Secrets d'Essences - Accord Chic Yves Rocher 2016

I am so enamored by this scent. It stole my heart from the very first moment I sampled it, so I went online and ordered two bottles straight away.

This is unlike any iris scent I've ever smelled before in that it's not at all too sweet, for one, and this scent is also a little different to your usual run-of-the-mill iris scent because it contains zero noticeable rose or violet notes - as far as I can tell.

I have never smelled NU by YSL, though it's been in my wish list for an eternity, I have still not procured a bottle from the great, stinky cosmos. Therefore I cannot make any comparisons with that, but if that smells half as good as this, or if this smells half as good as that, it really can't be half bad. So I'll keep dreaming of owning that, while in the meantime remaining happy enough that I have this.

This is green.
It's almost transparent.
It's at once a thick, translucent, indolic, heady floral and at the same time mellow, light and green, almost invisible to the naked nose.

The only thing like this that I have ever smelled is a staple in my facial cleansing routine - Ultrabland by LUSH, which also contains iris.

My best friend smelled "red berries" here, and it came as a shock to me that the official paper writeup about this made mention of berries while I could find no other indication of said berries mentioned anywhere on the Yves Rocher site, nor in the notes here!

This is natural smelling. 100%.
This is the real deal for me.
It makes me foam at the mouth.

Lasting power is impressive and projection is a warm, fuzzy, intimate caress.

I became acquainted with the Yves Rocher fragrances from the "first hour" as early as the early eighties. I have reported on this here more than once.
What followed didn’t please me as much; however, now and then there is a special gem among them.

So I was very pleasantly surprised when I got to know "Secrets d'Essences - Accord Chic".
A particularly dear perfume enthusiast had sent me a sample, which I had actually chosen solely based on the local scent pyramid.
That it was a creation by Yves Rocher, I only realized when cataloging it for my collection.
Naturally, I was doubly curious about what to expect.

I encountered a fragrance full of quiet beauty: there is nothing here with "Sparkling" or "Molto Vivace"!
On the contrary: "Secrets d'Essences - Accord Chic" develops with full harmony and quiet elegance.
The spice of elemi resin and benzoin, which I find so incredibly likable, is present here in a skillfully balanced dosage. Both harmonize very well with each other and create a very beautiful opening.
Pink pepper, which I perceive more as slightly fruity than peppery, takes the somewhat "stinky" iris (Meggi: I do not use "stinky" with lily of the valley - I promised you that!) by the hand, and both fit seamlessly into the previous scent progression without major disturbances.
An exceptionally noble blend is formed, which still seems to strive towards a goal.
Frankincense, again not of the deep dark, harsh kind, but rather light-aromatic, successfully leads this fragrance composition to its peak!

Thus, a wonderfully rounded fragrance emerges, without any breaks - flowing harmoniously and wrapping around in a fine spicy embrace.
This smoky spice is so finely tuned that it results in an extremely wearable daytime scent.
Nothing is loud, nothing disturbs! "Secrets d'Essences - Accord Chic" adapts effortlessly to all situations.
However, this does not mean that this fragrance is boring or even colorless!
It possesses a certain understated elegance that defines a true lady - just as "Little Moritz" imagines her!

Yves Rocher has created something very beautiful with this fragrance; something that surprises me and makes me hopeful for a new direction in their perfume development.
So for "Secrets d'Essences - Accord Chic," I can only say: "Thumbs up!"

... but there isn't enough of it in Accord Chic. Nevertheless, this fragrance is for me the most successful one that Yves Rocher has produced in a long time. It is remarkably well-balanced, slightly spicy, a bit dusty, elegant, and understated. The longevity is not overwhelming; after three hours, I can't smell much anymore, but the base is lovely, fortunately not as chemical and overpowering as with many other mainstream brands! However, I would wish for even more of the wonderful note of Elemiharz; for me, the reference here is Ormonde Man by Ormonde Jayne. Of course, Yves Rocher has a smaller budget for a mass market fragrance, so the comparison is not entirely fair, but within its means, Accord Chic is excellent and great value for money. "Make Yves Rocher great again" - was that the brief for the perfumers? It seems they have succeeded.

I often use Accord Chic. Very often. Almost an "every-day" scent. I like the powdery, resinous, non-sweet, airy floral presence that the fragrance has in the first hour. Now it is elegant and precisely balanced between a measured warmth of resin and the cool radiance of iris and - to be honest - for a YR fragrance, it is quite sophisticated. A very elegant gray, so to speak.

Then it retreats and becomes a bit warmer and - yes - even a tiny bit sweet, not the sticky cotton candy marshmallow caramel glue sweetness, but just a tiny touch, a nuance, such a fine balsamic beeswax sweetness, and even that is just enough for me to really enjoy the scent. And it lingers for another 1 or 2 hours, and then only a fine warm base whisper remains.

Then it needs to be reapplied, but to be honest, with the prices at which Yves Rocher sometimes releases its products, no problem.

That Yves Rocher has completely taken new paths here has already been mentioned several times - I can only agree! And I am quite sure that if one were to mix a blind sample among a selection of expensive niche perfumes - hardly anyone would notice that they have a fragrance from the well-known French cosmetics brand in front of them!

During the first test, I was a bit disappointed by the short longevity, but I may have done the perfume an injustice. The longevity is indeed in the medium range; this scent is just rather subtle and close to the skin.
I perceive it as a blend of bright, noble resins, to which frankincense ultimately belongs. For I cannot detect a typically smoky note. The iris here does not come across as often powdery-dry or "carrot-like," but only contributes a subtle floral note that emphasizes the bright and cheerful character of the perfume.

Sometimes I also have these color associations with scents: this one is like a well-chosen combination of beige, cream, and light brown tones. Of course, I also have a typical wearer in mind: a lady who places great value on good manners and politeness, never loses her composure or raises her voice, and is mindful of the high quality of materials in her classic-style clothing (and the aforementioned "Non-Colours"), which is often only recognizable at second glance. She tends more towards understatement than a weakness for striking or extravagant outfits. This perfume, in my view, is also not colorful, loud, or contrasting - it is well-groomed understatement.

I myself have almost nothing in common with the lady just described. Beige and brown can be found in my closets just as little as yellow or orange.

But I recently found "Accord Chic" to be a pleasant companion during a longer drive on a relatively sunny September day, fitting well with the early autumn mood.