Vie de Chateau

Parfums de Nicolai Vie de Chateau succeeds brilliantly in evoking the freshly cut meadow at my little chateau on the Loire. The top is fresh cut grass and sweet hay, followed gradually by slightly deeper scents but still evoking a meadow and the nearby woods. The fruity note at the top that others mention smells to me like sweet hay. To my nose there is only a subtle leather, which is good because I don't think strong leather would work well with the other notes. I have been disappointed by a few PdN perfumes, but this is another masterpiece - bravo Patricia! I have read that, in preparation for releasing an "exclusive" line (to my dismay), Parfums de Nicolai is renaming a number of their perfumes by adding "Intense" to the end, and that is what I have - I think it is the same as without the Intense. Also mine is the not the "Eau Fraiche" that Fragrantica confusingly gives as the picture.

This is sort of embarrassing, but Vie de Chateau is like an aphrodisiac for me. It reminds me of sexy times on a summer day in an open field out in the country: crushed grass (vetiver), clean sweat (grapefruit) and pheromones (musk, leather). I walk around smiling like an idiot whenever I wear it, it's so beautifully upbeat and sexy in a healthy, sunny way. If VdC were a woman, it would be someone like Reese Witherspoon or Carrie Underwood. Bonus: for a niche frag, the price isn't too painful.

I really love this creation. Definitely my favorite from Parfums de Nicolai. It opens with the smell of fresh cut grass, a dash of grapefruit and a hint of leather. Later it mostly smells like hay with a little of vetyver and moss. Vie de Chateau is modern and classic at the same time, though easy to wear. Definitely unisex. It's a perfect choice for women who like interesting, non-sweet, masculine smelling fragrances.

this is an extrapolation of the original diorella vibe - chypre with just slightly skanky fruit with a big caveat - a dry hay note that sticks around forever. wow! classic yet very relaxed construction and an all-year standby. great 9/10

This Intense version was masterpiece chypre. So sad it is discontinued. Nothing like that exsist.

This was such an amazing scent. I am so sad it's gone along with Nicolai Pour Homme.

This falls into what I'd call a unisex sweet, smoky green hay category, almost like a variant of Devin that's been semi-feminized with florals, or Richard James plus smoke. Interestingly enough, LuckyScent considers it masculine, so the Basenotes directory is wrong either way; I'm assuming LS decided this because a lot of the earlier florals seem to be violet. Mostly it's tobacco on florals, which isn't really my thing (in fact normally I hate this) but it's well-done for what it is. Ultimately it reminds me of incense, but of the more floral, less woody or spicy bent, and stays away from the moldy or musty character of Tsar, which I also place in this family. It's still too floral for me, but if I were forced to pick a masculine floral, I'd easily take this over a lot of the heavier ones that get such rave reviews. Still, I'd ultimately prefer to go the pure violet route with Ajaccio Violets.

My first wearing was absolutely glorious. I skipped along in thoughts of Ivoire de Balmain while humming the tune 'What a Wonderful World'. This was the day I moved from one third floor apt to another. It was a hot day, and yes I was stinky. But Vie de Chateau was up to the task, so I was up to the love; made more so by not having to smell myself. But enter day two. Today was a cubicle day. A cotton shirt with no sweat stains day. Oi, what a difference. Vie wore like a wet sock, and I found myself wondering what the hell happened. This just tanked. I agree that its an herbal chypre, and I think it's the citrus thats making this sour. Is it my sample? I don't know. I get no grass, no mouth watering hay, no leather. Boo. I even reapplied at night time, hopping for a come back, but truly this smells like a wet, herbaceous disaster. Moving on...

Starts out sweet and melonish-peachish fruity, slightly soapy, slightly green, and strongly chemical-metallic. It’s an odd combination. I suppose the chemical-metallic note has something to do with the tobacco accord, possibly combining badly (to my nose) with the green grass and fuity-floral components. Generally, I dislike “fresh-cut grass” scents, including the real thing, so that accord may be one of the reasons I’m put off by the opening. As it dries down, the odor of sharp, metallic, macerated green stuff subsides, leaving a pleasant, sweet, fruity-floral scent. I don’t smell citrus at all, but rather something sort of like weak dried peaches. After about an hour, what is left is a very nice, soft chypre base. That part I really enjoy. The whole thing lasts only about 3-4 hours total. Not really my style.

(Vie de Chateau Intense.) Vie de Chateau tucks neatly into the citrus chypre genre, with connections to Diorella, Eau Sauvage (compare the very first sniff of each side by side!), Moustache and its own sibling Weekend a Deauville. It has that fresh sophistication that citrus chypres tend to have. VdC’s smart twist, though, is that it has a strong note of hay that ties it directly to the fougère and indirectly to leather chypres. The hay note is a bit nut-like at first, but eventually pulls VdC toward a dry dark, base that is the perfect conclusion to the crisp yet disenchanted spirit of the best citrus chypres.

A very unique creation by Parfums de Nicolai,Vie de Chateau opens with fresh cut grass and green notes.On my skin I cannot really detect hay,I am familiar with hay and I would like to be more intense here. I think that the grass note and tobacco hide its beauty. The leather note is soft,more like suede leather.I would characterize it as dry chypre,classic creation for those who like dry green scents like Chanel N 19,Arden's Blue Grass,Ysl Y..Not really a scent that I could wear,it makes me a bit nauseous after a while..Overall,it is unique and artistic.Good lasting power too.

I'm wondering if Vie de Chateau is the same scent as the bottle of Chateau de Cheverny eau tonique I bought at the Chateau de Cheverny's gift shop in May 1982. They were calling themselves Parfums de Nicolai then, but some of the other scent names were the same as they are now. And the descriptions of the Vie de Chateau are the same as mine. It's a wonderful fragrance, which has held up well for me 36 years now. (God, it's been that long.)

Love it. It has a great melon note in the beginning before settling down to a more traditional cologne structure. Probably more suited as a masculine fragrance but I loved it. - Very refreshing.

Has this been discontinued? I can’t say I’m sorry. To me it smelled like a piece of fruit found rotting in the back of a barn.