La Surprise by MDCI Parfums

The official MCDI website states that Cécile Zarokian drew inspiration from ‘La Surprise’ by Fragonard, a painting from the series ‘The Progress of Love’ housed in the Frick Collection in NY. The scene depicts an elegant girl caught off guard in a fragrant garden by an admirer offering her a rose. Born in 1732, Fragonard was an emblem of French Rococo alongside Boucher and Chardin; he painted this masterpiece between 1770 and 1773. On the canvas, two young people blush in a lush mansion garden; he tries to give her the rose while she seems hesitant, with cherubs in the background. It’s a moment of suspended time despite the movement, filled with romantic uncertainty. Fragonard was heavily influenced by Rembrandt’s light and Hals’ fluidity after traveling to the Netherlands. The painting was commissioned by Madame Du Barry, Louis XV’s mistress, though she later rejected it for its Rococo style. This work fits perfectly with ‘The Stolen Kiss’ from 1790, where two young people leave a nighttime party in Paris for a cheek kiss, a then-awkward custom. His mastery of light and detail is evident, such as the silk dress, perhaps thanks to his marriage to Marie-Anne Gérard, daughter of a silk merchant. Fragonard renewed the tradition of gallant courtships in lush parks and aristocratic parties. Rococo (1730-1770) is liberating, cheerful, and sensual, opposite to the dark and tragic Baroque. Louis XV requested pleasant scenes against the Versailles style. Fragonard was a court painter in 1754 and, after the 1789 Revolution, took refuge in Grasse. Though forgotten, the Impressionists rediscovered him for his handling of light. In 2023, he gained renewed strength with the auction of ‘The Girl with the Hat’. The perfume is a vintage romantic chypre mixed with modern energy, featuring green florals and an animalic musk base. Connecting it to Rococo: cardamom and musk provide sensuality, peach the desire, rhubarb and green accord the greenery of the parks, violet the fresh air, white flowers and freesia the gardens, and patchouli and sandalwood the elegance. Solar notes add the luminosity characteristic of Rococo. Cécile Zarokian, trained at ISIPCA in Versailles, is a guarantee of elegance and sensuality.