Balle de Match

Me likey! I realize this is meant for men but this is totally unisex in my opinion. I happen to be a fan of grapefruit and was very disappointed in the MIA grapefruit in the bottle of L'Eau Mixte I just received. But the sample of Balle de Match is a pleasant surprise and bursting with grapefruit. It smells like the lovechild of Lime, Basil and Mandarin and Grapefruit by Jo Malone. Seriously, if you layer them, you get this almost precisely. As far as the notes, I am getting mainly grapefruit, then pepper, lime and woody. The musk and incense is completely missing my nose but it is probably what is softening this up just a tad and keeping it from being harsh. Maybe it will come out more clearly later. Not sure yet about staying power as I have only had this on for maybe 20 minutes. But as far as the scent goes, I find this to be by far my favorite out the others I just sampled over the last 2 days (Fig Tea, L'eau Mixte and Eau d'Ete). Of course that would happen since I got FB's of the others and only a sample of this one. This is a surprising like for me after 3 disappointments from Nicolai in a row. If this lasts at least a couple of hours, it would be FB worthy for me. Well, 30 ml full bottle worthy that is.

A truly exceptional woody citrus, a lot like GFT but with grapefruit instead of lemon; this to me is the benchmark for all grapefruit scents. It's slightly cedary in the top, with neither any unnecessary sweetness, nor any harsh bitterness, nor too much of any aggressive herbs. Sorry, Mr. Cilantro, but we've had quite enough of your attitude elsewhere! It's not as soapy as Horizon, which keeps it from falling into heavy soap or shampoo territory, but there's just enough citrus blossom in there to keep it unambiguously clean; this reminds me a bit of the sneaky florals in Acqua di Gio, which I think are a nice touch. It's got just a little teaser of the super-cold astringent green ivy of Sisley Eau de Campagne, but not enough to burn out your sinuses. As time goes by, the cedar becomes more noticeable without being that awful sour, raspy cedar that some scents can have. It's still a bit weak overall like most of her other "summer" men's scents, but not as much as the others, and it retains its citrus component longer. I could absolutely douse myself in this, from a refrigerated bottle, on a hot summer day and be in utter heaven. Those little 1.0 oz bottles are starting to look like a great buy!

I was intrigued to try Balle de Match after reading its notes: I like green, refreshing and citrus scents for summer. I got a decant, many many years ago. This one is a very unique citrus/green fragrance, I have to say the staying power is higher than the average of classic citrus fragrances. To me is starts like fresh grapefruit and lime, then there is a peppery note and lots of herbal notes, like basil and oregano. Smells a lot like a fresh, light masculine scent (Balle de Match is marketed as a men's fragrance, however while any lady loving green scents could wear it, it is certainly closer to masculine than feminine). The dry down is what I like best in this fragrance: it is like fresh moaned grass, with a hint of moss & wood.... to me, it smells like a tennis match at Wimbledon (and no name could be matching better this evocative image!!). Very refreshing for summer, very unique fragrance. A pity that now i cannot see it anymore anywhere ( it was renamed in Eau de Sport but seems even this one has vanished).

Starts out sparkling and juicy grapefruit with a hint of pepper and settles into a woody, green (from the lime) scent more masculine to me than feminine. However, a woman who appreciates citrus/woody scents would probably like this. This brings to mind a confident, fun-loving, casual but well dressed guy, definitely over twenty-five. This is a happy scent, smiles and sunshine. For Lana148, I'm not an expert but some grapefruit scents I really enjoy are: Guerlain, Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune (big juicy grapefruit with a little rind), Jo Malone, Grapefruit (Grapefruit and minty grass), Annick Goutal, Eau d'Hadrien (Grapefruit and cypress), Fresh, Hesperides Grapefruit (grapefruit with peach and musk), Hermes, Eau de Pamplemousse Rose (my favorite, grapefruit and rose) As you can tell, I love my grapefruit scents!

To me this is so nostalgic. Truly smells like the better days. Maybe a sunny spring day in 1975. Carefree, juicy fresh and bit unusual due to the grapefruit, pepper, incense and pine combo. Great depth despite it being a sport fragrance. this was called Balle de Match now its simply L'eau du Sport. Utter beauty!

Oh, I just love this grapefruit scent! I wish there would be some very similar version of this for the ladies. Although, this fragrance has unisex vibe, it still on a masculine side for me. Too bad. If anyone knows great women's grapefruit scents, please let me know. Thanks a lot!