MarieLaVie

Always on the lookout for a fresh fragrance suitable for everyday use that is neither boring nor lemony, I came across the Montale shelf at some point.
I never paid much attention to the brand, perhaps because of the mass of fragrances and then oud as a central theme - not for me! However, the names of the fragrances made it easy to identify potential summer and office-appropriate candidates and so I ended up with Aoud Lagoon.

The first few minutes are quite intense - it smells clean, fruity, sweet and juicy and, above all, strong. The fruitiness is reminiscent of syrup in which mandarins and peaches have been preserved, and the cleanliness could come from a shower gel or detergent. There is a synthetic component right from the start, which becomes weaker and weaker over the next few hours, but never completely disappears.

A few minutes later, the sweetness decreases, it becomes more floral and there is also a very slight leathery note (probably due to the osmanthus). The lotus gives Aoud Lagoon a subliminal aquatic note and makes it smell fresh and summery without being maritime. There is no algae or salt, no coconut and no citrus notes.
The heart notes last a long time and I find them quite pleasant - it smells "rich" instead of airy and somehow abstract. It doesn't make me think of a natural lagoon, but rather the expressionist image of one. The synthetics and the idea of Aoud Lagoon therefore remind me of Aqua Sextius by Jul et Mad, where a certain shower gel vibe was also combined with figs, salt, watery and green notes to create a dense perfume.

In the drydown, it becomes increasingly lighter and drier after the woody note is added. I don't consciously notice vetiver or oakmoss, but the fragrance now seems a little more "grounded". Both the sweetness and the synthetic note are barely present.
I find this an interesting development - many fragrances start with light, airy notes and then become increasingly heavier and sweeter. Here it's the other way around and I really like the base notes.

Similar to Aqua Sextius, I still wouldn't want to wear Aoud Lagoon every day and only with 1-2 sprays, as the first 10 minutes and the synthetics quickly become too much for me. Whenever I wear it, however, my friends find it very pleasant and the fragrance stays on my clothes for a long time and smells fantastically fresh and clean.

Out of the entire Jardin range, Sur le Toit is the scent that reminds me most of "my" garden (actually my grandparents' garden). A typical Central European garden with knarzigen fruit trees, lots of grass, a few flowers, herbs and vegetable beds.

The opening of this garden is green and fresh. Perhaps it has rained before or a loving gardener waters everything regularly. In any case, the grass is not dry. A short time later, red juicy apples join the mix. Fortunately, the smell doesn't veer into apple shampoos or fruit gum apple rings, it just smells naturally fruity. Not too sweet, not too sour.

Up to this point, Sur le Toit seems flyingly light, with nothing to counter the bright notes. With the heart notes this changes, now slightly earthy notes are used as a counterbalance - or is it the bark of the old fruit trees that smells there? Either way, I think it's great, it creates some balance in the fragrance.

After the meadow, the fruit and the trees have already made their appearance, the flowers come in at the end. I detect a lovely rose and clean magnolia, with the remaining notes never quite disappearing.
Sur le Toit slowly fades out after this visit to the garden. It lingers on the skin for a long time, but gets progressively quieter.

For me, a very successful garden fragrance - green fresh, natural, gentle, somewhat nostalgic.

2019
My statement was, "Ghastly synthetic. Nothing fresh, at best chemical floral fresh with some warmth and chlorine accord. Overall regrettable."

I was downright horrified by Un Jardin sur la Lagune at the time. It was Hermes, the Jardin range and not worthy of a second test. For two years I punished him with contempt.

2021
I found myself the other day with my mother in a well-stocked Müller drugstore. We first tried a little through the mainstream assortment (Guerlain, Issey, Elie Saab, Chanel... everything you can find in Müller) and ended at the Hermes shelf.

Since my sister is a big fan of Un Jardin sur le Nil and I like both the en Mediterranee and après la Mousson very much, my mother wanted to test the remaining Jardin Flakons.
Willing and unsuspecting, I sprayed her with the scents on test strips and gave her some background information on the gardens.
My mother's verdict was clear: La Lagune is, along with Sur le Nil, the best fragrance in the Jardin range.

Wait, what??

I took the fragrance strips from her somewhat incredulously. La Lagune wafted a salty, floral scent towards me. My nose searched for the negative impression of two years ago, but found neither the chemical nor the slightly sweaty note of that time again.
Now La Lagune seemed more like a mix of Eau des Merveilles (salty, woody, noble Hermes DNA) and Frederic Malle Dans tes Bras (strange, intimate cashmeran). Overall, though, more lovely and with florals. My scent impressions were:
- Warm, salty skin
- Magnolia and lily
- Driftwood
- Fresh and somewhat aquatic marine accord
- Rather dense than airy
- Interesting

We both sprayed the scent on and wanted to give it time on the skin. After 20 minutes, we moved towards the checkout with a bottle.

I can't say what's different this time around compared to 2019, or maybe La Lagune just seems exceptional compared to other perfumes from the miller (the boring over-sweetness of Mon Guerlain, the pandering of Coco Mademoiselle Intense, the umpteenth fresh scent à la A Drop d'Issey...). But even without comparison scents, the fragrance fills a rarely occupied fragrance gap.

Lagoon is romantic, but also a bit weird. Not sweet, but very unisex. It's an Hermes Garden, but seems more "perfumey" than its siblings. Not a typical summertime freshener. He radiates a comforting seclusion.

Conclusion: Sometimes it is worthwhile to test fragrances over time again!

I must now but once again break a lance for this fragrance. For almost 2 years I have him, somehow he came to me as a blind buy and I found him immediately great. And the longer I have him, the more I appreciate this inexpensive, sweet masterpiece.

So first and foremost, Dragée is just that: sweet. That can easily be too much, but it's fortunately different here - dragée is a fresh almond dessert with bits of orange in a fluffy texture. The kind of dessert you'd find at summer weddings. That said, the scent doesn't smell romantic or cheesy, but equally cheerful and chic. The aroma is strong and long-lasting without being overpowering. I smell more bitter almond than marzipan, and a clean orange blossom wafts very softly in the background.

For me, the fragrance radiates a bright friendly mood, it smells like "Dolce Vita". It's beautiful when applied sparingly, even in high temperatures, and wafts around me like a playful white chiffon dress.

With Dragée everything seems directly a little lighter

Citrus scents are usually very popular, both in niche and mainstream, because they are familiar, fresh and fruity. Clean, clean, summery...
I, on the other hand, have never been a fan of this scent. Citrus quickly develops sweat on my skin, besides, the scents do not last long and I found them mostly boring. So there was no citrus scent among my favourites for miles around, but there were more green favourites.

Then came the day when I discovered the Parfums de Rosine line in a perfumery. I automatically reached for the bottle with the green cord, sprayed and was then enchanted by Un Zest de Rose. I smelled everything at once: lemon sorbet with green fresh tea, rose and a touch of cool jasmine. The fragrances were all rounded and beautifully combined. The bottle was allowed to go straight away and was the only representative of this fresh direction in my collection for a long time

I find Un Zest de Rose to be coherent and cheerful, it is great in the summer, but also at any other time of year and manages to wake me up in the morning. So uncomplicated! It is suitable for the office, super long lasting on my skin and beautifully citric green.

The fragrance is not a 10-star work for me, but somehow it doesn't have to be. I have so often thought about which fragrance in my collection is most likely to move out (to make room for something new, you know that...) and I always thought of Un Zest de Rose first. Because it lacks depth, there are some similar perfumes and it's "fresh" first and foremost. Every time I put Un Zest on and change my mind - it's not allowed to move out, it's just too fine!