L'Eau Gothique

Hey... I am by no means a Jovoy Parfums fancier and I am pretty particular about the perfume I purchase and wear. So, Reims Parfums (for Jovoy) is a new and young brand created by Jean Philippe Vidal, theater actor and lover of perfumes. With Bertrand Duchaufour, Vidal introduces three new parfums: L’Eau des Sacres, L’Eau Gothique and L’Eau de Reims. I usually lean towards my preferred fragrance notes; I adore ethereal, not overly-churchy, slightly woodsy, patchouli, rose, etc INCENSE fragrances. I heard about Reims new L'Eau Gothique, so I purchased a sample and gave it a try. WOW and LOVE are all I can say! Undoubtedly for me, this new Reims fragrance is beyond worthy of a full bottle purchase. Yes, I have totally fallen in love with L'Eau Gothique and will soon be purchasing my first full bottle! The Reims website says...with L'Eau Gothique, "Duchaufour revisits his earlier masterpiece Avignon but captures the splendor of High Mass incense by way of an altogether warmer, spicier, and woodier route, effectively giving the scent a ‘human’ tone that’s missing in the Comme des Garcons scent." And while I'm not able to completely recall my experience with Avignon (I wasn't a fan), I am beyond certain this fragrance is much warmer and woodsier, less harsh and rough, friendlier, more appealing and much more wearable than Avignon (or practically all of the Commes des Garcons Parfum Series 3 fragrances). L'Eau Gothique definitely opens with a whack of bergamot, coriander & spice...I imagine for some this could be sneeze inducing! However within minutes, frankincense notes pleasantly emerge...primarily resinous balsam & pine...quickly blending with the coriander & citrus opening. Shortly thereafter, beautiful & fragrant floral notes break through and seamlessly blend with the spicier and more balsamic opening notes. Twenty-to-thirty minutes in, this fragrance pleasantly expands even further introducing smooth & gentle patchouli incense notes. With this, the balsamic scent fades backstage only intermittently appearing throughout the next several hours. Overall, the coriander and citrus are gone. This beautiful fragrance is subtle, soothing, calming and warm. Musky, resinous, slightly balsamic & woodsy notes re-emerge and mingle with lovely florals & patchouli throughout the wear. At times, the dry-down is slightly powdery, yet not overwhelmingly so (like what one might encounter with many Serge Lutens perfumes). L'Eau Gothique is a beautiful, non-mainstream, highly wearable fragrance. And while this fragrance is not overly complex, it certainly is not simple, linear, or boring. I would say L'Eau Gothique is definitely a "niche" fragrance and not one for the masses. On me, L'Eau Gothique seemed almost meditative. Silage was mild-to-moderate and longevity was moderate-to-good. I doubt you will smell anything even close to this fragrance at your local department store perfume counter...no way. And at approximately $180 for a 100 ml bottle, L'Eau Gothique is a bargain. If you are a lover of gentle, feminine leaning, patchouli, frankincense, floral incense fragrances, please go ahead and give L'Eau Gothique a try! I do not think you will be disappointed.

Starts with a classical smoky incense. Shortly after, it calms down to unveil a beautiful combo of olibanum resinoids combined with the freshness of bergamot, and a hint of sweetness in the back. At this stage, it reminds me (remotely) of Tauer Incense Extreme. Then, in the drydown it will go towards a patchouli-esque powdery vanillic benzoin. It starts classically as a churchy incense fragrance, leaning a bit masculine, then in the heart it becomes unisex and the drydown goes towards a feminine amber fragrance. In my opinion: beautiful (even if I wish that the base was a bit more original and less sweet). Colder nights, 25+

I’m sure this fragrance might par well with certain skin types. A little smoky, a little dusty, even powdery?? On my skin however this quickly turns salty and not in a good way.. I pick up a green olive note every time I smell it... I’m sure it’s just my skin chemistry but I just can’t get past that green olive smell on my skin... This is absolutely a NO for me.

Reims L’Eau Gothique is not what I was hoping it would be, but I think I can appreciate it for what it is. The opening notes are a strangely sour iris and bergamot and eerie indolic carnation frankincense musty-dusty-powderiness. A chilly corner full of dank, dripping shadows that hasn’t seen the light of day in centuries. A rotting wood shelf behind which has slipped a secret bit of parchment, once dampened by tears and feverishly scrawled ink, now mouldering for eternity where no one but the scurrying mice and scuttling spiders know of its existence. Do I like this sort of scent? You bet. It reminds me of the dramatic atmosphere and melancholy romanticism of the Bohemian Tarot deck from Baba Studio of Prague.