Elijahrb67

Eau Capitale is a fragrance created to embody, according to Diptyque, none other than Paris. Paris, a city with immense culture and history, represented by a modern chypre-esque fragrance, seems quite fitting to me. Of course, calling this a modern chypre might step on some toes, as this is not a chypre in the same regard as Mitsouko or Magie Noire, but rather it's own sort of pillar of the genre. It encapsulates all that a chypre is. Bright citrus opening, an intense floral heart, and a mossy base. Eau Capitale starts with a sparkling bergamot note, which segues nicely into the beautiful rose which makes up the heart of the fragrance. This rose is easily one of my favorites out there. It's so red and vibrant without becoming jammy and syrupy. It's all wrapped up quite nicely with a very dry and earthy moss-patchouli base that rounds things out in a very interesting fashion. The rose, moss and patchouli work in harmony to create a very deep and velvet-like accord that lasts for the majority of the wear. Something else worth noting is that this fragrance is at least somewhat comparable to Gris Dior, but I found Gris Dior to be screechy and harsh while Eau Capitale is smooth and mild-mannered despite being in general more intense and stronger than Gris Dior.

Trying to capture the beauty of Paris in a single fragrance will always be an impossible task, but I think Diptyque has created one of the best attempts at this with Eau Capitale. There are a plethora of rose-patchouli fragrances out there these days, many of which are quite good, but for my money, Eau Capitale is going to be the best option. What better options are there to smell like Paris herself than a gorgeous red rose draped over patchouli? Not many if you ask me.

In my short time of owning it, Grey Vetiver has quickly become a go-to fragrance in my collection. Vetiver is one of my favorite notes in the fragrance world, and Tom Ford really did a wonderful job taking the iconic facets of vetiver while adding a modern, vibrant flair to shake things up. Its cool and icy vetiver note is wonderfully suited to just about any occasion, and truly feels like a beacon of modern elegance. The fragrance opens with a sharp and almost astringent fresh floral note that segues into the vetiver quite quickly. It is very sparkling and vibrant at the beginning, and the vetiver even retains some of the brilliance that the citruses and florals in the opening have. The vetiver here does have the earthy qualities that the note is known for, but it also has a very cold and metallic side to it that really sets it apart from other vetiver fragrances. For me, this fragrance also stays decently sweet and very dry as well. The sweetness and dryness are yet again two facets that vetiver doesn’t tend to embody, but they are incredibly well composed here. One thing worth noting (and something I have seen others mention as well) is that after the initial 10–15 minutes of wear, it does stay pretty linear for the rest of the time. For my tastes this is perfectly fine, as I love vetiver as a singular note, but if you are looking for something with greater depth, this one might not be for you.

I think Grey Vetiver is one of the best Tom Ford fragrances that money can buy, especially considering that it can be had for a very fair price through most discounters. It is the perfect example of a modern men’s vetiver fragrance that could truly be suitable for any occasion without ever feeling out of place. I would be quite interested to see how the EDT and Parfum versions stack up to this EDP, as this already feels perfectly balanced. I’ll definitely be sampling the others as soon as I’m given the chance.

Guerlain's Lui is a bit of an illusive fragrance. We all know by now that the fragrance went through a rebrand along with the rest of the L'Art & La Matière collection, but even after this, Lui has always remained a bit of an illusive fragrance within the Guerlain collection. In my mind, I always saw this fragrance as the opposite rendition of the similarly named Liu. The two are almost like yin and yang to me. Liu is a sparkling, aldehydic floral, while Lui is a dark and intense carnation with leather notes. Lui is the antithesis of Liu, simply put. Of course, I doubt this was Delphine Jelk's intention, but in my mind it gives a story and meaning to the similarity in name. All of this aside, Lui is a very beautiful fragrance and a great carnation. The carnation here is met with a shockingly sweet and thick benzoin note, along with a vanilla that I found similar to the Vanilla Planifolia Extrait 21. These two, in combination, help mellow out the usual bitterness that I find carnation to have. I am also getting hints of pear within this fragrance, especially in the earlier hours when wearing this. All of these things combined create for a wonderfully unique, dark and seductive scent that is truly one of the more inspiring to come from L'Art & La Matière collection.

I wish Guerlain would do more outlandish fragrances like this. As weird as it sounds, I feel Lui fit better in L'Art & La Matière, even in it's short life, than many of the other current entries into the series do. This fragrance truly felt like it belonged in the line, and it stood out from many other creations by both Guerlain and other houses. Maybe, with a bit of luck, Guerlain will bring this back to the states some day. Though, given their love for discontinuation, I don't see that coming anytime soon.

Giorgio for Men will always be a nostalgic fragrance for me. My Grandpa, who is just as much addicted to fragrance as I am, has always been partial to Giorgio, and smelling it reminds me of a trip I went on with them in the summer of 2007. We were going to St. Louis Missouri, and much to my Grandpa's displeasure, he forgot to pack any fragrance in his bag. We stopped by a local drug store that happened to have Giorgio for Men on discount that day, so that was what he picked. The coincidence of that being his only available fragrance, and the fact that my Grandpa is a chronic over sprayer has forever burned the scent of Giorgio into my mind, which is a good thing of course! Years later, I went back to St. Louis with other family members, and everything that we saw there still reminded me of Giorgio for Men. It's a small memory, but a good one nonetheless. I can't say that I would wear this scent myself, as it's just not my usual cup of tea, but I do enjoy it. It's a powdery scent with a bit of a fruity tinge, but it's made to lean masculine with a bit of fresh citrus, dirty patchouli and some very dry woods in the base. I do also get tinges of leather as it dries as well, but a very clean and supple leather as opposed to anything animalic. For it being an older scent, and one that can be had without hurting the wallet too much, it's actually exceptionally well formulated. I have not smelled any vintages of this fragrance, but I found the current formula to be quite good.

Another funny story to add, I actually no longer own this fragrance, as I dropped the bottle months ago, and it shattered into a million pieces. My closet and bedroom still smell of this fragrance even after 5 months having passed since dropping it, so I suppose that we can say the performance here is good? This is also the first and only bottle I have every broken, and I'm crossing my fingers that I don't do it again.

In Greek mythology, the Hesperides were nymphs of the evening who were meant to represent the light of sunsets. They have historically been depicted as delicate and beautiful women, oftentimes found near a sort of fruit tree in a lavishly depicted countryside. I think this fragrance represents this historical depiction well. L'Eau des Hespérides is a very supple and gentle fragrance that is immensely fresh, yet feels warm, like the evening sun is beating down on your skin on a hot summer's evening. The notes of peppermint and bitter orange are the most prominent here, which give it that aforementioned freshness. However, the immortelle is present as well, giving a bit of a gentle touch to a fragrance that could otherwise been seen as a bit harsh. The fragrance doesn't dive much deeper than this, but it accurately depicts a pastoral scene of the Hesperides that can be seen in many renaissance era paintings of the titular figures.

For what it is, I feel that Diptyque has done well to capture a very specific feeling with this fragrance. I like to think of this fragrance as a citrus "freshie" for someone who is looking for something a bit more alternative than a run of the mill fresh scent. It stands out from the crowd because of this, and adds to why I enjoy it so. I normally tend to avoid fresh fragrances in general, as I feel they can be a bit underwhelming or pedestrian, but L'Eau des Hespérides is most certainly an exception.