Eau Fraiche

Very pleasant fresh herbal. I thought it would go synthetic-marine-green like many a ’90s scent, which in some ways it reminds me of, but it hasn’t so far! It has stayed smelling like actual fresh herbs: the type with lemon- or orange-scented leaves, at first, like orange thyme or lemon balm, then more like regular thyme and lavender with a clean ocean breeze behind it. Fusion between old-school masculine cologne and '90s freshie, but better than expected for that mix. Soothing and bracing both.

Eau Fraiche is one of those very calming fragrances. At first spray I smell lots of lavender rounded out with soft citrus. In the dry down the lilac with rosemary come into play. The lavender never fades away and in my opinion, it pairs up with the lilac at the end. Very nice if you like lavender and lilac like I do.

Nice freshie, halfway between a traditional cologne and a fougere softened and made unisex by the lilac. Very safe. Good performance.

It opens with a bright blast of zesty citrus, rounded out very nicely by delicately sweet, herbaceous floral notes, and a little bit of soft woodsiness. Like sucking on a lemon drop candy while wandering a hedge maze at a midsummer's eve party. That's the opening. However, as with many freshies, it dries down quickly and thoroughly until all that's left is delicate, floral woodiness, with only a faint residual trace of sweet lemon. By an hour in, it reminds me of a classy by generic hotel bodywash; the perfect, unobjectionable balance of pretty-clean and suave-clean notes.

This is a wonderful fraiche fragrance. The lemon and lavender at the start with lilac coming in later resting on a bed of Vetiver. The freshness stays through the entire life of the fragrance which is easily 6+hrs and that's in the cooler months, I'm sure it will shine in the summer.

A very gentle herb-garden fragrance. The lemon sticks out first with the other herbs rounding it out. The result could be described as something in a "green tea" genre. I like how the drydown stays herbal and natural smelling, without the usual habanolide/galaxolide/ambroxan drydown common in most perfumes.

I hadn't heard of Monsillage before I received a sample of Eau Fraîche with a purchase. It is what it says on the tin - a lightweight, fresh scent. It is promising initially; however, it unfortunately descends into a synthetic aquatic scent, a profile I dislike at the best of times, and this is no exception. EF opens with a realistic lavender note, slightly green and aromatic. It is followed closely by the lemony verbena, whose green-tinged woodiness enhances it nicely. I have used a lot of L'Occitane Verveine products, and as a result, I love verbena in hot weather. Some other herbal notes are present, if subtle. I get some dry, woody vetiver, slightly astringent as it develops further. After a little while, this pleasant aromatic opening gives way to the aforementioned aquatic accord that bears a close resemblance to window cleaner. This one-dimensional chemical phase lingers for a few hours - its longevity is much better than I expected - not necessarily a good thing. Sillage and longevity are moderate - not what I expected from a scent named "Eau Fraîche". It is a unisex, warm weather day scent. I expected a pleasant, refreshing scent, if run-of-the-mill, but unfortunately, EF falls completely flat for me. Window cleaner beneath a veneer of verbena. 1.5/5.

If you enjoy lemon verbena, this is not the lemon verbena I'd choose. It's very perfumey if you know what I mean. Boucheron Homme Eau de Toilette Fraicheur 2008 is a much more masculine and easier to love fragrance that has much better performance in every category.