perfume – Page 23 – This Side of Perfume

Jo Malone’s Wood Sage & Sea Salt

September 26, 2014

Notes: ambrette seed, sea salt, sage, seaweed, and grapefruit.

I’ve been excited to try this newest Jo Malone release ever since it was first announced back in the spring, although I remember thinking at the time that it seemed odd to release a salty, beachy scent at the end of summer. Now that I’ve actually sampled the fragrance, I see that autumn is the right time of year for this. It adds a touch of brightness to the crisp, cool mornings, yet is still refreshing enough for warm September afternoons.

For me, Wood Sage & Sea Salt opens with a splash of grapefruit and a spicy sensation that’s much more like black pepper than like salt. It’s refreshing and bracing, but not overwhelming. I wouldn’t describe this as a fruity scent though. The grapefruit fades rather quickly, and the peppery opening quiets down.

In its place, a briny scent that must be from the seaweed comes to the fore. This is where the saltiness begins to come through. There’s a marine aspect here mixed with a green flavor. The ambrette acts as a musk-like base, and through all of this, salt begin to appear as though in waves (I assume this process is helped by skin chemistry and natural everyday sweat too).

Wood Sage & Sea Salt is refreshing on the whole, and exactly like a sea breeze. I confess I don’t get much sage or anything woodsy here (I find the base more generally warm and musky). Still, this is a well-blended and nicely detailed composition. There’s a bit of an edge to keep this fragrance from personifying a purely sunny beach, with the bite from the salt echoing the tangy grapefruit opening. It puts me in mind of the beaches I’ve visited in Scotland where the wind is bitter and unrelenting, even in July. But, if you’re in the right mood for it, it’s absolutely invigorating, just like the best autumn weather.

Wood Sage & Sea Salt is reportedly perfumer Christine Nagel’s last fragrance for Jo Malone. Despite the lack of floral notes, this scent fits right in with the brand’s current profile, but we will see where Jo Malone goes from here.

Wood Sage & Sea Salt is available from Jo Malone, Nordstrom, and from Saks. The Perfumed Court carries Jo Malone samples, although I don’t currently see Wood Sage & Sea Salt on offer, perhaps they are sold out. I got my sample (and eventually a 30 ml bottle) from my local Jo Malone counter.

Both the image and info on perfume notes are from Fragrantica.

Sotto La Luna: Gardenia by Tauer Perfumes

September 19, 2014

Notes: fresh spices, roasted coffee beans, mushrooms, gardenia, jasmine, rose buds, and woods.

I made the mistake of first sampling Sotto La Luna: Gardenia on an oppressively humid day in early September. The result was not pretty. This composition might be centered around gardenia, but it’s no soliflore. It’s a rich, creamy, and, at times, luxurious fragrance. But in the wrong circumstances (i.e. heat and humidity) it’s too overpowering. The vanilla of the base takes over, radiating a cloying and stifling sweetness. I had to scrub it off.

But, I had read some intriguing positive reviews of this fragrance (some excellent write-ups from The Scented Hound and Persolaise) so I didn’t want to simply discard this as a bust. Also, given that Sotto La Luna: Gardenia is an autumn release, I thought it would be a good idea to wait for less summer-like weather. I’ve now tried Gardenia several times since our first disastrous attempt to get acquainted, and I’m glad because there’s a lot to discover here.

Wearing Gardenia is like a journey through a forest. It’s quite green and sharp in the beginning as you still hover around the edges of the forest. As wear time continues and you trek more deeply towards the heart of the forest, it becomes more about the surrounding woods and soil. Gardenia petals peek out in a light wink from time to time, but the floral aspect here is mostly just a tease. Indeed, the core of this fragrance is really about the forest floor: the mossy undergrowth, the fallen leaves, and, as with any forest, the mushrooms.

The funky mushroom note pulls sour on me, but I actually don’t mind it. I appreciate a little sourness after the sweet vanilla bomb of my first attempt at sampling this. I honestly think the sour mushroom and earthy soil aspect adds some much needed balance and depth to this composition. The dry-down is a creamy, sweet vanilla that’s lightly spiced, almost like gingerbread. It lasts for ages, and luckily it’s very nice when not worn in extreme heat. But to me, this dry down would feel generic and boring if not for the weirdness that precedes it.

Sotto La Luna is meant to be a new series from Tauer Perfumes, of which this Gardenia creation is the first installment. Gardenia has definitely gotten attention and sparked a lot of debate. Considering the sharp divide of opinions, this is the type of fragrance you absolutely must sample for yourself if you’re thinking of purchasing. You may even have to try it multiple times for yourself, considering the kind of Jekyll and Hyde experience I’ve had with it.

If anything, I do admire Gardenia for challenging me. It certainly offers a wealth of experiences for one perfume: from the sharply verdant opening, to the light brush of floral petals, to the rich exploration of earthy notes, and finally the yummy gourmand-like dry down. That’s a lot to contend with for one perfume, and I’ll continue trying to come to terms with it all as colder weather closes in. I’ll also keep an eye out for the next installment in the Sotto La Luna series. At the very least, I’m sure it won’t be boring.

Samples and full bottles of Tauer Perfumes are available from Luckyscent, which is where I got my sample.

Image is from Fragrantica while info on notes is from Luckyscent.

L’Orpheline by Serge Lutens

September 5, 2014

Notes: aldehydes, cedar wood, fougere accord, coumarin, clouds of ambergris, patchouli, incense, and cashmeran.

This new Serge Lutens release is based on the simple notes of musk and incense. However, as always with Lutens and his partner in perfumery, Christopher Sheldrake, it’s not necessarily a simple fragrance. L’Orpheline opens with a gentle cloud of musk and light cedar. The aldehydes add some lift here so that the composition doesn’t appear too heavy right off the bat. I get a quiet, warm sensation of myrrh, but nothing hugely smokey from the incense.

Even though the incense isn’t dominant for me, it’s easy to see incense’s influence on the fragrance as a whole. The opening of L’Orpheline is similar to stepping into a cathedral, taking a seat somewhere in the wooden pews, and soaking up the hushed atmosphere. L’Orpheline continues with this hushed, muted tone. Despite the musky and woody notes, this is never going to be an overwhelming kind of fragrance, which makes it excellent for daytime wear.

But the muted aspect doesn’t mean that L’Orpheline is a “weak” fragrance (in fact it’s an Haute Concentration eau de parfum). I’ve been wearing this in some very humid weather, and it really blooms on the skin. It takes on a soft and comforting texture without ever feeling heavy. I haven’t felt that it’s inappropriate for hot weather because the composition retains that cloud-like feeling all the way through. The musk and cedar develop a lightly sweaty aspect that runs in an undercurrent beneath the soft cashmeran cloud. This lends a sultry air to the scent, it’s even a little bit sexy!

“L’Orpheline” translates to “the orphan girl.” It is known that Serge Lutens was separated from his mother at a very young age. Without getting into psychoanalysis, it’s safe to assume that the theme of this fragrance holds a lot of personal meaning for Monsieur Lutens. What, then, might he be trying to communicate with the creation of L’Orpheline? It’s certainly an odd perfume, not an obvious blockbuster the way some of his previous fragrances have been. And yet, a blockbuster isn’t always what’s necessary.

L’Orpheline is subtle and chic enough to wear to the office. It’s also elegant enough to wear out, and soft enough to wear as a comfort scent. L’Orpheline is all of these things, and also firmly its own creation. The quietness of this fragrance demands that the wearer stop, listen, and figure out how best to wear this, demonstrating that loud showiness isn’t always necessary to draw attention. L’Orpheline definitely won’t be for everyone, it won’t even be for all Serge Lutens fans. But it’s undeniably striking in its own subtlety.

Serge Lutens is available from Barneys New York. Full bottles and samples are available from Luckyscent, which is where I got my sample.

Image is from Fragrantica, and info on notes is taken from Luckyscent. It’s worth noting that Fragrantica lists musk and incense as the only notes, while Luckyscent goes into more detail.

Oeillet Bengale by Aedes de Venustas

September 2, 2014

Notes: bergamot, white pepper, rose, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron, tumeric, clove, tolu balsam, labdanum, ylang ylang, benzoin, vanilla.

Now that it’s officially September, crisp autumnal weather is on the way. (At least I hope so, temperatures here are still hovering around the 90s!) It’s always nice to start wearing fragrances with more spice and warmth at this time of year to make up for the shorter days and the slight bite to the air at night. One of the fragrances I’m most looking forward to wearing in the coming cool weather is Oeillet Bengale, which is a full-on bouquet, bursting with inviting florals and warm spices.

‘Oeillet’ is the French word for carnation, although the Bengale Oeillet is actually a variety of rose. Aedes de Venustas and the perfumer for this composition, Rodrigo Flores-Roux, make clever use of this floral play on words. Oeillet Bengale opens with a clove and pepper spiciness familiar to anyone who has sampled Caron’s Poivre, that exemplary and refined carnation bouquet scent. But Oeillet Bengale is able to reference Poivre, while still telling its own original fragrance story.

The rose here is an earthy rose, not necessarily dirty, but not refined either. This isn’t a bouquet of roses sitting in a vase on someone’s mantelpiece. Rather, this rose is still alive and growing. There is an herbaceous aspect to this composition alongside the spiciness. This adds balance, and also takes Oeillet Bengale’s story outside the confines of a refined home altogether, placing this fragrance in the garden.

Oeillet Bengale is not meant to be a linear composition, and it develops beautifully on the skin. This means that the garden conjured up here isn’t static, and it isn’t only floral either. There are sweet red berries here, and after a couple of hours, I also get the impression of root vegetables. It sounds odd, but it’s not unpleasant. It puts me in mind of carrots being washed in preparation for baking a cinnamon-spiced carrot cake.

The dry-down is resinous, which I sometimes worry will smell too much like burning plastic on me, but the delicately smokey syrup is wonderfully complementary, especially on top of the spiced cake effect.

This fragrance is supposed to be quite strong on the incense, but it honestly doesn’t come through heavily for me, and Oeillet Bengale never reads strongly smokey to me. Which is probably a good thing, as wear time is pretty phenomenal. It’s one of those fragrances I can wear to bed and wake up still smelling traces of it in the morning, on my wrist, my pillow, and my sheets.

Aedes de Venustas is a New York fragrance boutique that carries trendy brands such as Byredo. Oeillet Bengale marks the third fragrance in their signature line, and is by far my favorite of their offerings. Full bottles of the Aedes line are quite pricey, although the packaging is certainly luxe enough (and they do offer a smaller and slightly less expensive purse spray size). It’s the quality of the fragrance inside that really counts, and Oeillet Bengale is definitely worth the extravagance. It’s going on my Christmas wish list.

Oeillet Bengale is available directly from Aedes de Venustas or from Barneys New York. Samples are available from The Perfumed Court. Aedes also allows you to request up to seven fragrance samples with an online purchase, which is how I obtained my sample.

Image and info on fragrance notes are from Fragrantica.

The City at Dusk: Cologne du Maghreb

July 10, 2014

Notes: citrus accord, cistus, ambreine, cedarwood, java vetiver oil, bergamot, lemon, neroli, orange blossom, lavender, rosemary, rose absolute, rose essential oil, clary sage.

Cologne du Maghreb is easily one of the most buzzed-about releases for this summer. Originally released in 2011 as a limited edition for the holidays, it sold out. Now Andy Tauer has brought it back for wide release, and he’s done it in the traditional way of cologne-making: using only natural and raw botanical ingredients. To be honest, I was a little bit intimidated to try this one. Would this long list of notes all come together, and would the all-natural approach work with my skin?

The answer is, it worked right away. The opening of Cologne du Maghreb is a bright, crackling citrus medley that fairly jumps off the skin. On me, it pulls very green, like sour limes and tart green apples. It’s refreshingly sharp, and slices like a knife through oppressive summer weather. This hesperidic opening is what you might expect from a cologne, but, after about twenty minutes or so, this fragrance takes a turn for the unexpected.

I thought the lavender here might also bring a sharp, refreshing aspect to the fragrance. Instead, the lavender and vetiver work together to bring an herbal effect, softening the opening, and balancing the composition. Cologne du Maghreb has a grassy feel at this point, like strolling through a park.

The cedarwood creeps in so gradually that I almost didn’t notice it at first – that is, until you can’t help but notice it during the dry down. The cedar brings a moody aspect to the composition, like dimming the lights after a long day. By this point, the juicy citrus of the opening has receded, and the fragrance has a dry, but warm feel to it. It’s a little darker than I expected for a cologne but, I have to say, I love it. Sensing that first waft of dry cedar is my favorite part of wearing this fragrance.

I took Cologne du Maghreb with me on vacation to New York. Summer in the city is no joke, the heat during the day is relentless. By evening the city is ready for the cooling of hazy dusk, and I found I enjoyed wearing Cologne du Maghreb most at this time of day. It was a good pick-me-up to spritz on before heading out to dinner, and the cedarwood dry down lends a sultriness that’s lightly sexy, but not too overwhelming for this weather.

Although this is a great scent to wear during the summer, I can see it working throughout autumn too because of that appealing hint of dark moodiness in the dry down. Cologne du Maghreb never turns into a full-bodied woody oriental (it’s only a cologne concentration, after all) but it hovers on the edge, and that flirtation is what makes it delicious.

*This write-up is based on a sample generously provided by Jeffrey at Hypoluxe, Tauer Perfumes’ US distributor.

Samples and full bottles of Cologne du Maghreb are available from Luckyscent.

image is from Tauer Perfumes promotional material, and info on notes is from Luckyscent.

Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle: En Passant

June 25, 2014

Notes: lilac, cucumber, wheat, watery notes, and petitgrain.

In continuing my exploration of florals for this spring and summer, I had a hunch that En Passant would be a perfect kind of gentle (but still interesting) floral for me to try. I was a little bit surprised when I first sampled En Passant because the opening is gorgeous, but not exactly gentle. Rather, it is a headlong plunge into a garden right in the midst of blooming lilac bushes. Olivia Giacobetti’s creation for Frederic Malle’s curated line is the most startlingly realistic floral that I’ve come across.

En Passant could work beautifully as just a linear soliflore, but Ms. Giacobetti has added in a few other notes to spark some interest. I was a little wary of possible weird ozonic notes from the watery accord, but fortunately that isn’t the case. The cucumber helps to keep the composition cool and lush, so that the watery notes here give off a herbaceous feel, conjuring up the image of fresh rain drops sitting on green leaves.

A piercing hint of mint also develops on my skin even though I don’t see it listed in the notes. It could just be my skin chemistry, perhaps the cucumber playing tricks on me. Whatever it is, it’s entirely welcome, as it keeps the composition fresh and makes En Passant excellent to wear during hot and humid summer days.

Despite the watery influence, I don’t think of En Passant as a sheer fragrance. The realism of the lilac note lends a tangibility to the composition. There is also the wheat note, which becomes apparent a couple of hours into wear time, and is the reason why I wouldn’t say this is a completely linear affair. The wheat gives off a sort of doughy, baking bread effect.

The dry down here with the fading floral and herbaceous notes, plus the light baking bread influence, reminds me of a boulangerie/patisserie in Paris that I used to pass by (and often stopped in!) on my way to the Luxembourg gardens. I suppose that’s the whole point of this fragrance and its title, it is truly en passant.

En Passant and other Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle can be found at Barney’s. I got my sample from The Perfumed Court.

image and info about fragrance notes are from fragrantica.

Summer Holiday; Keiko Mecheri’s Taormine

June 19, 2014

Notes: Sicilian petit grain, Calabrian bergamot, Italian citron, bitter almond, aromatic accord, subtle floral heart, leather accord.

Evocative of a Sicilian getaway, Taormine opens with a bright inviting warmth. I’ve never been to Sicily myself, so I’ll have to rely on the perfume and my own imagination to paint this picture. The hesperidic opening is lightly aromatic and just a touch herbaceous. It sets a sultry mood, like a salty sea breeze blowing onto the patio at cocktail hour. However, Taormine doesn’t open up into a big salty, beachy scent. I think that’s a good thing, because what it does instead is a little bit more interesting.

For me, the almond note is the star of this composition. It starts sneaking in about fifteen minutes after application and lingers for the rest of wear time. The almond is interesting because, while it adds a touch of sweetness and some depth to the aromatic citrus notes, it’s not enough to turn this into a full-blown gourmand scent. Instead, the almond keeps this composition dry and grounded, which helps make Taormine a lovely summer scent.

The leather in the dry down here is gentle. It reminds me slightly of Bottega Veneta’s Eau de Parfum, which is all the rich leather of Milan fashion week, high heels and handbags. However, the leather of Taormine is a little more comfortable and lived-in, like the shoes you wore down to the beach earlier, now covered in a dusting of sand.

Taormine definitely has a comforting feel, but there’s also a complexity to it, and, in that, a quiet elegance. I sometimes tend to think of summer scents (and especially the citrus-driven colognes) as being more sharply acidic and more simple in character than this fragrance is. With Taormine, Keiko Mecheri shows us that summery fragrances can be both soft and complex, and completely season-appropriate.

I can easily imagine wearing this fragrance while on vacation: relaxing during the afternoon with a book, or going out to dinner on a sultry evening. The only flaw is that I wish this one had a little bit more staying power. It’s very much a skin scent on me, which is fine. I get around 5 hours wear time from it, but I’d love for it to go just little bit longer, especially in warmer weather. Believe it or not, this is actually the first Keiko Mecheri scent I’ve tried. I’m happy with this as a first choice, and I’m looking forward to sampling more!

Taormine was originally released in 2010 as part of La Collection Hesperides. I’m not sure if it was intended to be a limited edition, but both samples and full bottles are still available from Luckyscent (which is where I got my sample).

Image is from fragrantica while info about fragrance notes is from luckyscent.

What I’m Wearing: Summer Edition

June 12, 2014

Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge by Monet

I love sampling and writing reviews of different fragrances, but what I’m sampling doesn’t always correspond with what I’m wearing day-to-day. And since I do significantly change up my fragrances depending on the season, this seemed like the perfect time to take a break from the regular review format.

The month of June here has been humid, stormy, and grey in general so far – not the most picturesque start to summer. And while it hasn’t gotten outright hot yet, the humidity means the heat has been felt nonetheless. So, here are a few fragrances I’ve been wearing to combat or complement the weather:

Jo Malone; Peony & Blush Suede: sometimes I wake up in the morning knowing exactly what outfit and what fragrance I want to wear, while other times I have no clue. Peony & Blush Suede is the scent I’ve been defaulting to when I can’t figure out what to wear, and for one simple reason: it’s never the wrong thing to wear. This is good for the office, for running errands, even for working out (if you’re into perfume at the gym). Peony & Blush Suede is sweet, but the bright red apple top note keeps it on the refreshing side, and the humidity and I are both thankful that this never falls into sticky-sweet territory. It dries down into a very soft, appealing skin scent (I see the suede influence). I’m almost out of my 30 ml bottle of this, and I use this one so often, I’m considering ordering the 100 ml version next.

Dolce & Gabbana; Light Blue: Light Blue has become a veteran of the mass market, so much so that it’s practically ubiquitous these days (I’ve noticed Sephora is promoting it especially hard this summer). That doesn’t mean Light Blue is unworthy of the attention. In fact, this scent is a deceptively interesting blend: a mass market sheer fruity-floral that isn’t sweet. The zesty citrus top notes give it an effervescent champagne-like quality, while the dose of cedar grounds the composition, making this the rare sheer fragrance that still manages to pack a punch. The longevity is remarkable for an EdT, I easily get 8 hours of wear time from this. I’ve been wearing Light Blue on and off for ten years now, and I find myself returning to it again and again as a dependable warm weather fragrance.

Diptyque; Tam Dao: The opening of Tam Dao is so sharp, dry, and green that it’s almost medicinal. It could be off-putting to some, but on the hottest of days, I crave that blast of greenness, it’s the only cure for the heat. And anyway, sandalwood is the star of the show here, the prickling green opening merely paves the way. As the sandalwood makes its presence known, Tam Dao takes on a creamy texture. But this isn’t the rich creaminess of something like Tom Ford’s Santal Blush; this isn’t vanilla-based. The creaminess is only here to give texture and depth, while the sandalwood remains dry as a bone. I usually associate woody fragrances with Autumn/Winter, but Tam Dao is perfect for summer, exerting enough of a dry, green edge to cut through any hot day.

By Kilian; A Taste of Heaven: This is one of the strangest green fragrances I’ve yet tried. A Taste of Heaven is literally green juice in the bottle, presumably done to imitate absinthe, it’s inspiration. Luckily, this isn’t quite as lurid green as absinthe, but wearing it may be just as much of a trip. Despite the lavender and bergamot, I can’t say that this is a particularly refreshing green fragrance. It has fresh qualities for sure, especially when first sprayed on. But this also takes on a creamy texture, and where Tam Dao remains dry, A Taste of Heaven is vanilla-based, and so it takes on a gourmand aspect. The vanilla and tonka bean give this an edible quality, so that A Taste of Heaven always ends up reminding me of cream soda. I enjoy spritzing this on and letting all the different aspects unfold, from the fresh, aromatic, and lightly spicy beginning to the textured dry-down. This is a weird, yet appealing choice for a summer night out.

What fragrances have you been enjoying so far this summer?

{Image source}

Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Lumiere Noire pour Femme

May 28, 2014

Notes: cumin, pimiento, rose, narcissus, and patchouli.

Skin chemistry and perception are funny things. I’ve never been a fan of floral fragrances, and rose in particular has always been the most difficult for me to pull off. Add rose to a composition, and it just doesn’t seem to sit right on my skin. The only rose I’ve really regretted not being able to wear is Kilian’s Liaisons Dangereuses, which is objectively beautiful and sumptuous, but, again, not quite right for me.

For a long time, I’ve stuck to fragrances that trend more masculine, or to gourmands—anything to avoid a floral explosion! But I’m learning that the really great thing about taste is that it can change.

And who better to change my mind about rose than Francis Kurkdjian? I know that rose-patchouli is not a new theme for him. Quite honestly, I thought I would prefer his Absolue Pour Le Soir, a dark composition with a floral heart. But, again, perception and expectation can play with you, and I ended up falling for the rosy Lumiere Noire instead.

For me, this one plays out as a bit more Lumiere than Noire. The opening is vibrant and sparkling with spice. I’ve seen some comments and reviews where people found the first minute or so unpleasant because of the strong cumin, but it never really shows up on my skin so I can’t speak to that. I do, however, get the pimiento, which adds a nice kind of crackling sensation—you can almost feel it. But the spice is never overwhelming, and it quickly blends in with the composition to create a lively floral.

Lumiere Noire is quite a bit more green than I expected. I wouldn’t say this is a “clean” fragrance, but the rose here is never stifling, perhaps the more astringent narcissus helps to balance it. The entire composition maintains a fresh edge even after the opening wears off, and I would say that even the patchouli here is of the polite variety.

But I don’t want to oversell the Lumiere aspect of this fragrance. It’s true, Lumiere Noire is delicate and romantic, but it’s not insipid. With light comes shadows, and the shadows cast here open up spaces for contemplation, for a little brooding, even. It’s an elegant kind of brooding though, like sitting with a glass of red wine while still wearing your makeup and jewelry after a long day. Lumiere Noire dries down to something quite sensual, quite intimate, like a secret. I found that I liked wearing it to bed, there’s a dreamy quality to it.

I can’t remember now what prompted me to order a sample of this fragrance, but I’m glad that I did. With Lumiere Noire, Mr. Kurkdjian has taught me that there’s no need to be afraid of wearing florals, and that rose can be both dark and light, delicate and tenacious. There’s a kind of gentle perseverance to Lumiere Noire, as it lasts for a good six hours before fading (and I’m wondering if that will increase now in warmer weather).

This version is “Pour Femme” but I could easily see it working fantastically on a man, and I’m eager to try its counterpart, Lumiere Noire Pour Homme. For now, this one is definitely on the list for a full bottle.

Lumiere Noire Pour Femme is available from retailers such as Bergdorf’s. I got my sample from Luckyscent, where both samples and full bottles are available.

Image is from fragrantica while info about fragrance notes is from Luckyscent.

Warm to Cool: Diptyque’s Eau de Lavande

May 15, 2014

Notes: lavender, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg.

As soon as I saw that Diptyque had released a lavender fragrance, I knew I had to try it. I love Diptyque’s Feuille de Lavande candle, and since Guerlain’s Jicky is one of my all-time favorite fragrances, it’s accurate to say that I love a good fougère fragrance. I was eager to see what kind of relationship I could have with Eau de Lavande.

I expected a lavender for summer, something green and herbal that would cut into the heat of the day before drying down to something warm, perhaps with hints of the animalic. I even compared the Eau de Lavande ingredients with those listed on my Jicky box, and saw enough similarities (coumarin notable about them) to confirm my expectations. Note: I did all of this before even trying a single spritz of Eau de Lavande!! If this were a cartoon, warning signs would be flashing red inside my mind. Since this is real life, I sprayed the fragrance on, not expecting to be surprised.

As it turns out, Eau de Lavande is an exercise in subverting expectations. This lavender has no interest in verging on the freshly green or cool. From first spray, it’s a noticeably warm and substantial fragrance. The spices are immediately prominent, getting almost equal billing with the lavender. I also get quite a strong impression of musk even though it’s not listed in the notes. All this is to say that the opening of Eau de Lavande is not a green or herbal floral. There are enough spicy and animalic elements at play for this to be a really interesting attention-grabber in the early stages.

Then, like a reverse-engineered fougère, Eau de Lavande’s warmth melts away as the composition cools down during the middle and dry down stages. After about an hour’s wear time, the spices recede and the composition blooms into a full soliflore. Diptyque sourced three different variations of French lavender to achieve this full bloom effect. I sometimes feel overwhelmed by strong florals, but not here. There’s actually a kind of cool relief as this fragrance develops. After the rather heady opening, one has the impression of finding a spot of shade in the middle of a lavender field.

These days Diptyque seems mainly interested in putting out pleasantly wearable fragrances as opposed to creativity-driven releases. There’s nothing wrong with wearability, and Eau de Lavande is highly wearable, for either day or nighttime. But there’s a little more to this composition than mere wearability. I feel like Olivia Giacobetti has done something quite clever here, almost playing the fougère accord backwards from warm to cool. This fragrance isn’t an absolute favorite for me, but I appreciate Eau de Lavande for making me think and challenging my expectations.

Eau de Lavande is part of Diptyque’s Les Florales collection. It is available as a roll-on or in a 100 ml bottle from Diptyque. Full bottles and samples are also available from Luckyscent.

Image and information regarding fragrance notes is from fragrantica.