1 bone | The Scented Hound

WHAT I SMELL: L’Ombre dans l’Eau opens sweet, light and pretty with black current and an emergent rose. It has a bit of a waxy finish like that of a scented candle. After a minute or so, a green emerges, its leafy and round. After around 5 minutes, the fragrance starts to really blossom and at this stage I feel like I have a small bouquet of flowers in hand which are a little wild and a little fruity. The composition doesn’t really change from the rose and the green, but it seems to grow and expand off of my skin. After about 15 minutes L’Ombre dans l’Eau starts to become sweeter… so much so that it borders on obnoxious. For an eau de toilette this has some turbo projection and power. Uggghhh, this just keeps expanding and growing and I feel there is no turning back.

From Fragrantica: L’Ombre Dans L’Eau (“Shadow in the water”) is a female fragrance from 1983, based on the unusual and beautiful harmony of black currant leaf and Bulgarian rose, which blend perfectly together.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Artificially pretty and over the top like a child beauty pageant contestant.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE L’OMBRE DANS L’EAU: toxic, overbearing, nauseating

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT L’OMBRE DANS L’EAU: Perfume-Smellin’ Things, Bois de Jasmin, peredepierre

BOTTOM LINE: L’Ombre dans l’Eau is a total scrubber to me that others seem to like. I don’t get it. To me, L’Ombre dans l’Eau smells so artificial as if its made from a chemistry set. Adding that artificiality to a whopping projection makes my head feel like I’m being struck with a rose sledgehammer! I see this better suited for a home fragrance than a personal fragrance, but even as a scented candle, this would make me want to leave the room. I’m not really familiar with the Diptyque line, but this does not make me want to explore any more.

Bone Rating: 1 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Floral
Classification: Feminine
Expense: $88 for 50ml EdT from the Diptyque website

My oh my…this will be a short review. Yesterday I tested Pardon by Nasomatto and things went terribly wrong. I am trying to find the words to describe this and am having a hard time doing so. As a parfum extrait this went on incredibly strong. I’m not sure what I was smelling because something came to light very quickly and then became the dominant note…metallics. I have experienced this metallic smell before, but I couldn’t define when and where. After about an hour it hit me. When I was in my twenties, prior to my tonsils being pulled, I had many bouts with sinus infections. Whenever I knew that I was getting a sinus infection, I would experience this really unpleasant metallic smell. That’s what I experience with this scent (and no, I don’t currently have a sinus infection). What was making this reaction? The oud? The tonka bean? Whatever the case, I washed it off, and then washed it off again. Before going out last night I put on my favorite Pour le Soir, knowing that it be strong enough to mask this mistake. It didn’t. And the effect it had on me made me slightly nauseous. Incredibly bizarre. Please note that I only put a dab on my hand, and yet this morning I can still detect this on my skin. Funny thing is, my husband says he likes it, but he too detects the bite in the scent. He’ll be happy to know that I’m giving him the rest of the sample. I’m usually forgiving of a scent and am typically willing to give it another try. This is one of those times that I won’t be doing so.

Pardon Notes:

magnolia, oud, tonka bean, unsweetened chocolate, cinnamon, sandlewood