Eau Fraiche

Supposedly a huge milestone for the great Dior nose Edmond Roudnitska in combining the classic chypre formula with a very citrus-heavy eau de cologne, this fragrance paved the way for his great later chypres for Dior such as Diorella and--most of all--Eau Sauvage. The latter is like a men's version of this, with more spices in that fragrance's middle in the place of the very rosy rosewood here (there must also be some genuine rose in this as well). The lemon in this is also less acrid than the lemon in Eau Sauvage, although it's certainly still a sour and attention-getting lemon. Despite the rosiness, this does seem today more of a unisex fragrance than a women's fragrance. This has a mighty sillage, but does not possess as great a longevity. This is termed an eau fraiche, after all: although in its day its longevity was considered remarkable for the genre, today, when we are far less used to the olfactory brevity of eaux de cologne and eaux fraiches, it might seem unsatisfactory to many. The best thing about the old bottles of this (one of which I was lucky enough to snag for a very low price) is that it has all the dense oakmoss of the original. It's quite nice, though be careful on the trigger.

In my "Eau de Cologne Fraîche" bottle with the wicker cap, I am greeted upon application with an aroma that reminds me of the flavor of Cavendish and Harvey candy drops, dusted with powdered sugar, sour lemon and citrus mix. No sooner than this delightful introduction am I met with classic Roudnitska, a hint of bruised melon and smidgen of civet over a somewhat creamy, somewhat creamy woodiness. I can immediately identify this as the progenitor for Eau Sauvage, Diorella, and Parfum de Therese. Then there is the vanilla-glazed and woolly mossiness that together may very well be responsible for its durability, an enduring skin scent of fresh meeting flesh, the sweat of sunshine, a noble daytime chypre that both gives a perfume history lesson and is a delight to wear.

for me it's the Feminine EAU SAUVAGE so classy with the fresh mandarin orange opening wich i lovvee. then it's more sweet and flowery, great! i'm so happy that it's has been released with other dior classics.

I have just opened a vintage bottle of this beauty: it was unused, still sealed and still in its cellophane wrap. A blind buy for me, but the previous reviewers whetted my appetite for an Edmond Roudnitska creation that I had not come across before. Yes, it's very old world cologne, at least initially. Lots of bergamot and citrus. But, to me at least, not much like Diorella. Actually, I'd call it the masculine version of Eau Sauvage! In its middle notes I'm getting some pepper and abit of something sharp, but I can't quite place what it is. I love oak moss, but it hasn't appeared yet. The base note is clean, soft and powdery, and reminds me very much of baby powder. Of course these notes are all too fleeting, being just a cologne - the only one in my collection! I love vintage parfums, but am very happy to have come across this if just to add to my other Roudnitskas!

I quite enjoy this scent. It reminds me of a sunny vibrant yellow flower at the beach. The scent trends towards citrus, but it has a beautiful windswept aquatic hint to it. This lovely scent pulls very unisex. On me it is a touch of lovely yellow floral windswepth sandy beach day, and on my hubby it pulls as a masculine aquatic daffodil kayaking down a rabid class 4 rapid. I enjoyed the depth and tasty citrus of this scent.

Vintage EDC. Lemon Pledge all the way because of the strong lemon and rosewood, with a touch of oakmoss, orange and vanilla. Unisex, perhaps a bit towards masculine. Projection is light to moderate and it lasts several hours. Definitely of its time but I never mind that.

View over tullynally by Hector mcdonnell

Lemon fizz, almost lemon pledge, is the only part of this scent that I could sniff on my skin...definitely not full bottle worthy, glad I did a sample! OK for what it is, but no longevity and fairly flat.

Roudnitska was best known for his fruity chypres such as Femme, Diorama, Diorella to name a few. He was a classicist and one way he approached the chypre was to filter it through other genres, namely the fougère and the Eau de Cologne. The fougère placed bright aromatics on top of a mossy/woody base and the Eau de Cologne draped hesperidic lightness over musk. The chypre’s high-low construction works from a similar principle and all three genres play with olfactory chiaroscuro. After mixing fruity and mossy tones in Femme, Roudnitska dug further into the hybrid form with Rochas Moustache and Eau d’Hermès. Moustache, composed with his wife Thérèse, joined the fougère with the chypre giving Moustache a ‘missing link’ feel. Focussing on the similarities of the two genres, the Roudnitskas placed a lime and bergamot topnote on a soapy base to created a perfume that smells like each of the genres, depending on your angle of approach. Eau d’Hermès laid the groundwork for the next logical hybrid, the one that would be the focus of much of his future career, the Chypre/Eau de Cologne hybrid. Eau d’Hermès’s leathery, armpit of a drydown was one of Roudnitska’s warning shots to the world of perfumery. Fresh is nice, but flesh wins the day. Eau Fraiche, a somewhat ironic name, is another early example of the tendency. The momentum of animalic notes surpasses the delicacy of citric notes. Eau Fraiche bridged the the edc to the chypre, creating a unicorn: the durable cologne. Even in the era of Tonkin and nitro musks, eaux de cologne were fleeting. Combining the edc with a mossy base kept the shape of cologne but gave it longer legs. It combined two historically unisex forms to create a perfume that suited anyone who wore it. Eau Fraiche was produced in once concentration: eau de cologne. It had the easy-to-love smile of cologne and the fitted quality of the chypre. It was charming and chic. It was optimistic and suited the post-war desire for a return to normalcy. I can easily imagine the 1950s Paris streets smelling of Eau Fraiche. Eau Sauvage, Diorella and Parfum de Thérèse are all variations on Eau Fraiche’s basic accord of flowers, fruit and a mossy base. Eau Sauvage’s glistening topnotes, often cited as the first substantial use of hedione, can be found almost in their entirety in Eau Fraiche, created thirteen years earlier. I can’t help but refer to Femme when I look at any perfume by Roudnitska. It was a seminal work and an early indication of his talent and ambition. With limited resources and during the nightmare of the Nazi occupation of France Roudnitska created Femme and went head to head with Mitsouko, the reference chypre for the prior 25 years. It’s hard not to admire his chutzpah. Femme exploded a debate that had already been present in perfumery for years: dirty vs. clean. Roudnitska may not have had the final word on the discussion but he advanced the argument further than any perfumer before or since.

I just tested this at DA in Amsterdam and I don't like it. The head is very lemony, almost pure lemon and truly a nice one. The lighter notes are however gone in about 20 minutes leaving behind a flat base that smells like a washed down Eau Sauvage with its characteristic masculine notes in it. I love Eau Sauvage but on a man, not on me, so Eau Fraiche is a no no for me. If you swear for it, it was 50% off (53E for 100 mL). Personally if I was looking for a classy cologne I'd rather go for Eau de Sisley "3" or may be "1".

If you "marry" typical fougere elements (that aren't already present) to this fragrance you'll get something quite similar to Paco Rabanne Pour Homme! This is a simple, quality fragrance but definitely "masculine" by today's standards. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a fragrance that allows me to focus more on notes I like, so this would be good for that purpose, if you like these notes of course. Otherwise I wouldn't go out of my way to try and obtain some of it (I've tried the vintage formulation only).

Eau Fraiche happens to be an excellent choice for someone looking for an extraordinarily classy, understated and long lasting cologne. A chypre base takes off a prodigiously tuned and deceptively simple citrus composition by the great Edmond Roudnitska. The mandarin gives a sweeter vibe while lemon and moss dominate. The latter becomes present from the first sniff and persists until the fragrance evaporates completely. Unisex for sure. Extremely underrated. Top notch stuff.

This is a beautiful creation and is definitely the hybrid between bright citrusy colognes and warm mossy chypres. The drydown is woody and powdery and this evokes a different time and place whenever I wear it. Anyone could wear this, it is most definitely unisex, despite the slight powdery drydown. Sillage and longevity are both very light--it is an EDT that behaves like an Eau de Cologne. Regardless, it is a perfect fragrance to have in any collection.

Eau Fraiche is an interesting scent built in the "eau the cologne" DNA with a fruity twist. The scent opens with the direct link to the melon topnotes of Diorella. As it progresses, Eau Fraiche moves into the "eau the cologne" DNA and dries to a comfortable fresh & light earthy/dusty/mossy base. Sillage & longevity are amazing, it easily hits 8hrs. *Review for the vintage splash version.

Endymion: This would work great on a guy too. If you can ́t get it, Eau Sauvage (a bit more bitter) is a good alternative. (Mens perfume, but I - a female - enjoy to wear it). Diors Escale a Portofino is marketed as womens perfume, but I think it is unisex.

Smells like an old style men’s scent. Strong mandarin and bergamot with a touch of sandal and other notes. Well blended and rather tasty, but not really feminine. (Not a problem, just an observation.)

Bitter, mossy and citric. I can smell the origins of Granville in here as well as the ones mentioned below. Slightly dirty resins lurk beneath and a touch of cumin. Nothing beats real oakmoss.

@Dinkum Thanks for the answer friend! :) I actually own both Eau Sauvage (not a fan...) and Escale a Portofino (big fan!!!), but I'm still interested in this :)

Eau Fraiche is a citrusy classy fresh fragrance. I get compliments everytime I wear it.

can't wait to have it, if my boyfriend gives it to me... sounds very good.

Hello there! Is it very feminine for a guy to use? What do you suggest?

Is in shops nowadays???? Exclusive CD stores?