Sous Le Pont Mirabeau

Here we have a house which like many, I know by reputation but not that much by their perfumes. About Sous Le Pont Mirabeau, a friend of mine told me not long ago "if you like Zoologist's Olm, get this one, it's a cleaner version of it minus the muskiness". I love Olm so that got me hyped up and I recently got my bottle of Sous Le Pont Mirabeau. From what I understand, this is inspired by Guillaume Apollinaire's poem of the same name which speaks of love being like water, it "ebbs and flows". It's a poetic statement and I admit I don't get a poetic vibe from the scent. That said, I do get a nostalgic vibe, having grown up by a river and always playing near it. Right off the rip, what I get here is a very ozonic, fresh aquatic. There's no sweetness here and thankfully no annoying citrus opening like so many "aquatic" fragrances have. Here, what you get right on spray is a fresh, uplifting fresh water vibe with a wet rock, mineral smell (apparently that's "Orcanox"). That's the smell that made me fall in love with Olm, so obviously, I'm sold already. Sous Le Pont lacks that musky element that deters some people from the Zoologist, so those afraid of musk, algae, etc. don't need to worry here. This is super clean, easy to wear but at the same time, unique and different from most "aquatics". There's a greenness here which adds something I really like (I can see why people mention the fig note, it's a wet woody kind of scent). Taking a look at the "similar to" list here, I definitely can see similarities to a few but this is its own thing (it doesn't have the floral of Seahorse or the chlorinated vibe of Sydney Rock Pool). I personally don't pick up a pickle smell from sandalwood, but be wary if you do because I smell it here for sure. So all in all, I love this! This is going to shine in the summer for sure, it's super refreshing. I think it could be worn any time of the year, though. It's just a very clean, pleasant smell. You're not going to offend anyone with this, I actually had many people at work mention how pleasant my cubicle smells. I get a good 6 hours wear with good projection, surprisingly (typical of ELDO, I'm told). A very good calling card for the house. I'm going to order the full sample set and see. If you like aquatics, definitely get your nose on this one.

Got my hands on the sample kit with 20 small vials of ELDO's fragrances to try with my girlfriend. This one was the third one that we engaged with. This is definitely ELDO's take on the fresh aquatic scent. For me, it lead with that fig leaf and elemi, and the bergamot and pink pepper were their teammates supporting them by lifting them up above themselves for us to sniff at. But I also almost immediately got a blast of crisp, grassy goodness from a fresh breeze by the sea. It's incredibly well developed and was a bit of a shock for me, as typically these sort of aquatic fragrances lead with some heavier citrus notes. But instead, I was getting cucumber, pepper, etc; and a very light bergamot. Very lovely, I really adore the elemi in this blend (which is probably that dill/pickle that folks are talking about). Dries down to a pleasant sandalwood with some extra bits of something animalic, that same green note, and residual salt from being by the ocean. There's even a hint of sweetness in there which smells like that vanilla note? This blend of woodiness and salt feel like a very refreshing twist on your standard aquatic/woody scent. Lasts a fair bit of time on my skin too! I find this to be surprisingly tame and wearable for an ELDO scent, and though I have no problem wearing something weird, it's nice to have something that isn't as oddball or left-field. To me, maybe the weirdness lies in the subversion of the archetypes they're playing with here. Regardless, this one is a winner for me, but I can see why some might be put off by this one as it's not as wild or experimental as some of ELDO's other offerings. Aquatic, refreshing, green goodness with tall, wooden backbone.

I have finally received my ELDO sample set and am really enjoying exploring these scents. Given that there are very few reviews for this new release, I thought I would leave one. The first spritz of this scent immediately screamed Santal 33 to me - obviously, that's the sandalwood. But as somebody who finds Santal 33 too 'dill pickle' and unwearable (I sold mine), almost as immediately, it was clear to me that Sous le Pont Mirabeau had much softer edges to it. There is something fruity and herbal enveloping the sandalwood, taking off the spiky edges which feel so unavoidable in Santal 33. It is much more wearable, so if you are somebody who like me, did quite like Santal 33 in one way but also found it too pickle-like and off-putting, I highly recommend you try this fragrance. As it settles, it begins to smell somewhere between medicinal and a cocktail. It brings to my mind sitting in an outdoor terrace of a restaurant on a busy main street, on holiday, in the sun, eating appetisers and drinking cocktails. There is something reminiscent of sunscreen coming through (though in no way similar to scents like MMM's Beach Walk or Tom Fords Soleil Blanc) that gives it holiday vibes. This is absolutely not a safe blind buy, but I'm surprised by how much I love it and highly recommend getting hold of a sample, especially if you like Santal 33. It settles into something surprisingly delicate, though still with quite a sharp, herbal, woody core.

Sous Le Pont Mirabeau is absolutely gorgeous on the opening and the dry down. It’s a slightly acidic salty ocean air, musk and something green with a bit of bitterness in it. As it dries down, after about the first 30 minutes, the bitterness gets a tiny bit stronger and the salt faded a little. Sous Le Pont Mirabeau also takes on a distinctly green leafy note that is very pleasant. Strangely as it nears the end of its life, most of the notes fade almost entirely into a slightly sweet musky very mild aquatic scent. On the performance side Sous Le Pont Mirabeau has great longevity. It lasted for just under 12 hours on my skin, with very very light hints of it possible sticking around after that. A 9/10 here. The projection is great for about the first 4 hours, projecting nicely just outside my arms length but after those 4 hours Sous Le Pont Mirabeau crashed down to a skin scent and got closer and close for the next 3 hours before it was so skin close I could only smell it with my nose on my skin. A 5/10 here. I really like Sous Le Pont Mirabeau, it’s a very enjoyable ocean scent with what I think is a seaweed mixed in. Regardless of what it is I really enjoyed the bitter green note in it. It’s a 8/10 for me overall. The 12 hours on skin is great, I just wish that it kept its strong projection for more of its lifespan.

I first discovered this fragrance in the ELdO discovery kit. From first smell, there was something extremely nostalgic about this perfume. It perfectly captures the essence of strolling under a bridge in Paris during the summertime. Sous le pont Mirabeau (SLPM) strikes divine harmony between green, aquatic, spicy, and being unapologetically French all at the same time. The aquatic notes in SLPM are not suggestive of salty ocean spray but instead convey the feeling of fresh water rushing through an urban stream. Notes of dill weed, orcanox, precious resins, musks, and cedar bolster this watery accord. Of particular note is the sweetness of Elemi in this fragrance, which completely transforms the olfactory experience, especially as the scent evolves on skin. I found it to have a great longevity on my skin (6-10h). My partner thinks that it smells a lot like tzatziki/pickles but I thankfully don't pick up on these notes as much. Other people have mentioned this as well, so clearly a collective experience for some folks. More masculine leaning but perfectly unisex.