L'Eau à la Folie Nicolaï 2012

Among the scents that waft over from my childhood, the fragrance of fresh laundry dried in the air and sun still lingers.
Laundry that dances joyfully in the wind and over which the iron glides more like a feather than a weight.

This scent, which even lingers in the closet for some time, is called childhood - childhood summer!
My grandmother's clotheslines were stretched between sturdy posts beneath the large fruit trees.
Especially during the fruit tree blossom, the delicate, long-missed scent of awakening life wafted over to the laundry; from the almost always wild meadow arose a robust aroma of weeds and meadow flowers, often trampled by bare feet, making it particularly intense.

With this Northern German impression, "L'Eau à la Folie" does not wait: instead, this fragrance composition evokes a wide, undulating hilly landscape with large, untouched meadows, through which a small stream dances cheerfully, surrounded by light woods with plenty of herbaceous undergrowth.
How well these meadows would be suited for old-fashioned laundry bleaching.

Patricia de Nicolai opens this entertaining summer fragrance quite traditionally with fruity freshness.
Related to the Guerlain dynasty on her mother's side, perfume is both a favorite and a concern for her.
Her long experience has also taught her: "A perfume that everyone likes is uninteresting."
"L'Eau à la Folie" is certainly not uninteresting: the light-footed sprightliness of lime, mandarin, mango, and surprisingly peach skin immediately invites a smile. (Advertising would now say: "Joy is coming!")
It is delightful that Ms. de Nicolai here forgoes the already "overused" bergamot; thank you, as it would only dampen this lightness of being (that is my feeling).
A generous dose of jasmine - now the time of the glorious white flowers with their five petals, framing the golden-yellow shining face, begins again - stops the perhaps initially emerging impression of a "sporty or unisex scent."
This sensual-feminine bloom adds esprit, already bringing a thought of refinement into play.
Juniper berry, dark and spicy, plays with cardamom and pink pepper in a fragrance league; these somewhat robust companions skillfully flatter the "fine lady" jasmine.
With the fruity aromas of the entrance, my senses already signal: summer, joy, lightness, and perhaps a little more than fun, "a little flirtation"?
To this impression, musk contributes, not sparingly, but still not breaking the light summer fragrance frame, along with the woody spice of cedar and castoreum.
"L'Eau à la Folie" thus transforms from a girl with braids, joyfully skipping barefoot and with a flowing skirt through the meadows, picking flowers, into a woman.
A woman with charm and a sensually cheerful aura. She too laughs as she walks through the grass - sandals in hand, surrounded by her flowing hair and the wide skirt of her summer dress.
Her happy laughter faintly resembles the ringing of bells: this fragrance woman brings happiness!

"L'Eau à la Folie" is, to my delight, clear and initially even a bit "biting": perhaps it is the pink pepper that hits my allergy-plagued nose.
But that quickly subsides: this fragrance water becomes beautiful, really beautiful!
A bright, warm day under a blue summer sky with happily dancing sheep clouds, a large ice cream sundae in a café garden, or a refined cocktail during the proverbial "Blue Hour" - all of this can be "L'Eau à la Folie".
Beauty is known to be in the eye of the beholder!
Let us simply view this enchanting summer fragrance with the eyes of a lover: We see a shimmering, graceful fragrance creature that dances lightly and a bit mischievously through the day. But we also notice that this "summer woman" is not lacking in depth; the base notes already stand for that.

Years ago, I fell in love with this lively fragrance creature; the first sample came in a fragrance package from Greece: as a "stowaway," I didn't even see it among all the packaging. That would have been a great pity!
For since then, we have danced through a cheerful summer day time and again, "L'Eau à la Folie" accompanying us for several hours: radiant, smiling, chattering - simply spreading good cheer.
Summer-light yet not frivolous, fruity and a little bit tempting - these feelings are locked in the classically elegant bottle: Let them out into the air, and they will rejoice with joy!