L'Eau Rêvée d'Hubert Sisley 2023

The start is minty fresh, almost cold. My eyes are slightly watering and I am wide awake, pulled out of any daydream.

The mint does not come across like a mint leaf, but rather slightly medicinal, more white than green and reduced to freshness. And I find this astonishing, as at the same time, a lot of green foliage is already at work. However, the two accords do not merge into a peppermint bush in my nose but run independently of each other. The mint note on the skin fades to a whisper within a quarter of an hour, but lingers much longer on clothing, which significantly alters the scent progression. Let's continue here on the skin...

The concurrently developing green notes are so natural that they come across to me as somewhat vegetable-like. A bit like the vegetable section in the supermarket where a few bouquets are offered in a small corner. With the flowers, it’s more about the stems, and if there is a bloom, it is only a completely unsweet and watery ethereal one. This would fit the indicated geranium. At no point does one get the impression of a fully developed rose scent.

After about an hour, the vegetable aspect diminishes somewhat, and for the first time, there is a hint that this is indeed a perfume. The green notes now seem to me as if one has isolated that dreamy grassy and airy freshness from my summer favorite Eau d'Orange verte and transferred it into this green dream in a slightly drier but still more natural form. The mintiness never completely disappears, but rather becomes a hint in the background as the progression continues.

Fortunately, this juicy green does not evaporate or turn sweet-woody or overly powdered as it progresses. The scent only becomes softer and rounder, remaining green, perhaps a bit darker and slightly dry-woody and earthy. If one pays attention, one can occasionally catch a small bloom.

What started off somewhat demanding and slightly disintegrated now concludes wonderfully harmoniously.