So many words have been used to describe the collaboration and inspiration for the creation of Seville a l’Aube. Me, I’ll just get to the down and dirty…
WHAT I SMELL: Goes on almost medicinal, then quickly turns green, like cut grass…wait, that lasts for just a minute. Here comes the orange blossom, lots of orange blossom mixed with jasmine. I keep waiting for this to become sweet, but it never does. It rests in this layer of subdued floral, green and orange blossom purgatory. After about 6 hours, the scent had pretty much faded into oblivion; not that I minded so much.
Seville a l’Aube Notes: lavender, pink pepper, lemon tree leaves, orange blossom, jasmine, magnolia, beeswax, incense, Benzoin Siam, Luiseiri lavender
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A cross between floor cleaner and sour shampoo.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE SEVILLE A L’AUBE: labored, sour, pensive
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SEVILLE A L’AUBE: Second Cherry, AustralianPerfumeJunkies, Bonkers About Perfume
BOTTOM LINE: As you could note from the reviews above, this fragrance is loved by some, just not by me. What I do love is the story about the creation of this scent and have to laugh at the thought of what would be created with me as the muse (civit comes to mind!) so I can’t fault the fragrance as a whole. However, I think I’ll stick with fragrances with citrus and neroli rather than orange blossom (see Orange Star review).
- Bone Rating: 2.5 out of 5 possible bones
- Scent: Oriental Floral
- Classification: Unisex
- Nose: Bertrand Duchaufour
- Expense: $165 for 100ml EdP (limited edition)
The Scented Hound 
August 24, 2012 at 7:07 pm
Oh Dear!! You are living proof that to each their own. I can’t believe you didn’t LOVE this. I’ve almost used up my 10ml. Maybe try it again in cooler weather?
Portia xx
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August 24, 2012 at 7:14 pm
My dear P – I bequeath to you all remaining inventory of this perfume that is out there with my name on it. No, it just soured on me and left me cold. I have taken a bath since my review and it is still stuck in my nostrils which does not make me happy!
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August 24, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Isn’t it always the way. The stuff you hate becomes stuck forever in the back of your throat. I’m sad to hear that.
Portia xx
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August 25, 2012 at 5:14 am
People ar raving around about it! Thanks for your review! I can’t sample it because this as a limited edition is not being sold in Poland. Sheesh.
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August 25, 2012 at 7:50 am
I have a sample of this on the way and now I’m even more curious to try it. I think you are the first person I’ve seen who wasn’t in love with it. Everyone’s nose is different though.
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August 25, 2012 at 8:42 am
My dear Poodle – I look forward to hearing what you have to say about this. Sometimes I know that I can go back and visit a scent later and then find that I’ll like it. That won’t ever happen for me with this. Let me know what you think!
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August 28, 2012 at 6:58 am
Okay, I got my sample and I’ll give you my first impression. I get the lavender/green right away but only for about 30 seconds. Then it goes to the flowers. I get orange blossom, magnolia and a little jasmine. It stays like that, pretty but not sour at all, for about 2 hours, gradually fading but never really changing. In the very end if I sniff very closely maybe I detect the beeswax and a teeny bit of incense but maybe I’m just trying to convince myself it’s there. It’s pretty, and I don’t hate it because it reminds me of something I can’t put my finger on…I need to try it a few more times to really decide. It’s not a scrubber on me but it’s not love at first sniff either.
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August 28, 2012 at 8:28 am
I’m glad that you like it. Maybe it’s just my sour disposition, but everyone’s skin is different I guess and that why some fragrances work for some and not for others. Thanks for giving me the update P!
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August 25, 2012 at 3:02 pm
What did I tell ya! 😉
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August 25, 2012 at 3:32 pm
It appears that we are the two lone dissenters!
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August 25, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Yup! I pretty much agree with everything you said – for me it cut out all the lovely aspects of orange blossom – I like the resinous lavender, but it was not what I expected. The incense wasn’t the nice smoky stuff I’d hoped for either. Not for me.
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August 25, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Was there lavender and incense in there??!! I never saw them.
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August 25, 2012 at 4:30 pm
Lavender is that initial medicinal smell. When I went to the press launch she informed us it is “Seville Lavender” – we sniffed the raw material, it is very resinous and medicinal, almost like labdanum in it’s texture.
The incense mixed with the beeswax is what is left on my skin when the orange blossom burns off in about half an hour! It’s that flattish, myrrh like scent…
All lovely desriptions I’m using ey :’)
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August 25, 2012 at 5:42 pm
ahhhh, thanks for the info!
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August 28, 2012 at 10:24 pm
The plot thickens … 🙂
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August 29, 2012 at 8:52 am
I went back and read the review 2 days later and I really sound like I was in a bad mood. If I remove myself from it, I can say that it was not my favorite by any means, but it was not the worst either; more meh.
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September 7, 2012 at 5:16 pm
I waited that long – not to respond but even to read your review. Why? Because when I saw the title I knew I didn’t want to know anything before I get to try it myself and a sample was on its way to me.
I read before just a couple of reviews (but not too closely) and skipped the rest. I didn’t expect to like it at all (too much hype and high expectations usually kill the actual perfume for me). So I sprayed without much hope…
First I want to say that I smell it completely different from what you describe. I haven’t got any medicinal note from it and it was rather sweet. Not as sweet as Sweet Redemption I was comparing it to but sweet enough for me to question if I really wanted to wear it. Then it calmed down and smelled nice. Just nice but not a FBW… And then I realized that I couldn’t stop smelling my wrist. I re-applied it in the evening, this time without Sweet Redemtion on the second wrist, and I almost loved it. I will wear it more to see how it feels the next time but on the back of my mind I’m bargaining already with myself if I think that limited edition bottle will be around long enough in case I want to get it…
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January 14, 2013 at 3:19 pm
I too have to say I was shocked to read this review. This one was instant love and FB worthy to me…sweet orange blossom on me. But it definitely goes to show how different body chemistry can make or break a fragrance on your skin 🙂
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January 14, 2013 at 5:55 pm
I swear that only me and 5 other people found this disappointing. I look at it this way, it kept me from buying another bottle of perfume. I’m so glad you like it and that it didn’t go sour on you like it did for me!
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