Le Roi Empereur

Extremely attractive, elegant and flirty multi-seasonal work of art for all occasions and moods. Best recommended for people working in creative fields. Every time I wear it, my mind goes millions different directions, all of which leads me to feel delighted both with myself and everything around me. If the water of life exists, than it smells like Le Roi Empereur. The core of the fragrance is magically composed of spicy and zesty routes to so many distinct places and times, you don't even need to be a writer to first focus on the most relevant allusion and then to develop an original story. I am writing this review just two hours before the Summer, so let there be a retrospective of Marseille. Music: Serge Gainsbourg. Zig zig avec toi. Book: Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio. Desert. Film: William Friedkin. The French Connection. Painting: Wayne Thiebaud. Two Kneeling Figures.

Warm, smooth, orange blossom - tinged lavender infused oriental. Anise and cinnamon provide the wam spices, while a touch of amber/vanilla provide a smooth, creamy undertone. Cozy.

Rancé's "modern interpretations" of their heritage scents tend to be thoroughly modern creations indeed in the worst sense of the word: watery formulations with an overreliance on synthetic compounds. Having said that, Le Roi Empereur is a better scent than Le Vainqueur by virtue of its profile - the latter is an aquatic scent that veers dangerously close to Windex territory, while LRE is an aromatic spicy-amber scent, still synthetic but not bad overall. LRE opens with a prominent lavender note, aromatic like essential oil. Spicy notes creep in, soft and sweet, making things nicely aromatic. The amber accord that lingers in the background is a synthetic cloud, thankfully restrained, but disappointing in a scent that purports to be based on a historic formula. I totally agree with @11Mic22hael33 below, that Rancé would do well to attempt to be more faithful to their original scents. Violet becomes quite prominent as it progresses, powdery and green, complemented beautifully by the lavender and spices. The cardamom is unmistakable but restrained. Cinnamon follows, warm and sweet, paving the way to the woody drydown. It becomes musky as it fades, with soft woody notes and powdery florals remaining - atop that ambroxan-esque molecule. Sillage and longevity are moderate. A pleasant masculine scent, LRE feels more like a modern designer release than fit for a historic royal court - disappointing, given its marketing, but a decent, wearable transeasonal scent regardless. 3/5.

Rance should go back to the ORIGINAL recipe from 1806, because this "new interpretation" is so very mediocre. It smells too modern and synthetic for my taste. It is a nice fragrance, and the presentation is gorgeous and high quality, but this is definitely not anywhere near what Napoleon Bonaparte smelled when he doused himself in it. Rance needs to re-do all of their historic Napoleonic perfumes and make them using the original recipes and using more naturally derived ingredients and then re-release them. Please stop using so many synthetics and stick to the original 1806 recipe. If they advertise that they have brought back the original formulation it will sell like hot-cakes! You can take that to the bank. These "new interpretations" are going to ruin their business. People are expecting what Napoleon smelt, not modern chemical smells. No doubt about it. Come on Rance! You can do way better than this! This is nice, but, stick with the original historic formula.

This was $60 on FragranceNet. Empereur is spicy and clean. Cinnamon, violet and lavender seem to be the main players here. It has a subtle sweetness, but feels natural. It does not project whatsoever - which I find to be a little strange, given the notes and the parfum concentration. The smell itself is very welcoming and enjoyable. I can’t say it’s a stunner - but for $60, I would gladly buy it again. While I can’t think of anything that this smells like, you will not likely find it to be unique. I can see this being a very nice fall/spring office or casual scent. Maybe with 10 sprays you could wear it in the winter. Pleased to add to the collection. Edit: this reminds me of casual Friday by escada.