Top Notes 
Juniper berry
Bergamot
Black pepper
Citron
Lemon
Lime
Heart Notes 
Basil
Lavender
Rosemary
Ginger
Grapefruit
Lemon grass
Mandarin orange
Base Notes 
Cistus
Iris
Jasmine
Oakmoss
Tonka bean
White amber
DasguteLeben
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DasguteLeben
Very helpful Review
11
The Allure of the Old
Eau de Cologne is not dead - no matter where the perfumery trend caravan may go. What began with the first European distillation attempts in the Middle Ages and Eau d'Hongrie (rosemary water), led to the first aesthetic bloom in the Rococo by the namesake Johann Maria Farina in Cologne, and was perfected by Guerlain and many others in countless iterations, is still present and continues to be. Since the significant loss of status at the end of the 19th century, when the Belle Époque marked the golden age of modern haute perfumerie, it has survived as Auntie's travel water, as Turkish Kolonya at the barber, and for sweating bus drivers, as an important ingredient in the cleansing rituals of the Dominican Santeria cult and among Amazonian shamans (Murray & Lanman's Florida Water), always as a refuge for more sensitive noses and in recent years also as a prestige product (Chanel's Eau de Cologne was released in the Exclusifs line in 2007). The need for natural olfactory freshness and the call of the South has never completely faded, even during the heyday of florientals, lusty animalics, or the present synthetic fruit bombs and ethyl maltol floods. Hence, there is Samphire (now already 12 years) - somewhere on the outer edges of the perfume cosmos.
Every now and then, I venture into the lion's den, the house of illusions, the Douglas flagship store in Frankfurt, in search of a bargain or something of aesthetic weight - preferably both, as I seem to belong to the social stratum that Pierre Bourdieu described as having too little money for its taste (en cultivant notre jardin, nous avons oublié de devenir riche rapidement). There, on sale, stood a few sad flacons from Laboratory Perfumes, a brand I had never heard of and which I recently read makes de facto dupes, although it does not appear to be a clone factory at all. Regardless - I had no context and found neither Gorse nor Atlas interesting. However, Samphire immediately made my Eau de Cologne receptors ring. Citrus - herb - wood/moss/musk, very old school, appearing very natural, recalling references: Eau du Sud, Aeroplane, Guerlain. An English house, but a French school. Very zesty, fresh citrus notes, lemon, bergamot, verbena, lemongrass, and: the slightly sulfurous-dirty grapefruit as a bridge to the herbal complex with basil, rosemary, juniper. A mild base, but with fixatives that keep the scent light, yet make it significantly longer-lasting than classic 100% natural Eau de Cologne. For this reason, the designation as Eau de Toilette makes absolute sense, even if we are stylistically dealing with the EdC tradition. White musk, labdanum, tonka, jasmine, oakmoss, and iris are said to be found in the base, but they only waft back, subdued and supportive under the citrus-herb complex - and that's a good thing.
There is hardly an EdC made with good ingredients that I do not like, and I love the diversity of this genre. Here, I had once again hit a real jackpot after a long time, which almost rivals my summer favorite Eau du Sud by Goutal, as I enjoy the slightly dirty herb notes (and here also the grapefruit), which complement and counteract the citrus freshness, thus adding a counter and synthesis to Farina's Cologne thesis. Priced at €60, it was also more reasonably priced for my wallet than the RRP of €100 (see above), but even that would probably be worth it to me if Eau du Sud has since been reformulated (I haven't sniffed any current flacon in a long time). Well done, then, this newer English gem in Gallic garb, may it remain in production for a long time!
Every now and then, I venture into the lion's den, the house of illusions, the Douglas flagship store in Frankfurt, in search of a bargain or something of aesthetic weight - preferably both, as I seem to belong to the social stratum that Pierre Bourdieu described as having too little money for its taste (en cultivant notre jardin, nous avons oublié de devenir riche rapidement). There, on sale, stood a few sad flacons from Laboratory Perfumes, a brand I had never heard of and which I recently read makes de facto dupes, although it does not appear to be a clone factory at all. Regardless - I had no context and found neither Gorse nor Atlas interesting. However, Samphire immediately made my Eau de Cologne receptors ring. Citrus - herb - wood/moss/musk, very old school, appearing very natural, recalling references: Eau du Sud, Aeroplane, Guerlain. An English house, but a French school. Very zesty, fresh citrus notes, lemon, bergamot, verbena, lemongrass, and: the slightly sulfurous-dirty grapefruit as a bridge to the herbal complex with basil, rosemary, juniper. A mild base, but with fixatives that keep the scent light, yet make it significantly longer-lasting than classic 100% natural Eau de Cologne. For this reason, the designation as Eau de Toilette makes absolute sense, even if we are stylistically dealing with the EdC tradition. White musk, labdanum, tonka, jasmine, oakmoss, and iris are said to be found in the base, but they only waft back, subdued and supportive under the citrus-herb complex - and that's a good thing.
There is hardly an EdC made with good ingredients that I do not like, and I love the diversity of this genre. Here, I had once again hit a real jackpot after a long time, which almost rivals my summer favorite Eau du Sud by Goutal, as I enjoy the slightly dirty herb notes (and here also the grapefruit), which complement and counteract the citrus freshness, thus adding a counter and synthesis to Farina's Cologne thesis. Priced at €60, it was also more reasonably priced for my wallet than the RRP of €100 (see above), but even that would probably be worth it to me if Eau du Sud has since been reformulated (I haven't sniffed any current flacon in a long time). Well done, then, this newer English gem in Gallic garb, may it remain in production for a long time!
Updated on 03/13/2025
14 Comments
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