted from the same original bottle.
At 3 sprays a day.
Loved by 50,000+
Why scent lovers try it with us before they buy the bottle.
Hand-decanted from the original bottle
Decanted by hand from authentic bottles, never diluted.
Wear it for days before you commit
Live with it at work, at night and at the weekend before you buy a full bottle.
Just like the full bottle
A fine-mist atomiser sprays like the original, so it opens, projects and lasts on your skin the way the full bottle does.
10ML vs a blind buy
What a decant gives you that a bottle bought unsmelled can’t.
Why 10ML?
Blind buy
Authentic original perfume
Yes
Yes
Smell it on your skin before you buy
Yes
No
Try several scents for one bottle’s price
Yes
No
Travel-ready atomiser
Yes
No
No full bottle wasted if it’s not for you
Yes
No
If you like Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady
Perfumes that share its most characteristic notes.
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Shares red berries · Ylang-Ylang
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Shares raspberry · ambergris
Layer it with
Chosen for jasmine, bergamot and labdanum, notes that often share a formula with its cedar, benzoin and patchouli in the perfumes we stock.
Frederic Malle
Portrait of a Lady layered with
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The house
More from Frederic Malle
Frederic Malle is a French niche house that began in 2000, and its perfumes favour depth and structure over passing trends. Rose, amber and musk run through the range, often warmed with cinnamon, cloves or saffron and grounded in patchouli and sandalwood. Portrait of a Lady is the one to try first: a dark, spiced rose resting on amber. Musc Ravageur, from the house's first year, is warm, powdery musk with vanilla. Promise turns rose earthy and woody, while The Moon sets sweet fruit against oud. Acne Studios goes the other way, fresh and aldehydic. Wear two or three for a week and the house style soon comes into focus.
Frequently asked questions
What does Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady smell like?
Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady opens with Black Currant, Cinnamon, Clove and Raspberry. The heart brings Incense, Patchouli, Sandalwood and Turkish Rose. It dries down to Amber, Ambergris, Benzoin and Cedar.
Is Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady long lasting?
Shoppers on fragrance communities most often rate its longevity as eternal (40% of votes), and 79% rate it long lasting or eternal. They most often rate its sillage as strong (42% of votes). How long it lasts on you also depends on your skin and how much you apply.
Is Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady good for summer?
Shoppers on fragrance communities rate it mainly for winter; summer takes only 4% of season votes.
Is Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady good for winter?
Yes. Shoppers on fragrance communities vote winter its best season, with 56% of season votes.
Is Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady for day or night?
Shoppers on fragrance communities mostly wear it after dark: 84% of time-of-day votes are for evenings and nights out, 16% for daytime or the office.
Can I wear Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady to the office?
Shoppers on fragrance communities rarely pick it for the office: only 3% of time-of-day votes go to the office.
Who makes Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady?
Portrait of a Lady is made by Frederic Malle. It was launched in 2010.
How many wears is a 10ml decant of Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady?
A 10ml decant of Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady holds about 200 sprays, roughly 67 days of wear at 3 sprays a day. The 3ml decant holds about 60 sprays, around 20 days. The 30ml decant holds about 600 sprays, around 200 days.
Which other Frederic Malle perfumes can I try?
Besides Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady, 10ML has Musc Ravageur, Promise and The Moon from Frederic Malle, each decanted from the original bottle.
Is this Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady decant the original perfume?
Yes. Every Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady decant is filled by hand from an original Frederic Malle bottle, with nothing added or diluted, so it opens, dries down and lasts on your skin the way the bottle does. We sell only authentic originals.
What is a decant?
A small amount of a perfume, taken from its original bottle and put into a travel atomiser. You get the real fragrance in a size that lets you live with it for days before you decide on the full bottle.
How does the money-back guarantee work?
If a scent isn’t right for you, get in touch within 30 days of it arriving and we’ll arrange a refund. Terms apply. See our refund policy.