Outrageous
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle (2007)

We've seen Sophia Grojsman's style many times before, most notably in the exceptional Estee Lauder Beautiful and White Linen perfumes, YSL's heartbreaking love letter Paris, CK's Eternity, and Boucheron's Jaipur. None of those were outrageous, so color me (and many others) very intrigued when Malle and Grojsman gave us Outrageous. Were we finally going to get to see this amazing perfumer no-holds-barred?! No, we didn't get that. Outrageous is as far from outrageous as one can very nearly be. The sour apple opening is fun, tantalizing, and mouthwatering. The orange blossom, and florally soapy-musk base, are also fun, lighthearted, and energetic. The inspiration is the caipirinha, the national cocktail of Brazil consisting of cachaca, lime and sugar imbibed anywhere and anytime. I have had many-a-caipirinha in my day and this does not smell limey or boozey; cachaca has an interesting banana aroma, also missing from the perfume. So, I don't get the inspiration and how Outrageous was supposed to follow it, and it's a pretty simple fruit-topped floral musk, which is hardly anything new and far from daring in its presentation, therefore outrageous it is not. It's nice, and pleasant, but not special. It doesn't fit the Malle name and the brand vision, and certainly not the price tag.

Dusty spice and bright citrus notes. Shifts intonations distinctive wood note: ghostly, like a distant echo. Metallic underpinning. Interesting scent, not my style. Very modern.

What were they thinking? Frederic Malle in releasing this ‘sporty', synthetic, brash yet starveling thing and Sophia Grojsman who seems intent on demonstrating that even the queen of fruity florals can have off days.
The main impression is of a plasticky neroli warping under the hiss of a steam iron. One can view this as some kind of dada statement; I just think of it as a queasy waste of a perfume wearer's time and bucks.
To be fair, it does improve over time, becoming more natural, but fails to lift above the level of a neroli-orange blossom splash cologne.

There is a beautiful hint of fresh real apple in the beginning but unfortunately it is stampeded over by screeching white musk. Makes me feel like biting tinfoil. It is likely much more pleasant if you tolerate laundry musks better than I do but still I think it is not worth the price. Gone in 60 minutes.

My review is based on a couple of wears from a sample. I am so happy I did not blind-buy this, even in travel size.

I only smell some green apple and laundry musk in here. I hardly get any spice. In fact, Outrageous is closer to mass market fresh sporty-aquatic scents, dishwashing liquids and laundry detergents.

A complete misfit in the Malle line, I perceive Outrageous to be a poor joke that casual unsuspecting buyers might become a victim of. A cash grab, if there ever was one.

0.5/5

When I first tried Outrageous years ago, I HATED it. That mix of fake orange and weird synthetics so repulsed me that I avoided smelling it for ten years. Then, the publicity surrounding its 2017 re-release inspired me to give it another try, and so help me, I rather like it now.

I think what surprises me the most is how much of a blueprint this is for Aventus. It's all about the bright citrus on top of a rich mix of ambrox and woods with just a pinch of bleachy synthetics, but Outrageous has less bleach and woods than Aventus, focusing more on the creamy richness of the ambrox, and of course Aventus uses pineapple instead of the mandarin aldehydes employed by Outrageous.

In all, I'd rather just wear Aventus, as I prefer the pineapple and upfront woods, so I don't think I need a bottle of Outrageous, but the combination of freshness and richness makes sense to me now and is quite well executed, so a rather surprising thumbs up!