Isabey La Route d'Emeraude

Isabey La Route D'Emeraude. This was a blind buy for me a few years ago. I decided to treat myself to a perfume for my birthday. I had never heard of Isabey. I had never tried it before. I ordered it online from a department store based on the name of the fragrance. I won't say it was love at first sniff. I was very new to the fragrance community, and honestly, I think I just shrugged my shoulders and put it on my perfume tray and dabbed some on without thinking. My bottle is almost finished. Years later and wiser I started to track my perfumes and record my impressions. I'm wearing this perfume today on a moderately cold afternoon in early March. Perfumes do not last on me very well. This one actually projects. It's not beast mode, but I can definitely catch the fragrance as I move around. I don't have to glue my hand or wrist to my nose to smell it. I don't really pick up the rose. I wish I could. But I do smell the jasmine and the cinnamon. It's all well blended so nothing really jumps out at me. This is an elegant fragrance. I'm working at my computer at home. But I could wear this anywhere and probably anytime. This is very subtle but likeable. I don't know that this a compliment getter. That said the person who comes in close to you or hugs you, will appreciate the nice smell whether they say something or not. There's nothing off-putting about this fragrance. If I were teaching I would feel comfortable wearing this fragrance or if I had to attend a funeral or sombre occasion I might select this. While the ingredients and notes suggest an oriental/exotic fragrance, it is still very restrained -- almost conservative. This might be the wild scent for the uptight and serious librarian or shut in computer nerd. For everyone else it's a very nice fragrance that doesn't smell like anything else. It's unique in a very quiet way. I have 30ml bottle. I would repurchase without hesitation.

How do I describe La Route d'Emeraude? There's a simplicity to it that can be deceiving. For me, the way it's blended is masterful. It strikes a balance between fresh plainness and indolic depth and in that tension is where Isabey's jasmine truly shines. It opens light, bright and sweet, with a touch of spring rose. My nose doesn't pick up on cinnamon as a separate note, it mostly adds warmth to the opening before the jasmine sambac fully kicks in. And as for the star of the show, jasmine: it walks that tight rope between fresh and overripe, sweet and in full bloom yet not so indolic that it would turn skanky. I would say that jasmine is responsible for the vast majority of the floral notes in La Route. Tuberose is also here, albeit in the background, contributing to that narcotic, nectary sweetness while orange blossom adds even more brightness. Despite their ripeness and sweetness, they all somehow manage to feel more fresh than jammy. The base is lovely and understated, a deep amber that isn't too sweet or too vanilla, offering just enough roundness to make the while florals pop. On my skin, it offers an intimate to moderate sillage and stays on for up to 8 hours. It works in warm weather just as well as in cold. You can easily wear it as a daily scent or on special occasions. It's uplifting and classy. And using that gorgeous bottle is like misting yourself in sunshine. This perfume confirmed that jasmine is my favourite floral note. I had been in the midst of searching for a heavy indolic beauty, but when La Route d'Emeraude settled on my skin, it stole my heart in a way that few others have so far. Over the following weeks I have sneaked little half sprays of it under my work clothes on a number of days and wore it at home on the weekends repeatedly. I just couldn't stop, even with a dozen samples waiting to be tried.

Out of all the perfumes I've tried in the coffret, this turned out to be my favorite. I didn't think it would be considering that I like the note profiles of some of the others more. But this has turned out to be a love and one that I will replace with a bottle after this 10ml. is finished. It is a beautiful jasmine forward floral that's touched with a little sweetness and vanilla. The opening is a little unusual. I never expected to smell rose so outright, outside of a soliflore, in the opening of what I thought was supposed to be a primarily white floral perfume. It is tinged citrus from the bergamot and with a very subtle spiciness thanks to the cinnamon, which is so well blended here that it doesn't read like an outright spice but does give the opening of this fragrance an oriental slant. The tuberose then enters the picture and is beautifully balanced here, never overshadowing the jasmine but adding voluptuous fullness and rich depth to this scent. Sweet, warm, bottom notes of amber and vanilla round this fragrance out, adding an accord that is just luscious, and the benzoin and musk a powdery fluffiness. I wish I was picking up incense which some have mentioned, but I am not. That doesn't detract from how lovely I think this scent is. It really is a beautiful perfume and a standout in the white floral, jasmine dominant genre.

What a pretty scent. I have a great deal of pleasure wearing and testing such florals in spring! Will I be investing in a bottle at this price point? No. That said, I truly enjoy the fresh bergamot (a favorite note of mine) in the opening. The heart of white florals pleases. The dry down, however, is just perfect. The perfect balance of creamy, powdery, fuzzy vanilla/musk and a lingering goodness from tuberose..... Thoughts: I received not one but TWO unsolicited complements while wearing this floral winner. I personally have more chemistry with other florals and florientals, such as Organza, Nebras, and Classique. That said, the dry down here is beautiful (if simple) and reminds me strikingly of something that D&G does in its best classics. If you had asked me blinded what I was smelling in the base, I might have guessed a top notch, new 'The One' flanker! I would love to see this kind of quality as the dominant rule, rather than the exception, in designer brand releases. It used to be a far more prevalent norm in mainstream perfumery, as noted by the vintages to which this niche is compared. What if houses like Gucci released THIS type of glorious bouquet.... instead of another watered-down floral? We can always dream. Sometimes miracles DO happen! <3

Wow! This is a stunning jasmine perfume. One of the best jasmine perfumes I have ever smelled. There is jasmine sambac and jasmine grandiflorum represented here and represented well. Green, fresh, clean newly bloomed jasmine, acres and acres of jasmine. Fresh bergamot and rose oil that is touched w/ a zing of cinnamon to start but then in the heart, oh the heart of this perfume is nothing but jasmine perfection. A slight vanilla in the dry down adds just a touch of sweetness to a very floral jasmine perfume. La Route d' Emeraude is a gorgeous well-crafted and stunning perfume. Elegant, very upscale and womanly. Everything that perfumery should be and what I wish more niche fragrances aimed for. Beautiful. Edit:7/10/22 My husband likes this which is surprising since he isn't a big fan of jasmine. I may have to put this on my want shelf. It is really beautiful. I own Patou Joy and that is a beautiful jasmine as well but that is more indolic and has a lot of May rose. I also own Beauty by Calvin Klein which is a lovely jasmine w/ a cedar and ambrette musk and I like it but the performance w/ that one isn't the best. Emeraude is brighter and cleaner jasmine w/ a slight powdery dry down.