L'eau des Hesperides

UPDATE: Just noticed Colin Maillard's review. I have to say I disagree, that I don't get a prominent "artificial" impression. I wonder if it's due to a prior association he has. And the start isn't sharp for me. It's a little on the menthol-minty side when it starts, but I find it very pleasant. A "touch" bracing. ______________________________________________________ I wasn't going to buy this after reading a number of neutral and negative reviews on another site. People said it conjured up associations with toothpaste, mouthwash, and other pedestrian toiletries. But a few positive reviews pushed me to give it a shot. I bought a bottle without sampling first. I LOVE THIS! When you think of orange as a prominent note, you'd expect it to be "too predictable" for a fragrance. Not so with Hesperides. The blending of bitter orange, mint, lemon, grass, petit grain and rosemary results in a wonderfully soft and semi-sweet aroma. It's not your usual orange forward scent. The mint and lemon is almost as strong as the orange. A perfect spring time or summer fragrance, but even nice in the cooler months as a day fragrance when you just want to feel fresh. It's blended in such a way as to be smack dab in the middle of unisex, easily worn by either gender. Sillage and longevity seem to be pretty good. The bottle is very well crafted and the sprayer is smooth and precise. The cap is machined to fit perfectly to the top, so when pulled you get an air sucking "pop". In a niche Diptyque fragrance lineup of EdT and EdP bottles costing $150 and more, the "L'Eau" line comes in just under $100. And if you shop around, you can get it even cheaper on an occasional sale or partially used bottle (cheapest I've seen it was $49 shipped). Even at $98, it's a good buy. 9.2/10.

Falling in love with L'Eau des Hesperides has been like falling in love with a woman who lights up a room with the joy and depth radiating from her body, but is afraid of commitment, high maintenance, and will disappear with a smile, sooner than you wish her to. I'm going to have a really hard time not buying another bottle of this juice. If I do, I will think of it as an addiction, a co-dependent relationship with a graceful, elegant, distant sylph. She opens with a magnificent bitter orange and mandarin, the feeling on the skin a light minty coolness. She is immediately refreshing, calming, and clean--but without covering up or disguising the body. She melts into the skin--that will be the purported musk, I suppose--and lingers for an hour as rosemary, lemon, and mint for those who come close to you, and then fades to a green like crushed grass after two, only for you to enjoy. By the fourth hour, there is nothing left of her but the memory, the feeling of Her on your skin. Most appropriate for the hottest of days, it will be no surprise that this fragrance simply will not stick to the skin. It is far too expensive for a body spritzer, yet that is the end result. For me, the scent is moreish in the extreme--I could cover myself and my clothes in Hesperides, but it runs out faster than it should. If Diptyque could figure out a way to double the length of the experience, they would have a most dedicated customer--this could easily be my summer signature scent, if I didn't have to spend $100.00 a month on keeping myself supplied. L'Eau des Hesperides, you naiad, you zephyr, you're breaking my heart.

Diptyque has become one of those fragrance houses for me which is highly dangerous to the wallet. How unsurprised am I to find yet another gem from them. And this truly is a gem. L'eau de Hesperides opens with a delectable bitter orange note, like the smell of fresh orange rind clinging to the skin. This hooked me immediately. It holds its own for a while before the herbs start growing and a wonderful maple sweet immortelle - the component which encouraged me to try the scent - builds beautifully. The immortelle wears on me like a heart note, it's very dominant. But it's flushed with citruses and aromatic herbs, to me mostly rosemary and sage and even a bit of fresh mint - that however isn't a cooling note here - so that it has this great balance between sweet and herbal. L'eau de Hesperides I find plays with the luminous and sweet aspects of immortelle as a note, where L'Occitane's Immortelle de Corse to me highlights it's more resinous side. The result here is that I'm left with a fragrance that makes me think instantly of late summer: of sunshine burning down on bales of freshly cut hay; the wafting scent of herbs hung to dry; sweet lemon ice tea and fresh oranges. After a while the immortelle dies down, the sweetness receding so that my skin smells like I've rubbed the orange peel and herbs directly on it. It's just lovely. This also lasted a solid eight hours on my skin and was still there, though sillage fell after about five hours. A fantastic golden aromatic fragrance perfect for late summer and early autumn or for any time you want to remember the sunshine.

I'm really surprised Hesperides fell below the 4 star line (it was 4+ about 8 years ago). I bought my first bottle on a lark, a 100ml bottle for $50 (flash sale). It quickly became my "refresh" cologne for summer days. The vibe I get is very similar to the Acqua di Parma line of citrus forward scents. Where it really deviates nicely is that minty note behind the citrus. It makes this so refreshing. While longevity is only a little bit longer than AdP Blu Mediterranean fragrances on average, I actually rather like that. This isn't meant to be a heavy blanket of scent to stay with you across a full day. It's a "zesty" refresher with just a whisper of spice. It took me a few years to exhaust my supply, as I generally use Hesperides in the warmer months and I live in the Northeast. After I replenished it with a great buy on a partially used 200ml bottle, I began to get more liberal with it. A few short sprays after a nice soothing shower. Just wonderful. I really hope Diptyque makes a point of keeping Hesperides around (as these fragrance brands seem to just periodically decide to end a fragrance and move on, leaving adoring fans clamoring for dwindling stock!).

One of my warm weather go-to's. I suppose it could be called a "European Eau de Cologne" type, except that its aromatic component is HUGE, far too prominent to be compared to any traditional citrus Eau. Easily unisex. Wet, juicy, tart-sweet citrus is followed by an unexpected avalanche of chilling menthol, sage, rosemary, cedar and fir balsam. The mint component is not in any way "toothpaste", "chewing gum" or "Christmas peppermint"; no, it's just pure menthol of the kind that mentholated cigarettes or traditional men's shaving creams receive. That aromatic surge is positively ICY... FRIGID... SNOWY... GLACIAL. There is no fragrance out there even remotely similar to it, I don't think, so it stands as a real scent weirdo, almost in a league with ELD'O SM or SL MKK. The aromatic component subsides after about half-an-hour, as well it should: it's so cooling you'd freeze to death if it lasted longer. A whisper of transparent skin musk and pencil-ly cedar sweetened delicately with immortelle lingers in far drydown. I happen to find this scent something of a masterpiece, and I hope never to be without a flacon of it.

I was momentarily torn between Eau de Sens and L'eau de Hesperides but decided to go with the latter. This also reminds me strongly of Oyedo, (Hesperides is the sugar-free-grassier and mintier version). Love at first sniff when I sprayed it on my skin. It's lemony, minty, clean, fresh, green and very aromatic. I do understand where the medicinal/toothpaste comments are coming from however I'm glad I can easily get passed that reference. Smelling this I imagine myself freshly showered, in a white crisp shirt, sipping mint-iced tea in a lemon garden. I'm also getting a french-milled-mint-soap effect as well. The dry down is very minty, clean and zesty. I live in the Philippines so this shall definitely be in my "everyday wear" rotation. Longevity is surprisingly good for a citrus EDT. The Sillage and Projection is ok (not a beast, but good enough for personal enjoyment) for me so there's no fear of overspraying. PS: Eau de sens, I might just come back for you soon, but your laundry-esque, soapy notes are what's keeping me from you. Maybe in the near future.

I really don't need another freshie but I have to have this - it's all the best smells from a heat-scorched summer in the countryside, bitter orange over over sun-baked stone and the still-damp crushed leaves, bark, grass, and earth in shaded spots. 'Summer in a bottle' is such a cliche, but this really is. It's a great example of what Diptyque do best - vivid, naturalistic and yet complex smells that recall the outdoors, living plants and natural elements. Longevity is just where it should be, i.e. middling, with proper development but no synthetic fixatives distorting the image. You do probably need to be ok with caraway to enjoy it, though. EDIT: wearing this in a heatwave I realise that the caraway-earth note is actually one of the reasons this reads as cool - really gorgeous summer scent.

this might be one of the most underrated diptyque fragrances, i hardly ever hear people talking about it. i was given a sample of this after buying another fragrance and was immediately obssessed! it's fresh but the mint isn't overpowering as it doesn't smell like straight up mouthwash like some other mint fragrances do, and the mandarin and orange note give it a nice citrusy feel that screams summer. it doesn't have a huge projection, but i can still smell it on my skin and hair after hours which is insanely good by diptyque's eau de toilettes standards. it reminds me of the fragrance i'd smell around a hotel in the alps i used to go to when i was a child, so this became immediately a staple for me. try it if you can!

Reminds me most of Oyedo which I also own, though LdH is more green and fresh. I personally find it to be incredibly linear, and it wears well over a long time. I spray it in the late day for a refresher and I can still smell it in the morning. To me it smells of a classic grapefruit accord with vetiver they teach at beginning perfumery in Grasse, plus some cashmerin to add a touch of lift to the accord. The camphor may remind some of medicinal salves, but I find it more reminiscent of resins and woods, and very grounding. It's very simple, very not natural, and yet still incredible. The citrus is a magic that lifts my spirits, the resinous woods are calming and restorative.

Bitter, spicy, refreshing. I adore this fragrance! So delightfuly green and authentical! Distinct aroma of herbs and grass under the lemon tree... Mint is very bright also and fits perfect to the compositon. When the middle tones reveal, perfume becomes even more interesting. Floral tone adds elegant complexity and sweetenes. With cedar it is matured, yet still very citrus-fresh. For me, it is stunning, however I can imagine not everyone would love it. Rather not to the office... Season doesn't matter, I think: in winter the spiciness will stands out, in summer the briskness... Last about 2-3 hours, with moderate sillage.

As with other Diptyque frags, this delicious scent of high quality ingredients has quite a poor performance on skin. For this kind of price i think it's unacceptable, and yet... It's so hypnotic and original, rooted in nature, almost intoxicating, that i can't really say a definite no, and will probably continue trying out and wearing Diptyques. If money is not an issue, do try it out. It opens quite strong, so it can be heavy on your head if you overspray, but it calms down and sits closer to the skin. Still, you get maybe three hours of garden delight before it settles. Recommended for floral/fresh scent fans.

Smelled it in the airport, let it sit for 10 minutes, bought it right after. became my signature super quick. when i sprayed it first time it had a slight burning effect to it which i never had. got me excited)))))) Easy to wear, super green and refreshing. might be the most refreshing one i have so far. Minty grass with zesty mandarin. no more description needed for this one. Longevity 6-8 hours on a good day. Projection not the best but still first hour or two decent. overall smell 9.7 for me. just lacks projection.

Hesperides. Mythology. A perfect green scent. Crystal clear water reflects grass, leaves, herbs, flowers, citruses. It's all juicy, fresh, saturated with water to a maximum turgor of the plants. Rather a green oasis in a hot climate, hidden in a deep shadow and only touched by sunshine when it's high up in the air, shining through trees and warming the place, never reaching the ground plants to scorch them. Nymphs' paradise. Where the evening only falls when the sunrays are disappearing far on the horizon.

This is seriously underrated. A green citrus garden after a cool summer shower. A non-trivial an complex citrus. It opens with fresh - almost icy - mint turning slightly menthol. Juicy mandarin sits under this with grassy notes, but not the fizzy citrus of Oyedo. The top notes last a surprisingly long time. A little earthy-spicy note then crops up, which I assume is the immortelle and spices. The musky-immortelle dry down lasts 7-8 hours on me. Interesting yet safe for work.

Weirdly medicinal, toothpasty, something you'd quite like to eat... YES! That's precisely why I love this scent. This was a blind buy - always a gamble - that has proved a smash hit. Easily in my top 3 hot-weather favourites. It's citrusy but not insipid, it's spicy but not smoldering, it's green but not banal. It stays on remarkably well for a citrus-driven scent and is still interesting to sniff after a full day in hot weather. It's refreshing AND quirky. No mean feat!

Why isn't this fragrance more popular than it is?!?! It's so hard to find in Australia but when I find it, I'm getting a bottle ASAP. It's like a fresh, green, minty cocktail - an excellent unique, unisex, summer green/fougere scent. On my skin I get mostly mint, grassy/herbal notes, light citrus and light woody / musky notes in the dry down. Performance is OK considering that this is an EDT. This is a great, less-sweet alternative to Guerlain Herba Fresca.

I got a sample of this and I finally found a great citrus scent! I would have gotten the Eau Des Sens if not for the sharp, metallic, astringent-smelling factor of it. This one is summer in a bottle! Fresh, uplifting, perfect for summertime. As I live in a tropical country, it works just fine and never gave me a headache. Comparable to The Body Shop's Satsuma (a loved scent (old formulation)). Sillage and longevity doesn't stop me but only the price.

Some days for me this smells like the most refreshingly icy, mentholated, lemony-minty herbal garden, and other days it smells like a very high end bathroom cleaner. I can't seem to predict when it works for me and when it doesn't, so I can't warrant a full bottle because it's so unpredictable. It is so relaxing and cooling to spritz on on a hot day, just can get a bit screechy and overwhelming with the lemon and cedar notes at times.

Redolent of the air on a scorchingly hot summer day in the med. The herbal and citrus notes are intoxicating, and refreshing. That sensation of it cooling the skin, makes it perfect for a high summer scent. I’m transported to stumbling around Segesta in the baking sunlight and finding relief in the shade. It could have a little more longevity and project a bit more, but the freshness of it makes it a joy to reapply.

Surprised by the relatively low rating for this--to me, this is one of the most versatile, naturally elegant citrus fragrances on the mainstream market. Herbacious, earthy, bitter-orange scent which wholly avoids the trivialness that a lot of citrus-forward scents fall into. You could wear this on a cooler autumn evening and it'll still match the vibe.