Ever wish you could snap your fingers and go back in time to the carefree days of childhood? Kurky eau de parfum, the newest release from celebrated fragrance brand Maison Francis Kurkdjian, aims to channel that sense of nostalgia with a series of cheerful gourmand-musky accords.
Kurky eau de parfum is decidedly whimsical next to other fragrances in the maison’s portfolio, including the viral Baccarat Rouge 540 and amber-floral APOM eau de parfum. “Initially, I was thinking of creating something with an almond note, but I took a departure from that because I thought the almond was not playful enough, not sunny and colorful enough,” Kurkdjian says. “It was a bit too serious. Little by little, I started to add color and fruity notes, that yumminess. I call it tutti-frutti because, to be honest, there is not one thing I can highlight.” The scent’s tutti-frutti accord is described as “escaping from a box of candies,” reflected by notes of orange, pear, peach, raspberry, and blackberry. Kurky eau de parfum is also nicely grounded by clean white musk notes and complemented with vanilla and sandalwood for a well-rounded olfactory finish.
Though born in 1969, Kurkdjian considers himself a child of the ’80s, which is reflected by the overall vibrancy of the fragrance. The juxtaposition of electric-green and poppy-orange doodles found inside Kurky’s bottle and interior packaging—a clear nod to one’s inner child—along with the juice’s tangerine color, helps anchor its ethos of joy. “The wallpaper in my bedroom when I was a kid was green and orange,” the perfumer continues. “Those are two colors—I won’t say I don’t like them, but those are two colors for interior design I don’t like because I grew up in such a funky environment,” he explains. For an added touch of personalization, Kurkdjian even hand-drew each of the icons depicted, including stars, flowers, suns, trees, and stick figures.
As for the origin of the name Kurky itself, “It’s a nickname I got from very close friends, I would say about 20 years ago,” the perfumer reveals to Bazaar. “It’s not something I carried with me as a child, but in France, we spell Kurky with an i, not a y. Here, I think it’s more elegant to have a y at the end instead of an i because the word is nicer to look at graphically. I also thought it was interesting to twist the word in an English way.”
Kurky can also be interpreted as the extension of the spirit behind the maison’s Bulles d'Agathe collection, a set of five elevated, scented soap bubbles named in honor of Kurkdjian’s niece. “There is something in the maison that relates to childhood,” the expert explains. “As a child, you have all those barriers that come with education. When you raise a kid, you tell them what is good to say and what is not good to say. You tell them how to stand and how not to stand. You basically add boundaries. But when you smell, your brain doesn’t take all that into consideration. There is a thought that comes genuinely, frankly, and straight away. I wanted to reconnect that idea with through this perfume.”
The fragrance’s thoughtful composition has been in the works for over a year, but its 2025 launch couldn’t be more timely. “I wanted to create a perfume that carries on positive energy because I believe that today, we need positivity big-time, right? And it’s funny because I started to work on this project a year and a half ago, and you never know when you hit the market what state the world is going to be in,” Kurkdjian notes. “All of a sudden, you understand that what you thought a year and a half ago works and fits with what’s happening right now. I wish it could have been different, in a way, but this is what the world is right now.” Kurky is as sophisticated and timeless as any of Kurkdjian’s fragrances, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Its unique blend invites its wearer to adopt a childlike spirit in dreaming and daring for more. “It’s like taking a shot of happiness. That is how I see this perfume,” the expert says.
Kurky eau de parfum is currently available at Bloomingdale’s and Maison Francis Kurkdjian for $245.
