Jean Claude Ellena is a master parfumer well known for his "natural smell theme" in his creations. I'm a fan of his work and some of his creations are among my favorites of all time. Déclaration, Terre D'Hermès, Un Jardin en Mediterranée, just to name a few.
This "Un Jardin" line started in 2003 with the great Un Jardin en Mediterranée which combines fig leaves and tomato stem. But this one is the one that is talked about just because all of it's story around. In fact, is a really decent and almost great fragrance. Kinda complex, yet super easy-to-wear and with this "natural" feeling.
I confess i didn't love it at first and rejected it for some years just because i though it didn't have anything special. Until i bought it and spent some time with it. I still prefer Mediterranée but this is actually really good too.
It starts green and juicy. The greeness comes from the green mango accord and juiciness from grapefruit. The overal feel is very fresh, bitter, green, slightly plastic also. Luca Turin describes it as a new plastic tablecloth smell, and i totally get what it means. It has that plastic feel during the lifetime of the fragrance but never offensive but, actually, quite fascinating. As it dries down, the floral aspects came to life. Lotus is the more proeminent, giving a watery and transparent vibe to the fragrance, but always with this (less) greeness from the mango-grapefruit thing.
Underneath this composition, especially in the drydown, i detect the soft incense and sweet-soft sycomore wood. That's when you realize this travel was worth it and the Nil is there. That's the twist! The "pièce de résistence" of this fragrance. The glue that makes the whole composition works. A fresh wood scent with a strong green watery presence. There's a Timbuktu vibe going on sometimes due to Mango-Incense combo, although, Sur Le Nil is greener and watery.
The projection is average and longevity is around 6h but for this type of fragrance, i think is adequate.
Overall, an excellent fresh woody scent with a green opening and an incense feel.
