L'Eau Froide

It's 2023 and hard to find a full bottle that doesn't cost $300+, but I'm on a Lutens kick, so I bought a 5ml sample (in a tiny version of the tall bottle). First try I was slightly disappointed. I've been wearing l'orpheline a lot recently, and was expecting that sort of soft, musky incense. From this I mostly got a lot of ginger and aquatic notes (more of a calone aquatic than salty marine). Second wear, I put it on a little heavier, and now I get it -- the notes all seem to blend together into a churchy, gingery, aquatic musk. It's a lovely aromatic, with incense darker and drier than l'orpheline (and really they are not the same at all, but just to compare that particular note).

I you look for something different this is it. If you look for a fresh, green, but deep and with a personality fragrance this is it. Balsamic but with a strong presence, not delicate but elegant. Great singular blend!

Gorgeous scent profile but not worth the inflated prices. Uncle Serge's Point du Jour is a close cousin to this and actually performs a lot better.

Fresh, peppery soap. Quite nice, but that lovely hint of incense the tall one has lingering in the background is completely lost to my nose. Overall not too bad, though still a mild disappointment.

I bought into the anti-hype and had prejudice against the eaux. "Oh, too synthetic." "Lutens watered down." Treating the house like they were a traitor because they had reformulated and were making "polite" fragrances. Well guess what, this is great. I usually can't stand white musks and marine notes. But here they're fantastic. Fresh, cool, salty/marine, very understated. I had expected something really 'zingy' (aka harsh) to create a feeling of 'froide' but it's not like that at all. There is some harshness in the opening that may recall a chemical cleanser, but once it settles the fragrance is understated and full-bodied. It's less fuzzy than Gris Clair... The brief highlights frankincense but this is more bleu and less incense. Perhaps boring on paper but a delight on skin.