Miu Miu L’Eau Bleue

L'Eau Bleue is, without a doubt, my favorite "modern"/"non-vintage" lily-of-the-valley fragrance (my absolute, all-time favorite being the long-discontinued Coty Muguet des Bois). I tested the original Miu Miu and L'Eau Bleue at the same time, and this is the one I ended up buying. Throughout the evolution of this perfume, there is never any doubt that LOTV is the star of the show. Yes, it is backed up by a hint of modern aquatic freshness, occasional whiffs of crisp, green flower stems, and the peppery -- and amazingly pleasant -- bite of akigalawood (which provides backbone to the scent and, I feel, gives it a welcome boost in the longevity department), but the heavenly fragrance of those delicate little bell-shaped blossoms never fades or disappears into the background. L'Eau Bleue never *stops* being about lily-of-the-valley, and that's what I love most about it. The supporting notes do just that -- they support the main player, but they don't try to hog the spotlight. While we're at it, let's talk abut longevity, shall we? I get all-day wear out of this, which is impressive; in fact, my little 30ml bottle, which I purchased when it was first available (so, early 2017?), is still more than half-full, and that's not because it's been languishing in my perfume drawer for five years (believe me, it hasn't been neglected). I don't need to bathe in this stuff in order to obtain the desired effect -- which, let's face it, is awesome, because perfume can be expensive. For me, this one was a good investment. The overall impression this perfume gives is one that's clean, fresh, and floral. It conjures images of springtime and sunny, yet still "cool and dewy" mornings. While I'm more *likely* to wear it in spring and early summer (often, I'll turn to this in March/April/early May, when I'm anticipating the arrival of spring and impatiently waiting for the moment when the real LOTV blossoms show up), I don't feel as though I *need* to restrict my use of this to a specific time of year or temperature. (I'm wearing it today... it's August... and it's performing like a champ. If you love it, wear it.)

Summer-targeted perfumes never impress me before. I was actually hesitant to blind buy this, especially because the notes are mostly the same to other summer perfumes; throw some white flowers, add water-based notes, and maybe some greenery. Me, as a narcissist, am not going to let myself smell similar to others, or so I thought. Girly, I was wrong. This one is simply beautiful. Imagine a warm day on a rocky beach, a girl in her 20's, wearing summer dress, sitting on a bench, enjoying the afternoon. The sky is blue, her laughs are joyous, free, like nothing weighing on her heart. The wind was blowing from up the flowery hill towards the beach. Sunset is coming and everyone know this sunset will be better than most days. Life is easy and that is enough. That's L'Eau Bleue, or Blue Water. Whether you want to be that girl or a spectator of such beauty, those are the experience you're going to get while wearing or smelling this perfume. Get the tester on a warm day and I know you'll be smiling. One thing, with this perfume, wind is your friend. So make sure you stand in a good circulated room, sit on the window sill or bring your own blower or fan (I know I will)

What a lovely, unexpected scent! The bottle and marketing do this no favours; the only thing that resonates is the cool blue of the bottle. On me, this is a very green, icy, woody, wild lily of the valley. I see a little wooden cabin in the forest, with frost sparkling on the grass, the sun just starting to rise, and a patch of delicate lilies of the valley glittering in the dappled light. The green and aquatic notes, combined with the peppery wood, make this a very natural floral. It's the flowers in situ, not a giant bouquet of glasshouse blooms. The Diorissimo comparisons are inevitable but they're almost like archetypal opposites, imo. Diorissimo is a golden, velvety, sappy cloud (I'm thinking primarily of my 1960s era vintage, and 2008ish EDP). L'eau Bleue is a delicate, icy mist. Diorissimo in its contemporary forms is a bit dense and screechy for my taste, whereas I find L'eau Bleue just keeps her nose beneath that line. She's very refreshing and crisp, but not sharp. Longevity and sillage both surprised me -- both are average to good on me. :)

One fateful day when decluttering old Sephora samples I found a tiny rollerball sample of L’Eau Bleue, and now almost a decade later it remains as one of my all time favorite perfumes. I absolutely love this. I can see how on some people this would pull too powdery or "old lady" like but I truly do find this to be a gorgeous scent for every season. The freshness of the florals along with the almost boozy wood (and maybe pink pepper?) creates this pleasant profile that I would argue is unisex. If you're one of those people who likes when your perfumes sink into your clothes (and especially your sweaters in fall) this is perfect. L’Eau Bleue is my go to for family brunches, nights out wandering the city, and snuggling intimately with a partner. I also have the original Miu Miu, which yes smells fairly similar, but imo that smells more like funeral parlor florals with a sharp citrus opener

I LOVE this fragrance. I was always a vanilla / gourmand girl, but when I smelled this, it IMMEDIATELY brought me back to my childhood when I used to play in the meadows of rural Pennsylvania. It's green, fresh, open and airy. Dew that rolled off the mountain last night, early morning rain evaporating in the sun, but the dense & lush forest is right behind you. There's SOMETHING in here, maybe the akigalawood- that's dirty and 'brown' and peppery? But I usually have a strong aversion to anything peppery... It reminds me of those sticky burdock plants that would always get stuck to my socks. This is just fond childhood memories of hiking and adventure in a bottle. I reach for this every time I want some fresh nostalgia and comfort.