Relaxing Fragrance

I had a sample vial back in the day (circa 2000-2002) after one of my father's trips to Japan. Didn't care much about the name since I was only a kid, I just know it never failed to help bring me to a nice sleep. I only remember it was greenish with a grass/veggie/matcha top note and bamboo/agarwood middle/base note, not an easy find but here I am. Bought an unused bottle from an online reseller and it's not exactly how I remember. The cucumber was very fresh at the time and it was sublime, now I don't really smell it, but it's already more than 20 years what did I expect. It was squarely unisex when it was new, now it does lean more feminine. It's okay, it's still one of my fondest fragrances: my father's Shiseido Tactics (which is still produced these days, curiously, with the exact scent from the 1980s' version), Shiseido Relaxing Fragrance and the vintage Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, my mother's Sony Crystal Flower (yes it's a thing, Sony used to have a line of fragrances in Japan, like Crystal Flower and Sensitive Lady, I don't know how to add them to the database though), and my Dior Bois d'Argent, Dior Fève Délicieuse, and L'Occitane Eau de Vétyver. (Among those, Sony Crystal Flower is the best one, it's a cold and refreshing pink fruity floral fragrance that never fails to make me happy. I wish someone could make a clone of it, I think its dominant notes are peach, plum, citrus blossoms, musk and agarwood. What's interesting about it is that the peach and plum scents are both gathered from unripe and ripe fruits which gives it a perfect blend of sweet and sour and cool scents. It makes you feel like the winter cold and snow begin to subside and you can see dew drops on the grass as the spring sunshine has come, and you look forward to the end of spring and the start of summer, when the fruits ripen, when you'll reminisce about the winter snow crystals and the spring flowers.)

Fell head over heels with it when I was a student! The first department store perfume I bought on my first year at the University. As far as I remember, the scent was of great suavity, with delightful, silky fresh greenness and tranquility. Not too aromatic, not too flowery, just neat and feminine. While writing my review on Kenzo Amour, I commented how polite that frag was. Same applies to Shiseido Relaxing Fragrance. I didn't know anything about the perfume pyramid and am discovering it only now hahaha. Never would I suspect cucumber (stomach churning), bamboo (reminds me of Lao soup) or cardamome (tends to smell acrid on me) ever levitated me into exhilarating olfactory trips 😂 Especially cucumber, which I didn't recognize at that time, perhaps because 20 years ago, it didn't smell like today's abhorrent perfume interpretation. I would love to sniff that number again just for memories sake 🤭

I like this scent a lot for summer, but on me it doesn't smell anything like what the notes describe. It isn't flowery on me, and definitely no rose. It's very clean smelling and a little bit aquatic (but not in a bad way, like aquatic often is on my skin). It reminds me of Acqua di Gio, but without the sweetness. There is just a tiny "hint" of sweet. On me it is light, clean, and just slightly sharp. It seems almost like a citrus fragrance without the citrus.

such a shame,to me this was an Epiphany, a true zen moment when you spray it on.it didn't last for long so i used to carry it with me in my bag all day long.i was obsessed with the change it made on my mood after a spray or two. a unique gardenia bamboo haven that i wish i could smell again. one of those pick me up scents when you feel a little sickly, sunshine on a cold lake water.i tried so hard to find a similar one but no.allas i miss it so!

I still have a bottle that's so old but it smells amazing. One of my all time favorite scents- my mother wore it when I was younger and it reminds me of those days.So relaxing, with a soft hit of florals. So bummed they don't make it anymore- I'll probably hoard mine until the day I die, only using it on special occasions.

I love this scent! My mom and I both used it back in '98, but when I look to purchase it on eBay, it cost an arm and a leg! The nerve of those people trying to sell it that high! It is a beautiful scent, but it really doesn't have to cost $230!

Normally I am put off by such a strong floral - but something about this gets in amongst me. To me it smells of cool sophistication. I smell the cucumber quite strongly, but it never becomes bitter, as when it is used in some other fragrances.

This fragrance is very close to my heart. It feels like the movie Garden of Words by Makoto Shinkai. Green, fresh, herby, and bitter-sweet.

Best fragrance of all time, my first and favourite parfume.I am so sad that it's not available any more. such a shame.

I miss this fragrance. It's been years but I can still feel the bottle in my hand. Bring this back into production!

fresh, calming, relaxing. can smell all the greenery with the peony and gardenia peeking thru

I'm still in pain for the disappearance of my favourite fragrance ever. Why, oh why.

Overall, it is a very light, sheer & watery fragrance. Not too sweet, not too sharp, & not particularly fresh...this perfume draws a voile green veil over calm, clear water. The top notes start with an overly-green crushed vine-leaf effect, but this quickly fades & softens into a more refined affair. It begins to sweeten as the rose presents itself. The cucumber & bamboo lend the perfume a mouth-watering quality. I cannot detect a raspberry note, but I do find the perfume blossoms into a warmer, sweeter, slightly bitter-green floral after half an hour. The cardamom is restrained so the overall effect of the perfume is one that the title embodies: relaxing. I am not drawn to watery green florals, but this fragrance is very pleasant & wearable. Sillage is minimal & lasting power, on my skin, is average. It is worth noting that it can get a little 'heady' near the end. Aimed at those who prefer their scents to take the back seat whilst they chill out.

I agree with the previous reviewer - this perfume was not well named. It has a pulsing floral energy, at least initially. I love it (used SPARINGLY) but my friend describes it as "a floral revolt". The heavy gardenia, peony and rose certainly come through loud and clear, and at first it feels a bit unbalanced. However, once these top notes relax a bit, the softer, cleaner, more serene green notes peak through, and the composition changes to something much more zen-like. Worth the initial essence of a pissed-off garden.

I still have it (have maybe 10ml left) from 2004. I never truly liked it but surprisingly it is the first perfume that is almost finished by me. In my memory it was spicy and floral. But after u sprayed it tonight it was not. Maybe it changed over time but this time it turned to woody very fast. The top note of cucumber was strong but not natural. I like it better this time.

Big Thanks to SerenityCindy! I also ordered this at TheFragranceShop.com and am very pleased. Their version is in some sense even better. I also smell a strange note in the opening of the original but this one is missing in the perfume oil and body lotion. The scent is very long lasting and extremely relaxing. Adorable!

gardenia!!! must i say more. i love this scent, so floral and grassy yet so creamy. very relaxing.

My favorite meditative calming perfume ... just love !

It smells like wood bark, fresh bell peppers and cucumbers being cut. It’s not unpleasant, but also not really pleasant.

A light, pleasant, floral fragrance with some aquatic notes. I thought I smelled melon, but of a more natural sort than one would find in a typical 90s aquatic. It’s not among the listed notes, though. There is a delicate floral aspect too, alongside a sharp green undertone that I attribute to the Artemisia. Bamboo as a note tends to lend a woodiness to a composition, but not here. (I wonder how the bamboo accord is assembled: whether it is fictive, and whether we are encouraged to find it in this fragrance, relying on the powerful suggestion of the name Shisheido.) It’s a fragrance you wear for yourself, not to attract or impress others. I got my vintage bottle for just 2.5 USD at a flea market. I don’t know whether the age of the juice is a factor, but this is pretty low-key, linear and reliable. I don’t get the sharp floral assault described by other reviewers. It is undemanding, won’t offend, wears close to the skin, is feminine without being froufrou. Love the bottle’s unpretentious lines and muted green glass. Perfect for sunny, dry spring weather.

READ THIS IF YOU ARE MISSING THIS SCENT: I have been looking for this scent for almost 10 years, since they discontinued it. I didn't expect much, but went ahead & ordered a dupe from The Fragrance Shop dot com, and just got their $6 sample to try. I received it today & I'm quite amazed with the job they did--at first I wasn't sure about it, but noticed it was a near match. But after wearing it for 10 minutes on the skin, it transformed into an exact match that I could not distinguish from the original! A few hours later, the scent is still intact & so lovely. If you have missed this scent as much as I have, this may be an option for you to try. I'm really thrilled, and the added bonus is that the staying power is much longer with this dupe, too! Time to do a happy dance :)

I’m disappointed only because I was looking to acquire a natural cucumber dominant scent, and Relaxing is not it. I bought a small vintage 15ml off eBay, and my impression is that the bottle is in good shape. On my skin it opens with mostly florals and an odd note, probably bamboo. Drydown softens but it’s still mostly florals with added green notes. I realize this is my fault because most of the reviews below don’t mention the cucumber note. And because it’s Shiseido, I figured it would be an easy to wear fragrance. I’m not downvoting, but it’s a pass. If you are looking for cucumber, this is not a safe blind buy. If you have any recommendations, please message me.

I never bother to try out this fragrance until the beautician gave me a free sample bottle. I am impressed with this relaxing fragrance, feel like i'm pampered with spa..lol! I think it is special, very fresh & very green, and very relaxing. I would like to wear it for a relaxing weekend. I don't really know what makes it so fresh and green, cucumber or bamboo? This is special. Compare to Gucci Envy, this is different. Envy no doubt is more sexy (in somewhat wild way); but this is sexy in calm & innocent way.

this is my 1st perfume ever. when i first use it, i kind of resist it. feel that would it be too strong on me. but then i try to accept with using it every day. amazingly, i start to felt in love with it. it does make me smell pleasant and build up my confident! i believe that my pax are comfortable with this scent too!

Just popping in to second the recommendation for the fragrance oil from thefragranceshop.net. I'm wearing one on each wrist and the original is a bit more herbal while the fragrance shop oil is a little more floral and soapy. Very good match! So glad I can start wearing this perfume again instead of saving it up!

My #1 favorite fragrance, very disappointed that it has been discontinued. For those of you who love it also and wish to find something similar, these four fragrances are supposed to be most like it: ISSEY MIYAKE, L'Eau d'Issey "Wood Edition" GUCCI, Envy GUERLAIN, Aqua Allegoria Tiaré Mimosa EMILIO PUCCI, Vivara

Indeed similar to acqua di gio, I have small bottles of both and am wearing both to compare right now. I find this sweeter than acqua. I'm not sure how my bottles have aged though. A sweet aquatic for me. I smell the flowers quite strongly.

The top note is very weird. Have you ever use a self-tanning lotion? Yup...that's the smell that I get at the beginning. It takes some time to settle down and release very pleasant smell. It would be so good without this weird note.

I wear this to go shopping or do something for myself quietly, calmly, peacefully all alone. To others, it can be a sad perfume, to me, it has a calming effect. I think there is green tea.

I tried a sample of this lovely fragrance today and I find some similarities with XS Pour Elle and Ghost Serenity. Would love to own a whole bottle, very feminine and irresistible.

i dont think is so relanxing, i think it has to much energy, to me is a little strong at first but later it becomes better i wear it with warm color

I like this one too good relaxing fragrance green fresh remind me walk in garden around bamboo two sides and have wind.

Terasa di kebun bambu yang basah , mirip kosmetik , mirip shampo ... Hati2 parfum yang sudah kedaluwarsa

Very simlpe yet clean fragrance. Easy to wear and makes one feels calm. A good resting scent.

Shiseido needs to bring this back immediately. Relaxing was so quintessentially Japanese!

I don't know what is relaxing about this fragnance... It is so strange to my skin...

i loved this...not enough to pay for this hard to find scent..but it was nice...

ho amato tanto questa fragranza negli anni 90

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