Bottle Design:
Fabien Baron

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L'Eau d'Issey Absolue Issey Miyake 2013

6.9 / 10 97 Ratings

A limited perfume by Issey Miyake for women, released in 2013. The scent is floral-sweet. It is being marketed by Shiseido Group / Beauté Prestige International.
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Main accords

Floral

Sweet

Woody

Fresh

Powdery

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Lotus

Freesia

Heart Notes

Night-blooming jasmine

Provençal honey

Tuberose

Base Notes

Bourbon vanilla

Precious woods

Perfumer

Olivier Cresp

Ratings

Scent

6.997 Ratings

Longevity

6.771 Ratings

Sillage

6.472 Ratings

Bottle

7.879 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet · last update on 11/24/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Serpentine (2005)

Parfum Divin

Bloom Profumo di Fiori

L'Eau d'Issey Eau de Toilette

Escape Eau de Parfum

Reviews

11 in-depth fragrance descriptions

05/11/2013

4Scent 2.5Longevity 5Sillage

Coutureguru
237 Reviews

Coutureguru

Very helpful Review 5

Suspect marketing in Flankerville ...

House Issey Miyake churns out flankers at a rate of knots ... lately with the word 'absolu' tossed in for good measure. Unfortunately, it simply feels as if this marketing strategy is an 'absolu'-te scam to wring yet more life out of L'Eau ... when in actual fact I would be quite happy with an original, un-reformulated bottle.

Now ... by all accounts I should really like this 'Absolu' version. I mean c'mon ... night blooming Jasmine, Honey AND Tuberose?!?!?!? Be still my beating heart. PLUS the allure of 'precious woods' giving my spine a tingle ... brrrrrr.
Dear reader ... my assumption regarding the word 'absolu' when connected to a fragrance conjures up all sorts of wonderful ideas of a liquid so potent that one or two spritzes is going to carry me off on a cloud of fragrant vapor for hours on end. HA!! With a longevity of a measly 3 hours odd on my skin, L'Eau d'Issey Absolu is probably one of the more epic fails in fragrances I have tried lately.
It seems as if the good people at House Miyake have jumped on the nouveau marketing band wagon of 'stuff-the-top-notes-full-and-heavy-to-secure-an-immediate-sale' mentality.
For the first half hour I am truly in love with this concoction ... the Jasmine is rich and creamy, the Tuberose lush and a beautiful woodiness to the whole sends my little heart beating faster. I was nearly taken in ... luckily I was distracted by my 'phone and had to leave the store, saving me from an immediate purchase. When I started snuffling my arm to find where I had sprayed L'Eau d'Issey Absolu an hour later I was rather disappointed.

Back in the day when the first incarnation of L'Eau d'Issey hit the shelves I was in fragrance heaven. Since then, the flankers have all smelled relatively similar, only with less and less sillage and longevity. Why could the original simply not have been left well enough alone? I suppose that's the question that would create an earthquake in Flankerville ...

04/07/2014

1Scent 2.5Longevity 2.5Sillage

DarkMatter
24 Reviews

DarkMatter

3

Absolutely Disappointed!

I had recently purchased L'Eau D'Issey Florale and was extremely happy with the quality of this fragrance. When I had the opportunity to purchase Absolue at a bargain price, I jumped at the opportunity. I now know why it was reduced!

I was very happy when I initially applied it, there was a gorgeous thick honey surrounding the familiar L'Eau D'Issey vibe. I looked forward to this developing into a beautiful rounded fragrance. I was to be so disappointed. Within the space of an hour the honey had completely dissipated and I was left with a ghost of what was the original L'Eau D'Issey. I'm confused, surely the word "absolue" is used to give the impression that one is purchasing a more concentrated, thicker, richer version of the original? Not in this case. Olivier Cresp has let us all down terribly with this flanker. It doesn't have the staying power or the depth of the original. Once the initial honey disappears all I can smell is a very faint, slightly powdery wood. No vanilla, none of the floral notes show themselves to my nose.

I shall, in future have to be more circumspect when purchasing Issey Miyake. I shall test first. L'Eau D'Issey Absolue has taught me that all that glitters is not gold.

03/17/2015

8Scent

pudelbonzo
2405 Reviews

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pudelbonzo

Top Review 11

Honey Pot

Often I have sneaked around Absolue - like Winnie the Pooh around the honey pot.

Today my husband was tired of my hesitation, and he sent me to the checkout with the bottle.
We are both fans of L'eau d'issey - my dear husband always ensures we have a supply - and Absolue appealed to him as well - just like it did to me.

The entrance is delicately elegant through the floral freesia, and the lotus is clear and calm - almost meditative.

I am reminded again of the philosophical hero of my childhood - Pooh.
I take the precious book: "Pooh's Cornered Words" and read:

"What doesn't have?" asked Rabbit.
"Does have not?" asked Piglet.
Pooh shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "It simply doesn't have."

There is nothing to add to this astonishing wisdom.

But Pooh is not only a brilliant thinker - he also loves the honey pot, which is kindly offered to me in Absolue as well.
Provençal honey - with a hint of lavender. Noble and delicious.

The idea of night-blooming jasmine pleases me greatly as a night owl.
But indeed, some varieties of jasmine smell more intensely at night.

The vanilla makes the scent warm, and the woods add spice.

A successful, finely tuned fragrance that envelops me in relaxation.

It will accompany my delightful reading hour with "Pooh's Cornered Words."

03/05/2019

8.5Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

EdithLyri
31 Reviews

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EdithLyri

Very helpful Review 11

A Love Letter to Eau Absolue

In the past, I always stopped when I walked past a jasmine bush to sniff it and sink for a while into the fullness of its scent with my eyes closed.

Jasmine has something comforting and familiar for me.
Today I worked a lot, I’m done. I need something beautiful now.
You, my Eau Absolue. I need you now.
Your lotus rises from my wrist, occasionally I catch green notes of freesia, which, however, say goodbye after just a few moments before I could really perceive them.
Ah, Eau Absolue... you are so softly floral...

I once had a jasmine bush in my shared apartment room when I did an exchange program in England for my studies. My room smelled of jasmine all the time, day and night, of this intoxicatingly beautiful white scent, which in reality is not at all cloying or sweet, but soft, delicate, and also contains green notes. Just like you change now, Eau Absolue, after about 10 minutes - you smell like my little jasmine bush from back then...

A drop of honey added, and yet you never seem sweet to me at any moment, but always balanced, "soft" is how I would describe you best, you are soft like flowing fabric, so cool and smooth, that one wants to touch it again and again to conjure up that special feeling over and over.
Your warm vanilla base becomes slowly noticeable, I can still smell your lotus far into the heart note. I like that, this spicy, floral but somehow slightly peculiar aspect of the lotus.
In the past, I found you especially sensual, your tuberose took my breath and my mind away, I suddenly felt like a Victorian girl who had been warned about having spontaneous orgasms when smelling tuberose oil... but by now I know you, Eau Absolue. And by now I simply find you clean, round, pleasant. You are less "sex," more "cuddling." Comforting.
You also contain bitter woody notes that fit beautifully into the lotus-tuberose-jasmine-vanilla mixture.

You are a scent for the evening, a scent for the night just like your night-blooming jasmine and your night hyacinth (the tuberose), but you can also be a scent for the morning. Only in bright sunlight do you not feel comfortable.

Edit:
I wrote this comment about two years ago. Back then, my nose was still inexperienced with perfumes and mainly liked what was pleasing and modern. Sweet scents, youthful scents, and indolic white flowers.
Since then, I have worn Eau Absolue little, it is simply a scent that demands at least an evening ball. Additionally, my boyfriend is asthmatic and reacts to most scents (although he liked this one).
While sorting things out, the scent came back into my hands and I sprayed it on to test it again.
I perceive it completely differently now! That is really amazing.
Super sweet, with a hint of chewing gum. Still, there are intoxicating white flowers, but accompanied by a whole load of sugar and synthetics.
The scent is still good, round, tuberose-like.
But, wow, no longer mine.

I also believe that it has changed a bit over the aging period, because - I remember - when I first sniffed it at the Duty-Free shop at London Airport, a gentle cloud of incredibly soft jasmine enveloped me, indolic, inviting to dream, wonderful, that I spontaneously had to close my eyes. The color of champagne, delicately flowing silk as a scent.
That’s how I want to remember it.

05/21/2021

Fleurrare
47 Reviews

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Fleurrare

Helpful Review 7

Mysterious

This is a perfume that I believe is not understood immediately. It takes time to comprehend it. I was actually rather put off during the first testing. Luckily, I had a sample and thus time and leisure to try it again calmly. Somehow it unites opposites and the olfactory experience is initially confused by the unusual. But when one engages in the adventure, it becomes very exciting. Water flower, white blooms, sweet notes, and woods. Does that fit together?! Can it work out well?! At first, I thought: Nope, not for me, wrinkled my nose and turned away from the perfume. But during the second test, I was already fascinated by the extreme naturalness of this perfume. And during the third testing, I was even able to enjoy the aquatic aspect of the scent, which I usually do not like at all. Everything came together: the mild natural aquatic note, the wonderful gentle white blooms, and the perfect sweetness that is absolutely light. For me, as a nature and summer fan, this is the best I have smelled so far. It tells a whole story of a beautiful lake surrounded by lush gardens and immersed in a divine scent. The only paradox: when the night cactus blooms, it should actually be dark. And at night, the lotus closes and sinks underwater. The perfumer must let both bloom simultaneously! A daring experiment!
Ultimately, it develops into a divine nectar. And yes, "simply" a blooming flower can be sexy (at least that’s what the bees think)! For me, it is a remarkable work of art independent of its "wearability." I can well imagine that the scent is wearable all year round, even in summer. In terms of mood, the perfume reminds me of Candy l'eau by Prada, where the gourmand note is also combined with the aquatic note. Both exude simple elegance for me. The scent I find most similar is "Parfum Divin" by Caudalie. It is quite possible that the scent does not appeal to everyone right away, but I don’t believe it could disturb anyone else. Well, that’s how it goes with many masterpieces...
What has really succeeded is doing justice to the name Water despite the floral and sweet aspects. It would not be fitting at all if it had not become a liquid, rounded composition.

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