Eau Lente Diptyque 1986

This was yet another spice oriental that really tempted me.
Cinnamon and a whole lot of clove. It starts off well. I also like to use cinnamon and clove in the kitchen - alongside really a lot of other spices; my arsenal of spices and blends would surely astonish the average innkeeper. I enjoy Arabic, Indian, Chinese, South African, Indonesian, Persian cuisine. And I like it spicy, very spicy - but never so much that it overshadows the other components. I go through sambal oelek in 750ml jars, sambal terasi at least by the teaspoon. And this fragrance starts off just like that: clove, cinnamon - and pepper. Just my taste, pure, distinct, unadulterated. It's not necessarily sophistication, but a consistent urgency that stands here with legs wide apart. And that is already a kind of sophistication. Especially since the clove then rises above the cinnamon - beautiful, that's how it should be, that's how it must be. This pleasure lasts for about a good hour.
Oh, if only it could stay like this. Later, what I particularly like fades away: the pepperiness of the spices cinnamon and clove, which are often relegated to the sweet direction here, where they can indeed do good, but have quite different potentials.
Gradually, the opulent splendor ebbs away. The whole thing becomes really sluggish; I would almost suspect something oily,
the newer version of "Narcisse noir" comes to mind, where orange blossoms can either come off as clever-elegant or fatty; unfortunately, here the latter applies. Now, one should not imagine that the fragrance suddenly turns into an oily trail - no, but the temperament that thrilled me at the beginning becomes too disciplined for me; there is a certain break between fiery intensity and prematurely setting phlegm. The cinnamon remains - but in a somewhat mushy alliance that has entered into a partnership with cocoa. I do not regret the purchase, though - I just spray a bit more here, gently of course - I am simply thrilled by the impact of the opening.
I once read that the quality of a fragrance is also assessed by how well the phases of a scent do not drift too far apart. Of course, the transitions can be very different and appealing - and not everything has to unfold "classically." Here, something that started off grandiosely was brought to a lackluster finish. Partial reformulation to the beginning - but with a punch, please!