Hope by Frederic Malle

I fully agree with Lechu; I acquired Hope mainly for the similarities attributed to it with Promise, which is, to date, my favourite fragrance. Meanwhile, I saw that they were tearing it apart in reviewers’ videos: it lacks character, it is a copy, it is very expensive (that is true), and an endless list of etceteras. I did not let myself be influenced by that; with the favourable experience I have had with the house Frederic Malle and mainly with the creations of Dominique Ropion (Promise, Y, La Nuit YSL and hundreds more), I decided to order it on a long and risky trip (where I reside it is very complicated to acquire niche perfumery). It was worth all that effort; I got 50ml of this perfumery gem. Its opening is spicy, with certain reminiscences of ‘The Moon from FM’ drying down, but also as it progresses, a pleasant dry and smoky wood is appreciated, plus the oud that emerges in its fullness and accompanies it until the end. I would rate it, just like Promise, as a masterpiece as a whole; although they may share some similarities, during their evolution they take different paths: Promise is bright with a fresh ethereal apple, accompanied by that castoreum that fell in love with me from day one, it has already earned a place in my heart (from which it will never leave), whereas Hope, with its dry wood and smoky sensation, non-animal oud, brimming with warmth and elegance, with a duration of more than 12 hours on skin and projecting to 2 metres without problem for over 4 hours, a trail that leaves no one indifferent, has everything to be valued on its own merits. For me, both creations are a 10/10; it may be my very subjective perception and you may not agree with me. But that is how it is. Promise will always remain in my heart, it cannot be dethroned, but I consider that Hope could be someone else’s ‘first love’; it has everything to deserve its own space in some receptive heart to shelter this perfumery gem, which shines by its own merits in this vast world of scents.

It has been a very long time since I left a review, but I think this time it merits commenting to avoid confusing users searching for information. What are the most prominent notes in Promise? I would say cypriol is the most important note, followed by green apple, then leather and rose. How is it possible that people say it is a copy of Promise when three of the four most important notes are not shared? I have Promise and like it very much, but recently I had the luck to try Hope and I like it much more. What a pity about the price… I hope more users can try both fragrances and share their comments.

Nothing new under the sun, like thousands of other Arab perfumes with that oud-rose-vanilla vibe that already smells boring and you can find them even in the cheap ones. The price is an insult for such a mediocre composition. Anyway, I conclude that perfumery is in crisis.

After five years comes ‘Hope’, the 5th gem of the desert under Ropion’s charge. The brand screams mediocrity; the owner abandoned the brand this year because it did not fit his ideas. Many new mediocre offerings and a gem that is a rehash of something we already knew at ridiculous prices. Hope opens similar to Promise, though less oily and dark because, grosso modo, it has no cypriol, no acidic green apple, nor rose, although in both the pepper is felt, but in Hope the performance is poor to modest. It lacks ‘punch’. They share few notes but Ropion’s way of working is very marked. You might think they made a mistake in labelling and you received Promise, but after a few seconds you detect differences although the base is the same. Fresher and slightly smoky due to vetiver, but 75% of Hope is basically Promise. Personally, I think the Desert Gems collection is like the AMG division of Mercedes: there is more cookie, challenging perfumes that snatch other emotions and not everyone can ‘handle’ them. The Night is a clear example. Why not hire another perfumer with fresh ideas? Why did Ropion have to do it? For a pending contract like Victor Wong of Zoologist? Julien Rasquinet did a fantastic job with The Moon, could not he have done Hope? Why not Antonio Gardoni or Maurice Roucel? Why take 75% of Promise and give it a twist to sell it as new? Do you not think it is redundant? Hope is much more expensive than Promise, what makes them think people will prefer it? Ropion disappointed with Hacivat Oud but this is worse. Hope by itself is a good perfume, the big problem is that Promise already exists and it has no place in the collection, and worse still, it is more expensive. A boring offering, few ideas, no desire to put in effort, and all this for… £525 (US$675 for 50ml) and £755 (US$968 for 100ml)!! They are geniuses, congratulations! 🥳