Elessâr

Okay, full disclaimer, I fell victim to marketing here. I bought it because of the name (fan of Tolkien’s work) and a beautiful bottle. The scent is rather weak. It starts bitter and clean, like some organic herbal soap bar. Then it slowly turns into something more floral, yet still very green and herbal, with just a hint of blossom sweetness underneath - a lone pinkish head of clover in a green patch. I detect no citruses, no peony, no woody notes, unfortunately. Thankfully, I don’t smell full-on aquatic notes either, because in other stuff they give me headaches. Maybe the bitterness I get is from that ingredient that is supposed to represent the spring water. I couldn’t tell because me and aquatics just don’t click. The longevity is lamentable. It’s merely afternoon and it’s almost all gone, turned to a faint skin scent, even though I over-sprayed relentlessly this morning (I knew it was weak after some testing). All in all, clean, green, fresh, and quite pleasant, but underwhelming. Maybe it will perform better in hot weather – I will try to come back after trying it in the summer. It did remind me of Yves Rocher’s Naturelle that I used to wear for summer about 10 years ago. Maybe they smell alike because I’m not very experienced in floral-green fragrances. Still, they do share 5 accords in the pyramid. They are not the same, of course. Naturelle was fruitier and sweeter, which I loved. As for the elf-like beauty and enchanted forest feel, with mossyness and cleanliness of icy spring, I think Jeanne Arthes Sultane White Pearl did it better (even if it never intended to, judging by the name). UPD: My original review is from March and now it's August with a very hot weather. I must say that Elessar improves upon acquaintance and develops better in high temperatures. It is still a very faint scent but I can feel peony now, and musk, and creamy woods, that together blend into something faintly powdery. It's nice. Still less than I expected from the name and the look, but pretty enough for a summer scent. Also, overspraying might have been a mistake. I suspect it only makes you nose-blind instead of intensifying the very understated fragrance this is.

Did I bought it mainly because of the name - yes. The notes are also something that seemed something I would like. The flacon also looks pretty imho. But the scent is very weak. The opening is powdery and to me smells like some dusty old dried up boquet of flowers not fresh. I will leave it on the shelf to look pretty :P