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Apicius
Top Review
13
L'Eau d'Issey Ahoi!
The brands Kenzo and Issey Miyake share a commonality beyond their Japanese image: their characterful and ethereal men's fragrances Kenzo pour Homme and L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme have never been surpassed by any of their numerous summer, light, or other variants. They always took the distinctive original product, softened a few edges here, made it a bit more appealing there, and then prettied up the bottle before presenting the thus toned-down waters to the global audience in stores.
Most of it I found yawning - and I was happy with my original. Let the others fall for "new" and "totally current"! But now an exception to the rule seems to be emerging - this year's summer variant of L'Eau d'Issey is surprisingly well done.
L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme Eau de Toilette pour L'Été - these word monsters are typical for such variants! So let's shorten it: LdI Été 2012 surprises with a beautiful, tangy citrus opening: here the Yuzu fruit is almost palpable enough to bite into. Soon the citrus freshness makes way for green notes, then aquatic elements come into play. In terms of freshness, no direction has been left out. The L'Eau d'Issey accord, as known for years, forms the backdrop of this presentation and certainly justifies the naming.
Particularly noteworthy is a pronounced spiciness in the heart note. To call it cardamom, as the pyramid does, seems far-fetched to me. For me, this note strongly leans towards absinthe, ambrette, or carrot seed, while being very green. It carries a special bitterness, the same bitterness that the niche label Humiecki & Graef fully illuminates in their very extreme perfume "Skarb," and which Mark Birley's men's fragrance relates to leather. Issey Miyake is much more restrained in view of the mass market, but the long-lasting aquatic notes that accompany the spice indeed create a new facet. Spice and aquatic elements reach down into the base.
Of course, a comparison with the wonderful L'Eau d'Issey pH was indicated, which stands right next to it on the shelf. Here I was somewhat shocked: Modest and plain, the once-characterful fragrance appeared compared to LdI Été 2012. It clearly lacked depth, instead suddenly showing warming, almost oriental elements. And it is no longer long-lasting. Somehow typical Douglas perfume. That's not how I know the original so far.
Surely a perfume always seems different in direct comparison to another than when tested alone. Finding new aspects in this way is not unusual. However, here I have a strong suspicion that the original scent has been badly tampered with. Certainty can, of course, only come from an old-new comparison. Thus, my enthusiasm is limited. It almost seems as if the original scent has been worsened to give LdI Été 2012 better chances.
I certainly will not buy LdI Été 2012. Aquatic fresh notes are only pleasant at first glance - but they stick immensely. Only after wearing them for a longer time do they reveal their true, rather seasick, synthetic character. And the spice that I perceive as ambrette seed also belongs in the category of somewhat odd notes. In short: LdI Été 2012 is a great perfume for testing, but in the long run, it would at least make me feel queasy.
Top Notes 
Yuzu
Mandarin orange
Heart Notes 
Sage
Cardamom
Xerographic Earlobe
Base Notes 
Vetiver
Amber
