Parfums de Marly, Where to Start: Layton, Delina, Pegasus and More

Julien Sprecher founded Parfums de Marly in Paris in 2009 and named it for the Château de Marly, the private palace where the kings of France escaped the etiquette of Versailles. In 1745 Louis XV placed Guillaume Coustou's rearing horses at its gates, and horses run through the house's names: its first three fragrances, Darley, Shagya and Lippizan, share their names with a founding thoroughbred sire and two horse breeds. Sixteen years on, the house sells more than 30 fragrances, and AFP reported in 2024 that most of its business is in the United States. The short answer: start with Layton for apple, lavender and vanilla in cool weather, Delina for rose and lychee, Percival for something fresh to wear every day, Pegasus for almond and vanilla, Herod for tobacco, Althaïr for vanilla with spice, and Valaya for clean white musk.

A house named for a palace

Louis XIV built Marly as a retreat, and the house describes an invitation there as the rarest privilege at court. Coustou's horses were the last great work of his career; the originals now stand in the Louvre's Cour Marly, with copies at the Place de la Concorde. Sprecher has described his interest plainly: "horses and perfumes were the pride and glory of France," he said on the house's tenth anniversary in 2019. On the house's site he says he wanted "to go against the grain" when he founded it.

The house grew without much advertising; AFP reported sales growth of more than 50 percent in 2023. In June 2023 the investment firm Advent International took a majority stake in its parent company, which also owns Initio, and Sprecher stayed on as creative director. Parfums de Marly credits its perfumers rarely; the credits below are Fragrantica's. Hamid Merati-Kashani made several of the best known, including Pegasus, Layton and Percival, and Quentin Bisch made Delina and Valaya. Most of the house's fragrances come in a 75 ml bottle, and the best sellers also in 125 ml and 200 ml.

Layton: the one most people start with

Layton arrived in 2016 and is now the house's most reviewed fragrance on Fragrantica. Fragrantica credits Merati-Kashani. Sprecher describes it as a portrait of a confident, stylish man fond of life's finer things, and the house now files it among its Iconics.

The house lists apple, bergamot and cardamom, then lavender, violet and geranium, over patchouli, vanilla, guaiac wood and praline. On skin it opens with crisp green apple and a cool lavender that many reviewers read as minty, then settles into a sweet, spiced vanilla with dry woods underneath. Fragrantica reviewers place it firmly in fall and winter and often describe it as strong and long-lasting; a smaller group says recent batches wear lighter than older ones.

Choose Layton if you want one warm, easy fragrance for cold evenings that most people around you will enjoy. Next to Pegasus it is fresher and fruitier; next to Herod and Althaïr it is less sweet. Layton Exclusif (2017) is the darker version, with oud, sandalwood and leather. The house sells Layton at $290 for 75 ml, $400 for 125 ml and $545 for 200 ml, and Layton Exclusif at $370 for 75 ml.

Today's bottle prices: Layton · Layton Exclusif

Delina: the rose that made the house famous

Delina came out in 2017, made by Quentin Bisch of Givaudan. Bisch told the writer Richard Goller in 2022 that Sprecher was not sold on it at once: "At first, he didn't like the note, but we insisted and he reconsidered." Sprecher asked for one change, and the house now calls Delina a tribute to the ladies of the court, their gowns brushing through flowerbeds around a Damascena rose.

The house lists bergamot, lychee and rhubarb, then Damascena rose and nutmeg, over cashmeran, musk and vetiver. Bisch built the rose as a duet of natural Turkish rose oil and Petalia, a Givaudan molecule he says keeps the fresh lychee side of the rose going from start to finish. It smells of pink rose and juicy fruit, sweet but lifted by the tart rhubarb. Fragrantica reviewers lean toward spring and daytime wear; most find it strong and lasting, and a smaller group finds it too sweet or too much.

Delina suits anyone who wants a bright, sweet rose rather than a dark or dusty one. Bisch followed it with two siblings: Delina Exclusif (2018), the same idea "but by night," he said, with pear, incense and vanilla, and Delina La Rosée (2021), which he called the prequel, the rose in the morning before it has fully opened. The house sells Delina at $250 for 30 ml and $410 for 75 ml, Delina Exclusif at $430 and La Rosée at $400, each for 75 ml.

Today's bottle prices: Delina · Delina Exclusif · Delina La Rosée

Percival: the fresh one

Percival followed in 2018, again credited by Fragrantica to Merati-Kashani. Sprecher said he wanted "a new freshness" and tied the scent to the royal blue of its bottle, the color of the French kings.

Its notes are bergamot, mandarin, lavender and pink pepper, then violet, jasmine and spices, over ambroxan, amberwood, fir balsam and musk. In wear it is clean, bright lavender and citrus over a woody, musky base, the kind of fresh men's fragrance that suits work and warm days. Fragrantica reviewers use "fresh" and "clean" more than any other words for it, and several compare it to the fresh blue fragrances from the big designer houses.

It is the safest daily choice in the line and the easiest to wear in summer. Against Layton it trades the apple and vanilla for citrus and musk. Percival sells at $290 for 75 ml, $400 for 125 ml and $545 for 200 ml.

Today's bottle prices: Percival

Pegasus and Pegasus Exclusif: almond and vanilla

Pegasus, from 2011, is the oldest fragrance here; Fragrantica credits Merati-Kashani. The name had a history at Marly before the house used it: before Coustou's horses, the palace's grounds held Antoine Coysevox's Mercury on Pegasus. Sprecher calls the fragrance "an ode to elegance and confidence."

Fragrantica lists heliotrope, bergamot and pink pepper, then bitter almond, lavender and jasmine, over vanilla, sandalwood and amber. The almond leads, cool and a little sharp at first, then it turns creamy as the vanilla comes up. Reviewers split on that first almond note: some love its cold, marzipan edge, and some find it medicinal. Most reach for it in the cooler months.

Pegasus Exclusif (2020) keeps the almond and vanilla and adds oud and guaiac wood, so it reads drier, woodier and darker than the original. Choose Pegasus if you like gourmand fragrances that are not sugary. The house sells Pegasus at $290 for 75 ml, $400 for 125 ml and $545 for 200 ml, and Pegasus Exclusif at $370 for 75 ml and $460 for 125 ml.

Today's bottle prices: Pegasus · Pegasus Exclusif

Herod: the tobacco one

Herod, from 2012, shares its name with one of the great 18th-century racehorses. Herod was foaled in 1758, bred by the Duke of Cumberland, and led Britain's sire list eight times; his line keeps the Byerley Turk, another founding sire, alive in racing today. Fragrantica credits the fragrance to Olivier Pescheux.

It opens with cinnamon and pepper, then turns to tobacco leaf, incense, osmanthus and labdanum, over vanilla, cedar and vetiver. Reviewers describe the tobacco as smooth and sweet, like an opened pouch of pipe tobacco, and the drydown as cinnamon and vanilla close to the skin. It is a cold-weather and evening fragrance.

Several reviewers set it beside Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille. Herod is drier, with more cinnamon and incense; Tobacco Vanille is sweeter and richer, with more dried fruit. Choose Herod if you want tobacco without a dessert. It sells at $290 for 75 ml and $400 for 125 ml.

Today's bottle prices: Herod

Althaïr: the vanilla one

Althaïr arrived in 2023, credited on Fragrantica to Merati-Kashani and Ilias Ermenidis working with Sprecher. Sprecher calls it "a majestic, subtle and surprisingly fresh vanilla." It has become one of the house's Iconics, and Althaïr Exclusif followed in 2026.

It opens with orange blossom, bergamot, cinnamon and cardamom, moves to Bourbon vanilla and elemi, and dries down to praline, tonka, guaiac wood and musk. Reviewers mention vanilla and sweetness more than anything else, then cinnamon; some compare it to a warm latte or a heavy sweater. It wears best in fall and winter.

Choose Althaïr if Layton is not sweet enough for you; it is the creamiest fragrance here. It sells at $290 for 75 ml, $400 for 125 ml and $545 for 200 ml.

Today's bottle prices: Althaïr

Valaya: the clean one

Valaya came out in 2023, made by Quentin Bisch, who also made Delina. Sprecher describes it as "a veil of linen on the skin." Valaya Exclusif followed in 2025.

The house names mandarin, white flowers and akigalawood over musk; Fragrantica adds aldehydes, white peach, orange blossom and vanilla. It smells of clean laundry and soft citrus at first, then of white flowers and musk close to the skin. Reviewers call it clean more than anything else, and some say it reminds them of fresh cotton. It suits warm days, offices and anyone who prefers a quiet fragrance.

Valaya is the opposite of Delina in the same house: pale and airy where Delina is bright and sweet. It sells at $250 for 30 ml and $410 for 75 ml.

Today's bottle prices: Valaya

How to choose

Start with the season and the sweetness you like. For cold weather and a little sweetness, try Layton; if you want more, Althaïr; if you want tobacco, Herod; if you like almond, Pegasus. For warm days, Percival is the fresh one and Valaya the clean one. Delina stands on its own as the rose.

Most of these bottles cost $290 or more for 75 ml, and several split opinion on skin, so wear your first choice for a few days before you buy. If you already wear Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille, Herod is the one to try for a drier tobacco.