L'Eau De Monteil

Another gorgeous fragrance lost to us in the Graveyard of Glorious Scents. Oh how I regret not buying this when I could, but Acqua di Gio won out against this one and by the time I made up my mind to buy it, L'eau de Monteil was gone :( Lesson learned. This fragrance was one like no other in a bottle, and this is coming from a person that used to work years in a perfumeria and have been a lover of perfumes since she was 5. Although many refer to the sea with this fragrance, I must respectfully disagree. Maybe it was my body chemistry? I do not know. But, what I do know is that to me, this evoked memories of bathing in gentle streams, but the ones that were deep enough to dive in and that were so clear, you wouldn't need goggles to view the floor. Streams which washed away all your stresses, invigorating the mind and soul, and caressed you with endless fragrant waters which seemed to enjoy submerging you in a way only Mother Nature possibly could when she is kind. Yes, a stream...the only known cradle that is cold yet manages to pacify and rejuvenate. It was like the scent of the earth after the rain, no saltiness detected, just purity but not in a sterile way, it was definitely fertile, full of life and harmonic energy. Ozonic...aquatic...the most delicate of floral notes...and what I can only add as pure magic. The sillage and longevity were perfect. The perfume, undeniably feminine but smelled almost like something not quite mortal but rather, eternal...like the earth. I leave this review with much bittersweet melancholy. I do not know if I was blessed or cursed to have experienced this masterpiece of a perfume that has now ceased to be. I guess only time will tell.

Dear Readers, This perfume..is divine..mind altering and till this day there hasn't been no other, let me explain why. When this perfume came out I was a tender teen insearch of my own fragrance and I found some like Chanel's Egoist and No5 but I found them way to mature that I could not pull off at that shy age of mine then, but when I came across this fragrance in a magazine having a coppertone model with vivid eyes coming out of the water like a river or lake nymph and the fragrance strip to match , I had to go see how much was it . Well sadly this fragrance was beyond my little allowance price range and my mother did not buy it for me because it was pricey and all the little and middle bottles were always sold out and left the big bottles of this magnificent perfume and I said to myself I will collect my earnings and get me this perfume someday and sadly this perfume was taken out quick since it wasn't very popular, so this perfume in my perfume lovers heart is in eternal lament as " the one who got away" category this perfume for me will remain forever. This fragrance had a such lush, vivid, crisp, fresh but had depth of mysterious greens, flowers and watery scent that could have been taken from a pool of virgin forest and jungles of paradise where nymphs and gods bathed in that left their divine essence in , this perfume was majestic of earth and water elemental spirits in a bottle. On me, this scent it made me feel like a sweet water nymph of fables of a lost age where the earth was still young and Gods were among us.

A wonderful perfume! One of my favorites. I started with a miniature bottle and felt completely in love with it; it smells so different from the perfumes I knew. Salty, you can realy smell the ocean and you can imagine that the wind blows your hair on a warm sunny summerday...lovely. Okay, so its salty,I can also smell the jasmine ,very strong and loud. Carnation is probably one of the ingredients, like some fragrantics wrote below. It's a little bit spicy, but nog much. Just enough to make a beautifull composition, like in an painting. Everything is in balance in this superb combination. It's a masterpiece!!!

I'm really happy with this fragrance-got a brand new bottle for a great price on Ebay and was really pleasantly surprised with it. The best way I can descibe this is an oily floral,and on me it is very intense. It smells like waxy white flowers and ambre solaire and evokes memories of hot & sunny days at the beach in the 70's. The orange blossom,jasmine and sea notes are predominant with the spice and powder being incredibly subtle. I would wear this on warm spring or summer evenings,as I think it may be a little heavy for daytime use.

This was a beauty, I was devastated when it was d/c'd. Light, airy,aquatic, floral slightly salty.Just perfection. Such a dreamy fragrance in a beautiful pale aqua floral glass bottle.I would love to see it come back.

Sand, beach, wind, marine, sea, air, fresh and floral....i am traveling light and i love it!

Forgot to say: very longlasting on my skin. About 8 hours!!!

This beautiful fresh fragrance lends a lightness to the floral notes that waft, tempered by the so-called sea notes that I find most intriguing about this scent. It is a pleasurable ocean breeze in a garden along the chalky white cliffs, and reminds me of Debussy's La mer, Sibleius' Oceanides, and Germaine Monteil's 1940 South Seas sheath gown (if anyone's seen the famous photo of the model spreading the elegant dress out on the beach sand). I love it in the morning, but also at night before dreaming sleep; the orange blossom always creates a feeling of happiness and wellbeing.

Would have never named "aquatic" this oily, greatly aromatic white floral. Not a thin watery one. It has incredible depth and soft-spicy sophistication, notes smell so natural, night-alike, when all flower's aromas are so intense, it is also somewhat mysterious. Rare luck nowadays to discover such a gem, even more pleasure to receive it as a gift. Thank you, blacktaffeta, it is an amazing one!

I have wanted to try this for sometime. I finally found a mini on ebay. This is the scent of summer! The ocean in a bottle! On my skin I got all the marine notes and thankfully, none of the floral notes. So sad that this has been discontinued. It would be the perfect summer scent, or great when the tempurature drops and there's snow on the ground and you want a little instant beach vacation!

I like floral aquatics. They just work for me especially in the hot humid summer. This one is nice. I get fresh young jasmine and orange blossom. Not a lot of powder but some and it makes it interesting. Don't always see powder notes with marine or sea notes. This is a frag I use for daytime.

Lo avevo comprato nel 96,ne avevo usate un paio di bottigliette. Per me era stupendo,odore di garofani,glicine,odore di mare al tramonto,intenso e meraviglioso.. Poi non l'ho piu trovato..

Very curios scent. I feel lily when smelling from bottle, but when sprayed, I feel salty and sour honey near the skin and beautiful flowers around me.

This is a potent perfume with the unmistakeable aroma of ladies' public toilets near a beach resort where the cleaning staff make gallant yet impossible attempts to keep the facilities clean. I'm sorry that I find nothing pleasant about this at all. Luckily, that's what samples are for. If anyone needs to buy some, there is a seller on eBay uk who has lots of inexpensive samples of this; £3.25 free p&p for 3 samples. I won't be taking advantage but if you are struggling to find this, it can be had if you don't mind samples. As always, YMMV.

It smells oldfashioned, too choking for a young girl. I suspected something fresh and airy so I'm dissapointed.

2018: I like it when wearing it outdoors, it transforms into something that I can only describe as sweet-smelling fresh air. If I wear it (outdoors) in the winter, it evokes the strongest sensation of the arrival of springtime. Reminds me of playing outdoors in the summertime as a child. However, when I wear it and remain indoors, I find the jasmine way too overpowering for me and I just want to wash it off. Very interesting scent. UPDATE 2021: I now hate it. Maybe it's gone off. It smells like piss. UPDATE 2026: I tried it again and still hate it. I'm not sure what do to with my bottle. If you have suggestions pls DM me!

Reviewing a bottle of Eau de Parfum from 1995/6. L'Eau De Monteil was launched in 1995 and discontinued in 2007. Described as a Floral aquatic it was produced in France and meant to be a "vacation" perfume. The original perfumer is not known. L'Eau De Monteil opens with orange blossom and jasmine which is slightly indolic. This morphs into a Lily accord to me - likely due to a combination of ylang-ylang, rose and carnation/eugenol as well as the jasmine/orange blossom. This rests over a slightly powdery base of what I would describe as "luxury french riviera sun tan lotion". No coconut just a very expensive smelling tropical warm musky base reminding me of the scent of impossibly chic european women at mediterranean beaches in my youth. Probably the now IFRA restricted Benzyl Salicylate with some Gamma nonalactone. It does not smell vintage at all except for the remarkable performance without the aid of massive amounts of aggressive synthetic amber/musks. There is earthy humidity to the florals but no sharply synthetic aquatics like overdosed calone. Not sweet or citrusy just pure perfection. Quality: 4/5 -there are definitely evident synthetics here but superb blending to make this work Leans feminine Performance-5/5 excellent sillage, lasts 10-12 hours My favourite beach perfume. L'Eau De Monteil is a long lost unique floral beauty. It comprises of a rare believable "Lily" accord warmed by a rich musky base with an overall sophisticated damp beachy feel. Similar to vintage Ombre Bleue by Jean Charles Brosseau another lost beauty which was launched years earlier in 1987 although L'eau is a tad less complex and a bit more synthetic. Could the perfumer be the same for both? Could this be a reformulated version of Ombre Bleue? 8.5/10

Creamy, almost buttery, jasmine... Always on the hunt for good long lasting summer fragrances, I found a bottle of this on eBay several months ago for a good price and took the risk. This is very beautiful. Aquatic for sure. I don’t pick up any powder in this, or spice (edit: yes i realize now i DO smell a very creamy carnation, but the spiciness is extremely subdued). But the rest of the notes match. Jasmine, orange blossom, and definitely sea (breezes) on a warm balmy day... with zero fishiness. There’s no salt in this, but it still conveys a summer holiday at the sea perfectly. In my perfume purchasing I focus a lot on vintages for one specific reason: lasting power. There are modern fragrances that smell better than vintages, to me ... but don’t last more than an hour, if that. What’s the point in wearing them at all? I can see why this has a loyal fan base. It’s beautiful. This and Byblos are both really beautiful summer fragrances from the 90s. They are different for sure, but same family. Byblos is more energizing, zesty, and fruity. Monteil is more of the “dreamy” water nymph type. No sweetness in this, especially when compared to modern perfumes. Extremely impressive longevity, and actually, it’s downright hard to wash off.

I can see, as some others have said, that this scent has the potential to go "off". My mother purchased this for me when it first came out and I've had the same bottle ever since and fortunately, it hasn't turned. I don't reach for it much because I'm not really an aquatic/floral person and I prefer scents that are a little more complex and dense (chypres especially). I have a tendency to pretty much stay away from anything that comes in a blue bottle, lol. When I do wear it, I know that I have to allow it to settle down a bit because the initial combination of notes can be a little disconcerting. However, the reward is worth the short wait, because unlike most jasmine centered scents, this one truly evokes the subtle creaminess of the flower, where other jasmine scents feel a little off and screechy to me. In the winter, this feels like wearing a bit of spring, but in the summer heat this really blooms.

This is a very nicely done early women's aquatic. Instead of relying on a heavy use of Calones, the "sea spray" effect is achieved primarily through a use of green notes, delicate aldehydes & orange blossom. L'eau de Monteil does not smell like the sea; rather it evokes it. This is creatively much more difficult to do. I have to agree with Serafina that the spice seems to be from carnation. Here it is held in an aqueous substrate, from which the spice diffuses enveloped in a moist cloud. The light powdered drydown remains aqueous, and is very comforting and soft. Interesting, yet still sophisticated and modern. I am surprised that cyclamen is not in the notes, I will research to find more detailed ingredients. The strength and longevity even in the EDT is excellent.

I bought a vintage bottle of L`Eau De Monteil. I don't know if I got a bad bottle or this is what it actually smells like, but (to me) this smells like a public restroom/side of the hwy rest stop. I smell urine mixed with public restroom air freshener spray from the box on the wall. You know that smell. I couldn't wear it or someone would think I spayed myself to cover up rancid urine smell.LOL Now, my bottle smelled this way, yours may smell different or the same. Since they don't make this anymore and is a vintage, I would like to know if it's normal for this perfume to smell like that or have they all turned. L Eau Monteil is kind of expensive and hard to find, I don't want to keep searching if they are all going to smell the like the bottle I have

This scent evokes memories of a very humid, very wet (but at the same time cool) tropical garden. The first time I encountered a similar scent was in a garden park in Florida as a child. I probably equate the scent of L'Eau De Monteil with the fragrance of that garden because of the obvious jasmine and water elements they have in common. There is also a undertone of overblown blooms, earth and tropical forest floor. I tried wearing this fragrance in the heat of summer to recapture the cool water element but it didn't work for me. I find that L'Eau DE Monteil is best used in Spring and Fall. I have enjoyed this scent since the mid 90's and have given it as a gift to my daughter, who likes it as much as I do.

I got this in miniature as a gift - the bottle is cute and the watery blue-green color is just my thing. The scent is floral, I smelled carnation and jasmine, with many interesting undertones - greenish, woody, earthy, spicy, powdery. Imagine the blue and green color with sunny white, streaks of dusty grey and earthy brown. Imagine nature in spring, giving birth to flowers, burbling clear brooks, cool stones, wet marshes and powdery fogs. No fruit and almost nothing sweet, maybe a drop of tame vanilla in the drydown.

I have an old bottle of this from hour zero ( when it was released.) and nary a turn for the worse. Lucky me. A great summer perfume for those who love aquatics or dislike citrus-y smells. Truly a fragrance for water-nymphs or those who feel an affinity for the species. Such a pity that it was discontinued. Good grief! Just looked for this gem on Vinted and I nearly passed out with shock. Euro 120 for 30ml and Euro 215 for 100ml. I'd better be careful with my stash!

@smellsogood; You have the notes correct. "L'Eau de Monteil A beguiling and magical scent of flowers -as- fragrance from a garden grown in dreams. A retreat for the spirit, a respite for the soul. A time to find that special place where fields of flowers bloom." I have a bottle still in the box with the product liner....It then goes on to list the notes(also beautifully described) in 4 languages plus the product line, is listed as well.

A wonderful auqatic opening !! Then there are quite a lot of sweetness and that original and very nice note of wisteria. This is a lovely aquatick floral that is just so beautifuly made. Most be the best aquatic out there ! It is going up om my 25 best list !! Please Fragantica correct the notes - there are no spices in it - and this is surely not a hint of powder - just the opposite clear aquatic.

This a really pretty beachy type of scent to me..It's not too heavy or too light.If your having trouble finding this scent,you could try Mary-Kate and Ashley coast to coast L.A, not listed here...But this smells so similar,It's the sister scent of this fragrance.

Feminine, ladylike, elegant. Perfect. On my skin I don't get the aquatic element, just beautiful white floral and jasmine. Gutted that I've only discovered it now that it has been discontinued. I've no idea why they would discontinue such a perfect perfume.

hey my loves just wanted to let you know that this perfume goes off easily, be aware when you purchase an old bottle.

My all-time favorite fragrance. Why was it discontinued?

il mio preferito da sempre!!!!