Cruise Collection Escale Aux Marquises

Without doubt the most inventive of Dior's Escale trio. As a lover of citrus cologne style fragrances in the humid months, I have a collection falling out of my cupboard. This one is grabbed most frequently at the moment. It begins with a slightly 'sherbet' sweet zing containing a good whiff of the orange top notes. There is something of 'Refresher' sweets here. It's not an obvious orange like L'occitane's, it's softer, tempered by a floral undercurrent. I think Tiare Flower can be a bit cloying but Dior seem to have balanced the citrus with the floral beautifully and made a gentle floral that is as sexy as is it fresh. Maybe it's because Tiare to me smells a little musky, slightly body-like, as if it's flirting. Towards the end it becomes a soft vague floral with a teeny hint of spice. In the main though, this isn't a spicy scent and the pepper is virtually invisible to me. Given it's cologne style, it seems to have a reasonable amount of longevity on my skin, you need a good few squirts and a top up midday but it puts up a much longer fight than my (adored) Caron Eaux Fraiche. Recommended for cologne lovers who fancy a bit of quirk.

This fragrance took me over a year to fall in love with. Why? It's sharp and bright and somewhat piercing in the opening. Our brains have been set to expect fresh scents completely devoid of any spices that when there is an abundance of it - our brains are like "WOAH what is going onnn?!". So I kept it at the back of my cupboard for the most part, until this summer. I went to the beach with my boyfriend and the night before, when I was packing my perfumes, I tested this. And my perception of it had changed DRASTICALLY! YUM! Blood orange! Tiare? Pink pepper?? GINGER!! Yum !! Wear this at the beach and it is so uplifting! It's a love, ladies and gents! (Both of you groups can wear this btw- its very unisex!)

What a wonderful scent! So clean, so fresh, so elegant... It starts with a strong but pleasant smell of lemon but in some minutes it dries down in a wonderful bright, sparkling and invigorating fragrance... This is a summer scent and now is winter but I can imagine myself the next summer with my new dress in a sunny sunday morning, maybe going to a wedding or a similar event and smelling this wonderful scent... This is citrusy and fresh but at the same time is very elegant and classy... of course, at the end we are talking about Dior... I love this fragrance and I recommend it to you if you like citrusy and fresh scents.

Fragrance that excactly captures the exotic aroma of hot, summer gardens in tropics. Put on your skin, it emits an extraordinary scent resembling that one coming from evergreen, moist and warm soil or a concotion of overblown and sun-drenched flowers. Not a sweet perfume but for it keeps an exquisite essence. The first sniff evokes zesty nutmeg melted with sunny citrus. Then goes a very lasting and pleasant aroma of tiare flower. Exceptional to a very high level of perfection!!

I love this one! I think it s the best one from the collection - not only lemonade, but wonderful summer diorish scent... perfect match with white dress and white wine on the terrace:) give it a chance:)

It bugs me that it's the only one from the Cruise Collection not classified under a certain scent group. Is it an aromatic fruity scent like Cassiano mentioned in the the previous comment?

Christian Dior was fascinated by sailing. And by this free and refined lifestyle, he was inspired to design some of his creations. The collection "Les Escales de Dior" (known as the Cruise Collection, in English) represents his alter ego in perfumery. Bright and light fragrances are prepared from natural raw materials, which are obtained in each destination. To keep the company's commitment in offering quality products, François Demachy, Dior’s perfumer, traveled to destinations in order to select the ingredients needed to develop such scents. Escale Aux Marquises means “Stop in the Marquesas”, as are referred to the Marquesas Islands, which make up one of the archipelagos of French Polynesia. This fragrance was created in 2010, after Escale à Portofino (2008) with its Italian profile and Escale à Pondichéry (2009) with its Indian inspiration. After its launch, there was the release of another fragrance inspired by Brazil, more precisely by Paraty (Rio de Janeiro State): Escale à Parati (2012). With respect to its composition, there are a lot of conflicting (and wrong) information about the fragrance, available on the internet. Luckily, we also have the official webpage, in addition to the text on the back of the tester bottle, which is my case. First of all, the Tiare flower (Tahitian gardenia), which is the big star, does not exist in the head or in the heart. It lives in the base of the olfactory pyramid. Similarly, the pink pepper goes in the heart, not in the top. So, let's get to it: the fragrance was conceived on 3 main accords: blood orange essence, pink pepper and Tiare flower absolute. But the composition isn't that simple! In fact, it brings notes of blood orange essence, black pepper, ginger, cardamom, lemon and elemi resin, on top. In the heart, pink pepper, Freesia, neroli and spices, such as: clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and coriander. Finally, in the base, Tiare flower absolute, vanilla of Tahiti (locally grown and considered the black pearl of Polynesia) and benzoin. The result is fruity-aromatic, with citrus and floral nuances. And it's easy to understand the major accords, because that's exactly what we feel on the skin: a juicy orange output, which makes room for a sweet and spicy heart that lies on a milky and floral base. It’s a delight! The initial phase reminds me of Solo Loewe for Men, oddly enough. Unfortunately, it doesn't exude for a long time and ends up being very close to the skin, but the lasting is good (after all, it's a Dior). I don't know why, but this collection is labelled for women by the company itself. In my opinion, all the fragrances are perfectly shareable. To finish, the bottle has the Cannage pattern – symbolizing the golden wicker chairs used by Christian Dior in his first show, in 1947.

I'm a little surprised that this fragrance has received quite a few negative reviews, seeing that I'm quite a fan. I don't usually like citrusy cologne-type fragrances, but Escale aux Marquises has surpassed my expectations. Escale aux Marquises has a really refreshing zesty and peppery feel. It's a lot richer than Escale a Pondichery and Escale a Portofino, which were softer more citrusy fragrances. This perfume has a subtle hint of spiciness that intrigues me more than the other Cruise Collection fragrances did. Ginger is a note that I really enjoy smelling in Summer fragrances. It gives a scent that special touch, while remaining fizzy and light at the same time. Honestly I don't get much in the way of the tiare flower, however I do get a lot of the citruses and the heavy spices. Some are calling this masculine, yet I'll have to disagree. Despite smelling very much like a cologne, it's more feminine than masculine, especially on my skin. I also think it has a lot of character, so it's definitely something I would wear during Summer. The sillage is not as weak as you would expect, in fact it projects rather well. The lasting power is moderate, something that wears for a relatively long time, but may need a few applications during the day. Overall, Escale aux Marquises is a delightful fragrance, the perfect blend of citrus, pepper and spices. Fresh yet exotic, and in some ways, very sexy.

So after writing my review of Portofino I discovered that the sales woman had given me samples of Marquises that I completely forgot about! And I think I like this better than Portofino! It has similar citrus notes, but it bypasses the classic cologne scent that Portofino opens with. There's a slightly spicy warmth in Marquises that takes the citrus up a notch and the addition of flowers makes Marquises more feminine. On the dry down something even smells sweet mmmmm. Overall I think this fragrance will be great for summer and I might be tempted to pick it up after my samples are gone :p A lot of people seem to come down hard on the Cruise collection, but I quite like it. I think the art pictured to go with these fragrances represent them well. They remind me of a very fresh luxury and sensuality, especially this one. I don't so much think they represent the city they're named after, but rather, the classy woman who's traveling there - in her Dior of course. I agree with TeeTee: white dress and white wine, preferably on the beach ;) For Burberry The Beat fans, this smells like it could be a grown up and more femminine version; Probably from the shared pink pepper, cardamom, citrus, and floral notes. One thing I don't like about the cruise collection is that the fragrances don't last long. I don't mind reapplying them, but it'd be nice if I didn't have to.

I have three from this line and all of them have a citrusy overtone but with distinctive differences. This is one is predominantly citrus, ginger and tiare to my nose. The citrus starts of as a blood orange but I also get that lemon which is tarter and lasts longer than the former. There is a creaminess from the tiare flower, I reckon and a very subtle sweetness from the benzoin. I get maybe the lightest hint of the spices but because there so many whole spices listed, I honestly expected the note to be stronger, more discernible however it's not and I can't even pick up it every time I wear this fragrance. To me the star of this show is ginger, which in itself is a spicy note but it is a zingy note which I know well enough to distinguish without confusing it with the other spices and it lasts throughout the life of this scent. The zing from the ginger balances the creamy floral note preventing it from becoming heady. Like the others, this is not a great performer which makes sense since this line was designed to be worn in high heat, without being overwhelming. My favorite out of the three is Pondicherry followed by Marquises and then Portofino. Now on to the last one!

Escale aux Marquises was my love at first SIGHT - I fell for it when I saw the notes listed. Finally today I got a chance to try it. First notes & first thought: "oh, MY!!! Gorgeous. I'm in heaven". I love citruses and citruses here are CELESTIAL. But then my enthusiasm faded. I couldn't smell ANY spices. I counted for them! Pepper, nutmeg and cardamon, my three favourites. The creamy, very sweet tiare showed and ... I thought that at this stage the new Dior creation bears a strong resemblance to the new creation of Thierry Mugler! Alien Sunessence Edition Saphir Soleil. These fragrances are twins to my nose and skin. I prefer the latter - beacuse at least it doesn't cheat on me. Three notes listed, three I smell. Escale aux Marquises promised a lot, and then let me down. A pity ... I believe for those with right chemistry, it could be MIRACULOUS. Lasts very long.

Ottimo, ottimo, ottimo. La fragranza a livello olfattivo è spettcolare apre il "volo del profumo" con le note di arancia sanguinella, zenzero, cardamomo, limone, cannella e pepe rosa; questo mix dona un'apertura pungente al punto da renderla come un buonissimo cocktail frizzante cui aggiungere un bel prosecco ghiacciato. Passata la prima fase il cuore è speziato con noce moscata, pepe, chiodi di garofano e corindolo quest'ultimo quasi impercettibile. Il cuore anche se supportato da due resine come elemi e benzoino non mantiene in vita per tempo sufficiente la fragranza. Questa la vera pecca del profumo in esame. Profumo 9/10 Sillage 3/10 Longevità 3/10 PS consiglio questo prodotto per fugaci uscite in calde ed afose nottate estive.

It is a hot humid day and I am wearing this as I wanted a refreshing scent. It is indeed very refreshing, citrusy slightly spicy scent, very light. Perfect for this sort of a day, trouble is, I have sprayed lots and lots and after the initial citrusy blast, 4 hours later, I can't smell a thing. Such a shame as opening notes are soooo invigorating....but the longevity and projection are not very good. I feel like I need to refreh it, every 1-2 hours, and at a cost of this perfume it is just not an option.

I bought this one today. Love it. such a fresh yet spicy scent. I definatly can smell the cinnamon and nutmeg soft hint on the ginger. In the background the citrusses. Lovely summer scent if you want anything fresh and not overdone Update I have worn it several times now. And the staying power is not what I expected for such a expensive scent. So a big dissapointment that I can hardly smell anything after a while. I wouldnt call it a edt but more a colonge

It has a citrusy, sweet, and gingery opening that feels sheer at first, but then intensifies as it begins to dry down. The spices in the heart are subtle, and the base is powdery and resinous. The ginger is carried beautifully through this composition, balanced on the one end by sweet citruses, and on the other end by earthy resins and delicate spice notes. It also has a slightly soapy feeling to it, and I think it would smell great on a man.

I think it's a nice scent. Subtle and easy-going. I sense the tiare flower the most and I like it very much in this fragrance. It's also a bit citrusy, but just a litte, not in an annoying way. I sense it as beachy summer fragrance. Reminds me of holiday on a tropical island. I guess this is what it's supposed to do. Very nice one and the second best from that line. (My first from this line is Escale a Pondichery).

Escale aux marquises is my favorite summer scent. It works amazingly well with the heat. In Greece we have a lot of it! Actually it is the only fragrance I can stand in the heat. When I smell this fragrance I smell a combination of fresh citruses and pepper. So nice and refreshing!

Light summery fragrance that always lifts me up a little. Most pleasant and good to spritz on in heat. I have enjoyed mine but probably would not buy again, yet, I'd be happy to get it as a gift. I'm really curious about the others in the line.

Typical summer parfume. Refreshing, although I don't like the pepper, but you can really smell it, it's kind of unussual. All in all nothing really special, light summer fragrance.

In my opinion is the best perfume of the cruise collection escale of Dior. Smells clean and sophisticated, but is not yet for me. I just can see "old" elegant women wearing it.

Pleasant fresh spicy scent, quite extraordinary, but linear, it won't surprise you after a while. I like it, but it's not for me. I mean WOW factor is not here.

Ahhh very good, a classic for a powerful woman, light but aromatic, vibe and stateliness

Smells nice but I prefer Escale a Parati, it has more character.

I own the previous two frags of the series, and I like them - Portofino is love! - so I expected Escales aux Marquises to be on par. I thought it would have been the "floral" one of the series (being Portofino a Citrus, and Pondichéry Tea based). At 1st sniff, you get huge blast of citronella, yes, the bug repellent, and this might *seem* summerish but also it smells synthethic and harsh. Don't like it! In the middle & drydown, Marquises it's a light cologne that smells hugely watermelony (= aquatic) so similar to all the mainstream stuff. All you are left with is a sticky candied-like smell on your skin after one hour. Not 100% unpleasant, mind you, just I was expecting something more unique, more refined, more Dior. Indeed it is very much mass market. Bottom line: I didn't get to buy the bottle even if it would have looked nice with the other two. Now it has been discontinued, but i am not sad about it.

Alright, as "perfumey" perfumes go, I can tolerate this one okay. The citrus and spice give it a more masculine edge, even though the only real image that comes to mind when I smell this one is "sexy ladies' perfume." I like scents to tell as story, and the story of this scent is: Aldehydes for a few minutes, followed by some nice smelling, vaguely musty spicy stuff. Too fussy for me, but if you're a fan of Dior, but think their other scents are girly, give this one a try.

The opening is sharp and generic, really unpleasant. After some hours, it gets clean and innofensive. At this stage, the blood orange is noticeable but to shy to really make this scent pleasant. This is a dislike for me. Longevity is moderate, projection is soft to moderate at the first minutes.

If you like Miracle by Lancome you will most probably like this one, there is a sharp pepper note in this fragrance like Miracle has. This would be a nice fragrance for a hot summery day. The longevity is really poor. Less then a hour on my skin.

Tested this fragrance yesterday. At first sniff - OMG there IT is!!! But.. after 2 min every of good notes are gone. And left only soapy NOTHING.

I disagree that is smells masculine, I've tried a dozen scents in the last 3 weeks that have a definite masculine tone to them and this one doesn't fall into that category. I didn't smell any aldehydes when I first spritzed it. I cautiously sprayed one wrist and smelled a burst of citrusy, floral, clean and breezy scents. I generously sprayed all my pulse points and on my clothing. 2 hours later, I catch whiffs of it when I move. It's a close to the skin scent, so I'd say sillage is pretty small. I don't smell any of the spices, but it does have a bright carefree scent to it. A clean happy go lucky fragrance. A definite fit for hot summer weather!! A co-worker just told me she could smell me standing close to me, so definitely small to medium sillage. She said it smelled spicy to her, but all I smell is citrusy floral. But, she definitely loved the scent on me. Weird that I can't smell the spices but someone else can. Glad I purchased this one!! A definite do over for my collection.

The airy and casual chic Escale fragrances really appeal to me and I find Marquise the most fascinating from this range. The opening is a blend of sweet orange, warm ginger and hot spices. It is the sparkling and vibrant bouquet of an exotic market. Then the miracle happens. The dry down transforms this fragrance into a soft and almost mossy floral. At the same time dewy and airy. I don't know if it's the magic of the tiara flower ('cause I've never smelled it) or the orange that changes character but it's amazingly beautiful. So soft, warm and feminine. It reminds me of an early spring day after a dusty rain where you can smell the damp from the earth and the grass. Where the sky is almost lavender blue and the trees have fresh green leaves. I will wear this fragrance on the first day of spring, when I put away the winter coat and the boots and for the first time wear shoes and a light coat. In 3 words: SPICY - DEWY - SOFT

I am not a fun of citrus or spicy notes, but I must admit that with this fragrance, I instantly had luxurius vacations in my mind! To me, it starts fresh. Lemon note is very prominent, than the blood orange note, which is slightly noticeable. Then, I get the warm spicy notes. I don't know if it's the raisin note that gives that sweetness to the perfume or the tiare flower note, although I can not detect it. Overall, 'Marquise' is well-blended, giving you a sense of warmth and vitality, just like the sun spreading its rays on your face. It's lovely, soft and... with poor lasting power, as mentioned by others below, but this doesn't mean it makes it a low quality perfume. No regrets of buying 'Marquise', I do enjoy wearing it. Although, 'Pondichery' remains my favorite... :)

Dior ESCALE AUX MARQUISES is a light slightly woody aromatic cologne-type fragrance which I was sure must be listed as unisex. In fact, it's really more of a masculine fragrance, given the many aromatic notes usually characteristic of made-for-men compositions. It's not that the ginger, cardamom, pepper, coriander, clove, and citrus are particularly strong--they're not. But they are significantly stronger than the feeble floral elements. A nice hot weather cologne, to be sure. But ESCALE AUX MARQUISES does not, to my nose, scale the heights of vrai parfum and certainly doesn't call to mind the image of a marquise. This fragrance is subtle, soft, and understated--more like an inoffensive albeit high-quality splash with good staying power and medium sillage.

I usually have to be able to wear a scent for an entire day to understand if I love it and can live in it. The answer - no. For me, it's too sharp and spicy to wear for more than a couple of hours. My nose actually got irritated and tired. And, the spices got to me so bad I developed red itchy patches on my skin where I sprayed this scent - this has never happened to me before! The irritation went away the day after I stopped spraying myself with this. Conclusion: the spices in there must be real, even if you can't detect specific ones, and it's a polarizing scent - buy it only if you love-love-love spices!

With a name like that, how can this not be more tropical? Sure there is Tiare. But mostly the impression is fresh and citrusy, with mild pepper. I blind bought my bottle years ago in a duty free shop, because of the name, and thinking I can't go wrong with Dior. I barely put a dent in it, and usually ended up layering it with more straightforward tropical scents to give them added freshness and a little spice. Longevity is also poor. I gave up on trying to make it work. It's in storage, somewhere, so I don't consider I own it anymore.

To me, this is a glorious spring scent. It is sunny fizzy lemons drying down to a really soft and spicy couture lace wrap! The only problem that I have is that it hardly lasts 30 mins. If I bury my nose on my arm and sniff like a blood hound, I can still smell it the next day, but I have to work hard to do it. Oh please Dior, make it last and a weeny bit longer...

Normally I would not probably buy it, but I am 4 months pregnant and I was looking for something that would not make mi sick, will be fresh and citrusy and not too strong. In general I prefer stronger and sweeter fragrances but for that coming up summer plus me being extremely picky it is great :)

Wow! Just gorgeous! Have just finished a 125ml bottle and im going to get another one. I simply can't live without this during a hot day, i feel like spraying it non-stop:) Love the zesty spicy smell, powerful and fresh combination. And it lasts forever! Amazing buy if you like peppery scents.

It smells great at first. It's something like sweet mandarines with pepper, cinnamon and ginger. It's the less fresh in the Escales collection, but the smell is lovely; perfect for spring and summer. Then it gets woodier and honeyed. The only problem is the poor staying power.

On me it's pretty much of Elemi resin, lemon in beginning. It's different from other Cruise Collection fragrances. Then it gets more subtle and more woody and spicy. Lemon-pine Elemi note becomes subtle as well but goes through all composition.

"Escale Aux Marquises" comes in a very nice bottle that's "too much" for the perfume inside. It is a decent cologne for the female population but it doesn't do much "Bergamotto Marino" doesn't do, infinitely better!

Can be sprayed on generously after bath, clean smell, maybe a bit soapy- but definitely ok going out in the summer day. Not much staying power, but leaves sweet scent in clothes. Kind.

I tried it at Nordstrom yesterday. I really liked it. Its definitely my favorite from the cruise collection. I want a bottle. The price is right so I may have to give in to it. : )

On me is VERY good at first, fresh citrus and pepper, but when it settles down it just reminds me of "l'instant" de guerlain... its originality doesn't last :(

this is very fresh and unique fragnance. but the problem is lasting power. when you spray it dissapears for an hour. it's a shame cause is really beautiful :(

So lovely fragrance,fresh and beautiful but lasts only 30 minutes.

this is such a tea scent, I love it, spiced black tea

Baby cologne smells It is a very subtle scent