L'Eau d'Hiver

Powdery, snowy, icy, cloudy, chilly, with a gorgeous heliotrope and white musk accord. It's almost reminiscent to Creed's Himalaya - maintaining a similar vibe, with the photorealistic snowy aura that it brings about. While Himalaya recalls a sunny day on snowy, mountainous peaks, L'Eau d'Hiver conjures an image of a foggy, dreary winter day, with inches of snow and a grove of trees with icicles for leaves surrounding a gorgeous, frozen lake. You might think I'm implying that the fragrance is dull and boring, yet it's anything but - remember those childhood winter days where your neighborhood park was whitewashed with an angelic bed of snow, and even though it was still grey and snowy outside, you couldn't wait to immerse yourself in playing outside? That's what I'm reliving right now. I think Frederic Malle's perfumers, or more specifically, Jean-Claude Ellena, managed to capture the essence of snow by masterfully blending a cool yet creamy white musk with powdery iris and vanillic heliotrope, as well as add on the sub-arctic angelica plant to enhance the wintry feeling. Soft, subtle white florals lend a fresh yet soothing effect in the very background. The overall aroma is somehow cold yet warming, like playing in the snow knowing there's a cup of hot cocoa waiting for you when you're finished. It's quite evocative, if I'm being honest, and I can't stop making comparisons to my childhood in that sense. If I'm being honest, I don't really detect the bergamot, or the honey, but perhaps that's just the way the scent reads on my skin, or they're just used in an indistinguishable way that serves no other role than to support and enrich the primary accords. I will say this, though - if beastly performance is your preference, L'Eau d'Hiver might not be your cup of tea. Even on moderate days or nights, you won't be getting TOO much longevity from this fragrance - about 6-7 hours on the maximum, with 2-4 hours - which is not bad, but for those who prefer greater lasting power, I could see why it could be disappointing. I do confess, though, that a fragrance with such a scent profile need not possess 24 hours of performance - it's fine just the way it is. I'm impressed by the sillage, though - even though I personally stopped smelling it on myself about 2 hours in, someone told me they could detect what turned out to be my cologne as they were walking in from almost 10 feet away. That's insane to me, especially for a fresh cologne. Look, I now know and realize Frederic Malle's fragrance collection won't be satisfactory to everybody. Hell, that's why a single perfumer works on each fragrance - to create their own interpretation of the brand ethos in tandem with their personal manifesto on what perfumery means to them. It took me a while to recognize that, and if I'm being honest, I used to avoid Frederic Malle's fragrances for this very reason, but I have come to appreciate them, one by one, each time with an open mind, and though I might not like each one, I can understand the reasoning behind the decisions that were made during its creation. So no, not everybody will enjoy L'Eau d'Hiver. However, it's imperative to acknowledge the expert craft that went into creating the fragrance, and while not many will, because their personal distaste for the scent profile will prevent them from doing so (believe me, I freely admit that I've done this as well with other fragrances so it's completely understandable), I definitely can. So yes, I now have an obsession with L'Eau d'Hiver, and while I love how it evokes the feeling of a cold and austere yet nostalgic winter, this is a fragrance I will be wearing the absolute f*ck out of in the springtime. Spectacularly done by Jean-Claude Ellena.

L’Eau d’Hiver was released three years after the brand launched with its original lineup and is an early example for us of a creative direction that we learned we should intermittently expect from Malle over the life of the brand, that of getting compositions which are purely intellectual exercises - not a perfume for beauty or emotion. L’Eau d’Hiver is a true success in this regard, but it also means I have no idea where or when I’d want to wear it. Hedione, heliotrope, and dihydromyrcenol are massive vehicles propelled at full throttle in the opening of the perfume. To call it striking is an understatement. It is a near perfect evocation of a wintry blast going straight into your face. But, this is Ellena remember, so it’s not like getting hit in the face with a snowball, it’s very airy and breezy yet still thick and opaque like a blizzard wind or an icy fog. The heart is all about a cold and crystalline iris. Pleasantly floral but cold, crystalline but pillowy like freshly fallen snow, it’s an absolutely gorgeous iris note. The base accents the iris with touches of sweet floral honey and streamlined soapy musks that give me a feeling of washing my hands in cold soapy tap water. Interestingly for a floral, especially one created in the early 2000s, I think it works better on a typical man more than it would a typical woman. Of course, it’s unisex - I don’t really care about the gender orientation of perfumes, wear whatever you like - but what I mean to say is that it has the crispness and texture of a refreshing man’s cologne more than a plush woman’s perfume. Dior’s Homme by Olivier Polge, for example, released a couple of years after, is another iris forward perfume that manages to ride the unisex line so perfectly well that it’s more accurately described as genderless. L’Eau d’Hiver doesn’t present itself that way at all. In its crisp, airy, and very confident delivery is a firm personality, but I don’t know who or what it is. That’s probably why this perfume is a bit of a struggle for me, and likely why so many people were/are indifferent towards it. But, switching off the criteria to think about this perfume as a cosmetic or a work of art, and, rather, as I said at the beginning, an intellectual and technical exercise, I have to conclude it’s brilliant. Malle and Elena executed the mandate to exacting and precise results, and I cannot help but to be wowed by it.

This was my favorite sample I've tried from this house so far, and I don't think it can be beat. It transports me to being a kid... I lived with my grandparents without my parents for a while, so I developed a strong relationship with my grandma- basically following her around and watching her cook and clean and going shopping with her and listening to her stories. After she was done showering, brushing her teeth, putting on lotion, makeup and perfume and was ready for the day, she would come out of her room and smell EXACTLY like this. So to me, it's comforting and inspirational and nostalgic and while it reminds me of my grandma, it's not a scent I would say smells like an "old lady" - to be fair, I never saw my grandma as that old really, she has such a young energy! It's slightly powdery and soft...and the floral to me is like if you had been holding flowers in your hand for 30 minutes and then put them down and then smell your hands...light and fresh and soft, and maybe ever so slightly warm from holding them for so long. I am usually pretty sensitive to bergamot and hate the way it smells on me. While I've only worn this 4 or 5 times, so far it hasn't turned on me, and I hope it never does because I would be so sad. The only reason I'm thinking it may be worth it to buy a bottle is because of the memory I have tied to that smell, and it DOES seem to be super beautifully blended and not new too weak or strong but...it is pretty spendy.

Reviewing this one again because I am obsessed with my 1ml sample and devastated at the price of a full bottle. Its so complex, with each note having its own little moment. Very few perfumes come of this way to me, with each individual note standing out so beautifully. It also incorporates two notes I do not normally enjoy, pink pepper and iris, but they smell so different here. It opens with the freshness of pink pepper, but here the pink pepper seems more gentle than in other fragrances. JUST enough to add a little spiciness/freshness, more of a sensation than a scent. Followed by iris, but more fresh than other iris perfumes. Its muted here, no cloying baby wipe smell or similar complaints with iris. As it warms on my skin I smell the honey, musk, and heliotrope. It smells like an oat bath to me. Its soapy, and warm, and just a LITTLE sweet. So so so so cozy. Very much one of those scents that to me, smell like a hug from someone I love. To echo @amanda0727 below me, its classy and understated. Its a gorgeous smell, without being 'in your face' strong or sweet. I also wish I would have learned to appreciate scents like this sooner and not wasted so much time on perfumes that influencers recommended to me that their sole appeal is being loud and strong. L'Eau d'Hiver is artistry.

L'Eau d'Hiver is soft, mellow and beautiful. It made me fall in love with it, because it is way more than what you may initially think it is. It surprises you constantly. Initially you think it's fleeting, but in fact it stays on your skin and felt for longer than expected. You think it's sweet and flowery but in fact it has a lot of contrasting notes which make it leaning more mellow and calm. >> It sometimes smells like burned wood, the smell of a sweet distant fire, something very different from what the notes make you believe at first. Other times it reminds me of the smells of walking in the rain and jumping over puddles. The air is fresh but the rain also brings out earthy and flowery smells from the ground and sidewalks. According to the box it comes in, one of the inspirations was boiling water or steam, which actually makes sense smelling it. I would recommend wearing it for a day off, outside. I feel like it's best appreciated close to nature and on a day with lots of free time, not at an office. * I see a certain connection between L'Eau d'Hiver and Jean-Claude Ellena's Bois Farine for L'Artisan Parfumeur. They were both conceived by him in 2003, and both have this powdery air idea. Both are interesting and beautiful. 10/10

Part of what I find interesting about this lovely fragrances is how Jean-Claude Ellena managed to mix 23 notes to form a relatively light fragrance that invokes cool refreshing winter. Are all these notes identifiable? At least for me I can barely recognize half. But that does not mean that the others are not working in a subterranean way. What I can say is that the flral notes are aromatic without being punchy. The musk and the powder might be a more prominent than the spicy but the citrus opens the fragrance while also allowing the cool notes to envelope it. For those looking for the long lasting scent you will disappointed. This one needs reapplication after just a few hours if you want the magical aura to stay more than just a skin scent. I am happy to do that, but for those who feel an expensive perfume should stick around for most of a day then you should avoid this one. I love this one because it doesn't remind me of any of the fragrances I have tried or own. Many think of this one as a work of art. It is unisex and can be worn night or day. Silage is moderate and longevity is moderate at best. I imagine that those who like to go to sleep with a fragrance would very much enjoy this one as it is soothingly smooth.

I immediately get lots of flowers from the mid notes and they are individually detectable (wow). The honey is not too sticky, but accompanies the flowers beautifully. The top notes bring that lovely peppery and zingy freshness, but not too sour. The base notes are earthy, but soft like the moss or faintly like gingerbread. This is a very well balanced perfume where you can smell the high quality. It's that French perfume for people who are afraid of French perfumes. It's not heavy, but a 'lightweight' heavy. If this is winter (hiver) I'd say it's more the begin of it or the end of summer at least. And much more a day perfume than night. It's simply too happy for night. Too awake. I also find it an all ages perfume, because it's so balanced and not offensive. It feels like this is what so many cheaper perfumes are trying to be. It's what Shalimar should have smelled like (apart from the incense note) in my opinion. Not overpriced to me. Edit after some days: A creamy aspect sticks in your nose quite a bit. Might be headache inducing for the sensitive.

Stunning fragrance! I loved the idea of this perfume as I am always searching for that cold crisp air scent- This perfume isn't quite that, but it is a very clean ethereal cozy feeling. Then I stepped outside on the first day of snow, and this perfume just BLOOMED. It came alive upon contact with the cold winter air, and it blew me away. This is a winter fairy goddess scent and I want to wear it snowshoeing!! Update: I have been wearing this scent almost every day for the past two months and I am OBSESSED. I get bored easily but I just do not tire of this masterpiece. My love grows stronger for this every day. It actually lasts forever on my skin- I'll spray on each wrist in the morning and I can still bury my nose on my wrist at night and get a whiff of the intoxicating honey note that lingers. It is so sophisticated, well balanced, uplifting and truly one of a kind. Nothing else compares to this beauty. I feel like I'm in a watercolor version of a Monet painting. Wispy, ethereal, enchanting.

I had the same response to this that I had to Portrait of a Lady: "Oh, *this* is what perfume can be." You know art-with-a-capital-a when you experience it. I don't actually think I'll be wearing L'Eau d'Hiver much but I am in awe of it. I'll try to describe how it is on my skin, even though like any great work of art, it feels beyond words. It's not powdery or floral on me, in the way I usually experience those qualities. It's more like there is a delicate warmth and nutty-honey sweetness just beyond reach. There is such a light touch here, creating an abstract watercolor using cool and warm tones; it's elusive; the most delicate amber; it's like something beautiful that has been stored away for a very long time. I think that last part starts to get at why I don't see myself reaching for this, despite its beauty and artistry. There is something romantically sad about it, not quite melancholic, but it feels elusive and ephemeral and almost musty. So evocative.

I've been collecting for about 6 years and I have a lot of bottles. I have heard about this for a while and it is really difficult to get at a discounter. I was at the Frederic Malle boutique in Las Vegas and I smelled it and paid full price on the spot. The only other Malle I paid full price for was Musc Ravageur, which was my first and purchased at the boutique in Paris. With that, this is an absolute masterpiece. It reminds me of the new Comete by Chanel, which I also bought a full 200ml at full retail. Leau Dhiver is absolutely softer, but I am happy for that, because Comete is a beast and I can spray away with this LD and even wear it to bed. Described as a dewy heliotrope after a rain. Ethereal, lightly powdery and a small hint of sweetness. An absolute masterpiece and one I hope to own and wear for the rest of my life. I would like to add that this is the cleanest smelling fragrance I have ever smelled. Not a hint of offensiveness whatsoever.

Supremely beautiful impressionistic masterpiece. I understand the impulse to compare it to Apres L'Ondee for lots of reasons--(1) like that scent, it makes an elegant, proper perfume out of the very doughy notes of anisic aldehyde and heliotropin which, in isolation, are interesting building blocks but not ones that I would jump to put in the "starring" place in a fragrance pyramid. (2) It also has an analogous "chilly" vibe to it like the Guerlain. A good dose of hedione and helional lighten up the opacity and density of those notes and bring in a sort of aqueous, transparency to it. (3) lastly, it contains a spicy, anisic note up top and a creamy, musky, coumarinic base at the bottom. That said, I would not call the two smell alikes. L'Eau d'Hiver is distinctly modern, however, really informed by the sweet floral haziness of hedione. While it is both powdery and sweet, something about it remains intriguingly androgynous.

This is my quick review: After reading the glowing articulate reviews prior to my addition I feel maybe I won't do this scent justice I might come back with an in depth review. I bought this fragrance, (a blind buy) 20 months ago it's not the first one I reach for but there is something amazingly comforting about this frag, I find the more I wear it , the more the notes open up to me differently. I do get all the notes, I also get the cool breeze or even meadowwind vibe trailing over my skin. The freshness of a winter morning does spring to mind not a wet dreary morning crisp, yet not bitter, the kind of morning you get a red nose and throw on hiking boots for a brisk walk. If this sounds inviting buy it! I took me about 6 trys before I grew to love it, now I've just bought a back up bottle. I'm especially impressed as it's an easy de toilette . 2 thumbs up from me 😊

I have to admit, the absolutely gorgeous name, and the perfumer, are the reasons for my purchase of a full bottle. I’m not proud of it, but there it is. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful scent, but the scent on its own isn’t enough. If the exact same fragrance bore the name “Granny’s Closet”, was developed by Joe Shmoe, and sold at my local drug store, I’d likely turn my nose up at it - and I don’t think I’d be alone here. I will not paint a portrait of this scent with elegant, evocative and borderline pretentious words; it’s a clean, powdery fragrance (nothing melancholic about it) and the longevity is so abysmal, it’s criminal. Worth the price tag? Absolutely not. Am I proud to display it on my perfume tray? Absolutely. Congrats, Frederic Malle, you’ve sold me a lovely concept during record inflation and I have no regrets. Behold, L’Eau d’Hiver!

icicle crown of thorns. stood shivering surrounded by snowdrop flowers, coated in grey gossamer. frozen teardrop slipping on stone. silver bells shimmering in running water under a thin layer of frost. icy, milky, treacly, powdery, clean. a second skin covered in frozen dewdrops. greeted by winter air, cold iris twirls my hair in its winds, propelled by heliotrope's brisk, tender sweetness, so close to amaretto. the chewy green bite of angelica invigorates me, all as i am pacified by tiny flecks of dust. musk lies soft and saccharine at the base, a reminder of warmth amid the tundra. devastatingly melancholic and coated in shadows, yet pure, glowing, healing, and romantic. the scent of a silent cry. songs for l'eau d'hiver: lullaby by the cure, wild swan by lowlife, frosty nights by moral.

Beautiful. I became interested in this because I’m in a snow perfume phase, and by extension Iris since it’s so often done in a cool and stark manner. But then I think I read in Chandler Burr’s book about the perfumer Jean Claude Ellena that the intention of this was actually to invoke summer in winter, and I can feel that. It’s not cold but sunny, slightly warm, and delicate. The Sillage is pretty close to the body but it does persist- as gentle whiffs that float up here and there all day long. It’s not a showstopper by any means, rather it’s classy comfortable and fairly minimal, but very pretty. Addendum- I sprayed Heeley Menthe Fraiche on my other wrist while wearing this and I swear it brought out so much more honey in L’eau D’hiver. Anyway, fun.

My very first Malle, and still a love. I went for polar opposites when I fell for my favourite two from this line - L’Eau d’Hiver and Musc Ravageur. This to me is mood of autumn (and again later, spring) - mornings where it’s crisp and damp - where the scent of dawn slightly stings your nostrils and you see the first cool tinged rays of early morning light. All is quiet, still and perhaps slumbering softly, around you. It’s shades of grey, mauve, silver and lilac punctuated with brushes of indigo and black. The mood is peaceful, wistful, and nostalgic as we softly mourn the loss of summer again for a time without ever succumbing to woe. It’s comforting and personal, never out of style and never too loud.

Beautiful juice with honey, iris, and clean white musk. Bergamot bursting opening. Galbanum gives it a green facet that also mimics faint neroli/almond ghost when mixed up with bergamot. Dries down to a soapy clean almond musk. Pillow soft and relaxing. But unfortunately performance is abysmal on my skin. After an hour it sits close to skin. It's a shame because this is lovely and smells high quality. Not many honey frags I'd wear in high heat but this one. Reading the brand description now I see this is the end of winter/end of winter melted snow. I can get on board with that. Iris, white musk, it makes sense. But I'd gladly wear this in warm temperatures. Elegant perfumery. Scent 9/10 Performance 2/10

Malle, you may have realised, is one of my favourite brands. I find it gentle, elegant and each of its fragrances for me is an unforgettable olfactory journey. Eau d'Hiver is enveloping, almost as if it were a warm scarf that protects us from the cold winter weather, wet with drops of dew, because yes, it is not opulent or too warm, but ethereal and creamy. A citrusy, juicy opening, then a soft carpet of precious flowers among which the creaminess of violet, the light dustiness of iris, the sweetness of heliotrope and the green hints of lily of the valley come to the fore. A clean perfume, a cuddle, to be worn at any time of the year... on any occasion. ‘Snow falling in the Lane’ painted by Munch.

To me, this fragrance is so well done! It actually reminds me of Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria Nettare di Sole. It has the same breathy, powdery, soft feel. Obviously two different fragrances but both have those attributes. Since I tend to pull the sweetest bits of perfume, on my skin I really hear the honey. It’s front and center with the Iris and those prominent powdery notes. I don’t get the “crystal ice caps flowing through a cold river” descriptions some people use. But I do see that “cold” powder in there. Silage is moderate. Projection is about the same. I sprayed one spray and it’s front and center in my bubble, so to me that’s great, especially for a soft fragrance like this. I would say 4/5

L'eau d'Hiver have a title of the most "beautiful" fragrance from the line. Amazing scent for start discovering FM. I am not sure anybody can say something rude about this masterpiece. Just like the spring's coming after the long and cold winter, but this is not the usual "spring flowers" smell, actually it's clean musky, airy, mild powdery, barely green with just a little drop of honey, which mean is not sweet as someone may assume by looking at the pyramid. Minimalism in true form, recognazible JCE style. Hiver is a symbol of innofensive but very complex smelling perfume. It's good for lazy sunday afternoon or just to start a day with.