Nature Millenaire

When I first discovered this company Nature Millinaire was already on the way out (Last Chance Shop on the website) and I only got a 5 ml. mini and two 200ml shower gels. I treated this juice like liquid gold and only wore it when I wanted a sweet earthy woody incense type of smell, it's a perfect autumnal scent. Alas the mini is now gone and the shower gels are all I have to remember this absolutelely superb fragrance... This perfume is what some would call linear in that it does not change much due to the fact is made up primarily of notes usually found in the drydown. The iris is the only floral and it is dark and beautiful, the woodiness is exquisite with strong cedar and vetiver notes wrapped in heavy musk. The resiny incense-like notes are the best part for me. Benzoin and it's warm vanillic warmth ooze together with the labdanum resin(cistus)and create an exotic sweet fragrance that smells like it should be worn by a dark-skinned belly dancer as she moves sensually around and around... Sillage: good Longevity: above average Overall: 4.75/5 This may been released as a woman's scent but each and every person who smelled it on me loved it and wanted to know where to get it! I have seen bottles for sale on the internet but since it was made in 2000 and discontinued in 2005 I am afraid they may have turned and to smell something this beautiful get ugly would be like a knife to my heart! YR is a mostly all natural company and five years is a long time... Hopefully the current trend to go darker and woodier in scents may cause a re-issue of this truly unique classic, one can only hope. I have read reviews that compare this do working in the earth after a thunderstorm and though I do not agree with this olfactively the energy and feel of the scent are heavy and dark like the air after a storm, but this has more of a desert attar type of smell to it, although it gets quite earthy. I would have thought this had more spices in it but it was just the bezoin's warmth and the sweet iris and pungent vetiver making magick as they dance together...

Created by the same nose who brought to us TM Angel, Cacharel Noa, Clinique Happy and lately JPG Kokorico (Olivier Cresp), this is clearly work of a very talented man. Nature Millenaire by Yves Rocher is a woodsy fragrance, through and through. Woody notes are there from the beginning til the end, mingling with warm spices and vanilla. Benzoin is very grounding, in a sense that it gives this fragrance "something more" to show for than just woods. There's an impression of well aged wood, but also some fresh earthy roots. This is an autumn fragrance in my mind. The glass bottle is golden brown with leafy imprint- autumnal indeed and very suitable for the mood of the liquid. I'll never forget when Nature Millenaire first came out, I saw it first in YR catalogue, and the image for this fragrance and the version for men, was all in brown and golden tones and it intrigued me so much. When I finally tested it, I found it amazing, mysterious, dark, warm, delicious... Fast forward, all I have left today are two mini bottles to use sparsely like it's liquid gold. And judging by the prices on ebay many other people see it that way too. Yves Rocher must be completely oblivious of this, otherwise they would bring it back at the speed of light. Their Voile d'Ambre is a similar type of fragrance which I enjoy sometimes, but it's not the same liquid gold I crave.

I feel privileged to have found this among some discontinued Yves Rochers sold on-line simply as a "lot of 11 small perfumes". It was an untouched 5 ml mini which I, unfamiliar with how to handle the splash format, knocked over right upon opening. As I mopped up the tiny puddle (lucky the spill was less than an ml!), the strong, pleasant scent reminiscent of the interior of a carved Oriental chest rose to my nostrils. It was very strong, warm, woody, spicy, no conventional floral to be detected. I passed the tissue over my skin and finally tucked it into one of my handbags. The fragrance is developing now on me and I will see what happens in the morning. The fragrance calls to mind a mellow, sophisticated woman: unhurried, understated, alluring without being brash... Three hours later: the hint of vanilla has gone but this must be the benzoin, this lacquer-like scent that evokes the memory of a tiny armoire I had when I was six... EDIT: August 5 2015, 3 and a half years from my review, and I found the same saturated tissue tucked into the unused handbag. Hurrah! The scent of Nature Millennaire, sweet and woody, still lay amid the now-stiff fibers.

This used to be my signature when I was younger. And I still love it like on the very first day. Maybe even more, as I've learned with time to appreciate its complexity. It's a warm, cuddly, sensual cedar, enveloped in resins, and a soft powdery and vanillic musk that's pretty similar to the one found in cubic Narciso Rodriguez bottles. Imagine an unisex oriental, balmy and woodier version of the wonderful Narciso Rouge, and you can have an idea of the beauty of Nature Millénaire. I still own my bottle, perfectly preserved to this day, and I don't even dare using it any longer. I'm still heartbroken by its discontinuation. How dare you having discontinued this masterpiece, Yves Rocher ! Update : yesterday I layered Ambre L'Occitane en Provence 2016, which has the same soft amber as Nature Millénaire, with Sunny Side Up Juliette Has A Gun, which reminds me of Ode Au Rêve with cedar. A couple of hours later, the scent of Nature Millénaire was in the air and lasted all evening. Beautiful.

I agree with other reviewers - this never should have been discontinued. Nature Millenaire was my signature scent for years. It's a creamy, gorgeous perfume that envelops you. The vanilla-like benzoin and woody labdanum are front and center. I also get some cedar and musk as it goes on and leaves that sweet trail behind you. On me, this lasts quite a long time, into the next day and even longer on clothes. I love when my winter jacket fills the closet up with this scent. This could be unisex but I believe it leans feminine, simply due to the sweetness it carries. I've never found an exact match for Nature Millenaire but I find that Yves Rocher's old perfume (also discontinued) Neonatura Cocoon and their newer scent, Cuir de Nuit to be a little similar but definitely not the same. I still have my old bottle and will continue to use it sparingly. An absolute love from me - in my top 10.