The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Ten years is a long time to wait for a sequel. In 2017, Lalique marked a decade of their iconic Amethyst fragrance with something that carries the name Exquise, excessive, lavish, and means it. The brief wasn't subtlety. It was the original's DNA, distilled into something darker, more intense, built for skin that wants to be noticed. The concept: forbidden fruit and luscious flowers. The bottle design draws from René Lalique's Épines collection of 1913, featuring brambles and berries rendered in crystal. The visual language of the fragrance, before you even spray it. The deep amethyst glass catches light in a way that suggests the richness held within, a promise of the lavishly dark character that awaits.
What makes this composition work isn't any single note, it's the contrast baked into every layer. The top is all brightness and tartness, berry skins and Saturday morning sweetness. But heliotrope is there from the start, threading powder through the fruit so the opening never feels juvenile. The heart, Bulgarian rose and orchid, arrives with gravity. These aren't delicate sniff-notes. They're substantial florals, the kind with weight and presence. Then the base does what bases do: it takes everything above it and makes it permanent. Benzoin brings resinous warmth. Vanilla keeps it soft. Sandalwood keeps it grounded.
The evolution
The opening is immediate. Blackberry dominates, tart skin, not candy, with raspberry's syrupy sweetness just behind. Blackcurrant adds a tannic edge that keeps the fruit honest. Heliotrope arrives early, softening everything as it settles. The berries don't disappear as the fragrance develops. They recede, becoming the background hum beneath orchid and Bulgarian rose. The florals don't compete with the fruit, they argue with it, in the best way. The drydown announces itself with benzoin and sandalwood arriving together, warm and slightly resinous. Vanilla holds on longest, creamy and close. The morning after, there's a skin-close warmth that reads as presence without projection. Powder and wood and the ghost of rose. This is the fragrance that stays.
Cultural impact
Amethyst Exquise occupies a specific position: a decade-later flanker that takes its house's signature in a more deliberate direction. Where the original Amethyst was beloved for its approachable elegance, Exquise leans into the 'Exquise', the excessive, the lavish, adding depth and presence. It's the flanker that offers the idea of Amethyst without the restraint. The Lalique collector's instinct, permanent over fleeting, applies here. This fragrance has established itself as a lasting presence rather than a seasonal arrival. It speaks to those who want their fragrance to make a statement, to linger in memory long after they've left the room.
