Five minutes of a heavenly rose followed by hours of amberwood bomb
I wanted to love this perfume, I really did.
The opening is exactly what I've been looking for, as a person who struggles with the rose&patchouli combo that is so common in other fragrances. It has such a lush, wild and green quality to it that it might even justify the name which became a source of disappointment for many. It's juicy without being fruity, bold without being too loud and annoying. It has just the right amount of everything. But this radiance is short lived.
Within 30 minutes, the fragrance becomes gradually more and more woody and peppery, until the point I get nothing else no more. The rose or any traces of that initial greenness are suffocated by the amberwoods. Eventually, all that's left is the dry, mineral, scratchy smell which iritates me so badly in creations like Bois Imperial.
I fully agree with Airease1 and his assumption that all this was probably done to enhance the longevity of the perfume, but instead it went somehow wrong. Maybe I am too sensitive to amberwoods, who knows. But I'm still sad that Wild Vetiver is not a linear scent that would carry those first 5 minutes much longer, even if it meant losing a couple of hours of that beastly, offensive projection and longevity.
THE perfect lavender scent
At this point I'm starting to think that Chloé cannot go wrong with anything that's a part of Atelier des Fleurs collection. I'm barely ever impressed by more than just one or two fragrances within a brand's portfolio (kudos to exceptions) but Atelier des Fleurs manages to impress me over and over nevertheless.
Sable Lavande is simply beautiful. Smooth, elegant, polished, classy. I often struggle with lavender note because it tends to be too aromatic in a bad, annoying way, but not with this one. The opening is definitely sharper and more herbal but after a minute or two, as it settles down and the (unlisted) coconut note comes through, it becomes smoother and creamier. It reminds me of a lavender scented body butter. Very comforting.
Projection and sillage are rather soft but it lasts surprisingly long, especially on clothes. I'd say around 8 hours.
