The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Le Deuxieme Parfum was created by Patricia Choux and launched in 2020 as the second numbered scent from Pauline Rochas. Rather than following a conventional top, heart, and base structure, the fragrance was presented as a single, heady composition. Patricia Choux built that idea around Madagascan ylang-ylang, sandalwood, and labdanum. The first brings an intense floral sensuality, while the woody and resinous materials give it weight, warmth, and composure. The result wears many names at once: woody, yellow floral, sweet, powdery, musky, balsamic, and warmly spiced. That deliberate refusal to sit neatly in one category gives Le Deuxieme Parfum its identity. It is less a neat portrait than a change of mood, part intimate, part polished, part evening wear that keeps its voice low.
The striking part is how much tension lives inside three materials. Ylang-ylang is lush and heady, with a creamy floral heat that refuses to behave politely. Sandalwood pulls the composition toward polished skin and smooth wood, adding calm beneath that insistence. Labdanum then supplies a resinous amber warmth, making the scent feel less airy and more closely held. Together they move between floral and woody, soft and dark, powdery and balsamic. That contrast is where the fragrance becomes memorable: ylang-ylang supplies the pulse, sandalwood keeps it composed, and labdanum gives the whole thing staying power.
The evolution
On skin, Le Deuxieme Parfum begins with a creamy floral lift. Ylang-ylang moves forward first, rounded by sweetness and a soft powdery impression, but it never becomes innocent. Sandalwood quickly gives the opening a polished, woody frame, keeping the sensual warmth from floating away. As the fragrance settles, labdanum takes a stronger role, drawing the drydown toward amber, resin, and warm spice. The ylang-ylang remains the emotional center, but it becomes less overtly floral as the woods and resins gather around it. This is the surprising shift: the scent can seem lush and powdered at first, then turn darker, smoother, and more grown-up without losing its sensuality. Its projection is most apparent through the early hours before settling close to the skin. The final impression is warm skin, polished wood, and a faint resinous sweetness that lingers where it matters.
Cultural impact
Le Deuxieme Parfum sits within Pauline Rochas' broader vision of numbered perfumes as distinct languages for different versions of the self. Its unisex presentation and deliberate break from a conventional note pyramid fit a brand register that values freedom, identity, and personal mythology over a single signature scent. In practice, it is the kind of fragrance for a wearer who wants intimacy with a little tension, especially when a polished, distinctive presence matters more than a loud room-filling statement.
The House
Pauline RochasPauline Rochas is an independent French perfume house founded by Pauline Rochas, granddaughter of fashion designer Marcel Rochas and his wife Hélène. The house produces numbered perfumes alongside candles and bespoke scent commissions for private clients, hotels, and spas. Now headquartered in London, the brand treats fragrance as a form of personal identity rather than a seasonal product.
The Creator
Patricia ChouxPatricia’s signature technique hinges on precise modulation of top‑note volatility. She favors bright citrus, crisp green accords, and transparent aldehydes to create an immediate spark, then introduces heart ingredients such as jasmine, violet leaf or heliotrope for depth.
