Voile d'Ocre

Warm, quiet, rich and deep, relaxing and meditative. Just sniffing the bottle lowers my stress levels. It's a "figgy-coconut" sandalwood. No actual coconut, just sandalwood, creamy, earthy, musky with a hint of that figgy spice that many people think smells coconutty. No sharp/pencil shavings cedar, it blends in this very well to make the sandalwood seem more spicy. I'll be darned if there isn't fig in this. I REALLY like Voile d'Ocre. I can't stop sniffing. After first wear I ordered a backup bottle. This is a nice unisex scent. Because it's unisex, you will find more people who dislike it as I find with all the best unisex scents - most aren't "girly" or "masculine" enough to please all people so half the votes are automatically negative by those who prefer to lean harder one way or the other. This would probably be a safer blind buy for men, as I can't find anything overtly feminine, floral, or sugary in it and it's mostly woody. It wouldn't be a safe blind buy for women who prefer florals and sugary scents. Better for women into wearing woody musky scents. Successful blind buy for me, a woman, who is a huge fan of this scent genre. It reminds me of a few scents I own and love. The closest I'd compare it to is Indie, though I'm confused by the number of people who thumbs downed that comparison. I'd say this shares 90% of the DNA, according to my nose, only this isn't watered down and whisper faint. Personally, I'm thrilled to have a nice alternative with better performance. Also has something vaguely similar to JHAGs Sunny Side Up, though if you test them side by side on skin or clothes you can distinctly tell how different they are. Yet somehow gives a first sniff/gentle aroma that has a similar vibe. It's somewhat similar as well to Parle Moi Milky Musk, only less musky, more woody, less milky, and stronger. I think Milky Musk is more similar to SSU. If you spray Yves Rochers Noix de Coco before Voile d'Ocre and manage just the right combo, it reminds me a lot of DS & Durga's Radio Bombay, sometimes smelling quite identical but more often layering these two results in a blend that leans harder one way or the other. Radio Bombay is a bit of an odd scent for me - I love it but the performance is much weaker than this. This does not smell *anything* like Santal 33 to me. Aside from containing completely different smelling sandalwoods (le labo has "green" sandalwood, this is brown & spiced), these two have nothing in common. The cedar in Santal 33 and this don't even smell anything alike. Voile d'Ocre also has zero in common with Versace's Crystal Noir. They are very much opposite types of scents to me, despite having some notes in common the notes are designed to smell completely different from each other - Crystal noir is almost all coconut-shampoo and white floral fancy soap on me, one of the most feminine scents I wear. Vd'O is musk, wood, earth and spice, masculine-leaning unisex that would smell great on me or my spouse, clean or dirty. Each comparison scent I mention is one I currently own FB of and have worn many times, I don't compare fragrances unless I know them very well. Performance is pretty good - I'm a hopeless oversprayer and a frequent re-touch-er, yet I barely have dented my bottle. I'd say this lasts at least 4 hours on my skin, though I have "scent-eating" skin. I've definitely gotten much longer out of this somehow. I often will spray before bed and wakeup with this scent. It will last days on clothing. It isn't a beast-mode scent though, and I've noticed I have a bit of a tendency to go nose blind to it after awhile, so it's easy to forget you're still wearing it even when others can smell you. Sunny Side Up, Milky Musk, Indie, and Radio Bombay typically last about half as long and aren't more than half as concentrated/strong as Voile d'Ocre. Vd'O also projects at least twice as strong as the others, each is no more than an intimate skin scent on me after 30 minutes, where as this is a scent I waft gently as I move around. So if you like those scents, I highly recommend trying out this. It's perfect to fill in/layer/amplify/extend the lifespan of the designer scents.

The Desert's Ocher Land If there is one thing I cannot understand, it is why some fragrances are only distributed in certain countries while are not available for others. In Italy, where I was born and still live, the Yves Roches chain of stores is very well known and widespread, both through physical stores and online e-commerce. Still, fragrances like Voile d’Ocre or Nouveau Genre are not available. Well, I was in Montpellier in France recently for a short vacation to visit a niece who lives there. During a tour in the oldest part of the city, I found myself in front of a shop of this brand. I entered intending to buy Nouveau Genre, which they probably discontinued, and the entire line of The Yves Roches Parfume Collection was available on the shelf, including this fragrance at a significantly discounted price; the last pieces were undoubtedly out of production. I didn’t think much about it. I sprayed it on the paper strip and headed to the cash desk with the perfume and the blotter in hand. And right from my hand came the dry and creamy notes of the blond woods that form the structure of Voile d’Ocre. Voile d’Ocre is an Eau de perfume added lately to the collection at the beginning of 2021 and is not a very complex perfume, yet in its simplicity, it is pleasant to the nose and the mind. The combination of two blond kinds of wood inspired the two noses that composed the scent: sandalwood and cedar. We, therefore, find a woody opening in which the dry and slightly green aspects of cedar pencil shavings prevail and release warm spicy notes. The smell of wood reminds me of a sawmill, where cedar logs still a little green are cut, and the air is filled with resinous and woody aromas. You can feel the sap that once flowed inside the tree. There is a bit of freshness, in the beginning, nothing citrusy or watery, just fresh. There is no heart or tail as the perfume passes from a dry to a more creamy aspect, in which the sensuality of milky sandalwood makes its way. More, the two kinds of wood need the right balance, and I think there is an unmentioned secret ingredient that links, reinforces, harmonises, and extends the longevity of the cologne. Since I like it, I think they added an overdose of Iso E Super, a molecule that resists longer on clothes and is detectable days after. I recognise the typical earthiness and dustiness I meet in #zara sandal or #zara sublime cedar, for instance. Now the scent twisted into something warm, reminiscent of the desert backdrop. If I wanted to associate this fragrance with something I have already smelled, it would be Santal 33 EAU DE PARFUM. I recognise a spicy spiciness from cedar and a milkiness that I attribute to sandalwood. The perfumers have done a fantastic job using two of the stepping stones in the woods to create a new woody retreat on the edge of the desert. I wanted to try it out last night to go to an outdoor event. Despite the heat, a stormy wind blew. All the people I met told me I was wearing a beautiful perfume, while some perceived hints of coconut, others of fig. These two notes are not mentioned, but they may be some shades of cedar and sandalwood reinforced by the aroma chemical Iso E Super. Indeed, this uncomplicated perfume does not go unnoticed. I like it and find it a scent full of contrasts, fresh and warm at the same time, dry and creamy, spicy and milky. I find it ideal for mid-seasons, from late spring to late autumn. I can wear it very well during the day, in my free time, but also during work. Its scents are delicate, and it does not have a robust projection, but on the other hand, it lasts a long time, all day without a doubt. Although I am sorry I did not find Nouveau Genre, I am very proud to have purchased this unknown gem in its place. I base the review on a 100ml bottle I have owned since July 2022.

The Desert's Ocher Land If there is one thing I cannot understand, it is why some fragrances are only distributed in certain countries while are not available for others. In Italy, where I was born and still live, the Yves Roches chain of stores is very well known and widespread, both through physical stores and online e-commerce. Still, fragrances like Voile d’Ocre or Nouveau Genre are not available. Well, I was in Montpellier in France recently for a short vacation to visit a niece who lives there. During a tour in the oldest part of the city, I found myself in front of a shop of this brand. I entered intending to buy Nouveau Genre, which they probably discontinued, and the entire line of The Yves Roches Parfume Collection was available on the shelf, including this fragrance at a significantly discounted price; the last pieces were undoubtedly out of production. I didn’t think much about it. I sprayed it on the paper strip and headed to the cash desk with the perfume and the blotter in hand. And right from my hand came the dry and creamy notes of the blond woods that form the structure of Voile d’Ocre. Voile d’Ocre is an Eau de perfume added lately to the collection at the beginning of 2021 and is not a very complex perfume, yet in its simplicity, it is pleasant to the nose and the mind. The combination of two blond kinds of wood inspired the two noses that composed the scent: sandalwood and cedar. We, therefore, find a woody opening in which the dry and slightly green aspects of cedar pencil shavings prevail and release warm spicy notes. The smell of wood reminds me of a sawmill, where cedar logs still a little green are cut, and the air is filled with resinous and woody aromas. You can feel the sap that once flowed inside the tree. There is a bit of freshness, in the beginning, nothing citrusy or watery, just fresh. There is no heart or tail as the perfume passes from a dry to a more creamy aspect, in which the sensuality of milky sandalwood makes its way. More, the two kinds of wood need the right balance, and I think there is an unmentioned secret ingredient that links, reinforces, harmonises, and extends the longevity of the cologne. Since I like it, I think they added an overdose of Iso E Super, a molecule that resists longer on clothes and is detectable days after. I recognise the typical earthiness and dustiness I meet in #zara sandal or #zara sublime cedar, for instance. Now the scent twisted into something warm, reminiscent of the desert backdrop. If I wanted to associate this fragrance with something I have already smelled, it would be Santal 33 EAU DE PARFUM. I recognise a spicy spiciness from cedar and a milkiness that I attribute to sandalwood. The perfumers have done a fantastic job using two of the stepping stones in the woods to create a new woody retreat on the edge of the desert. I like it and find it a scent full of contrasts, fresh and warm at the same time, dry and creamy, spicy and milky. I find it ideal for mid-seasons, from late spring to late autumn. I can wear it very well during the day, in my free time, but also during work. Its scents are delicate, and it does not have a robust projection, but on the other hand, it lasts a long time, all day without a doubt. Although I am sorry I did not find Nouveau Genre, I am very proud to have purchased this unknown gem in its place. I base the review on a 100ml bottle I have owned since July 2022.

What a nice little surprise! I was with my mother shopping last week and we dropped at a local Yves Rocher store. While she was grabbing her stuff, I was looking at the men stuff (which is by the way, much like Zara's, rather decent for the price) and a clerk came in and pointed me to their new collection which, as she said "leans unisex, a few more male, a few more female". I was intrigued and I looked it up and found myself intrigued and loving half of them, including this one, Voile d'Ocre. For the non-French speakers, this is "cloak of Ocher" and I find it indeed fitting. It wraps around you like a cloak and the ocher refers probably to the components, cedarwood and sandalwood. I do think there's more to it as like others I pick up other notes, a tiny bit of a vanilla tinge and some powerdery florals, mainly. One of the perfumers here is Fabrice Pellegrin, and you can tell this is quality (their new line include some big name perfumers). This obviously reminds many people of Santal 33 but I also get some Santal Du Pacifique from Perris Monte Carlo. The point here is that both of these are triple the price of Voile d'Ocre so it's a lot of value for your money. Longevity is moderate (about 4-6 hrs on skin) and it doesn't push out like crazy but that's fine since sandalwood tends to be a little overwhelming to some. It stays mostly linear throughout, with some powdery vibes coming out more as it gets through the first hour or two. If you like Santal 33 or Santal du Pacifique, this one is for you. Totally unisex to me but some might feel it lean feminine from the powdery notes. It just all goes down to if you like sandalwood or not. Great work, Yves Rocher (and the perfumers, of course).

spicy unsweetened dry-coconut sandalwood spicy unsweetened lactonic coconutty sandalwood Spiced confortable perfume 🧡🔸🔶🔸🍁🍂🥥🌴🪵 Almost sweet, lactonic, woody scent. Does not smell like PERFUME perfume. It smells as if you are in your me-time era, you drench yourself morning and night in body lotions, you take care of yourself, well I didn't want to say it this way but the idea is that this smells like a clean girl fragrance. Not the soapy floral clean girl one, the academia woody lactonic almost creamy one. First spray is spicy sandalwood. Then evolves into a creamy (not too sweet) woody scent, and I always have coconut in mind, almost coconut/fig impression. Yves Rocher do their coconut in a very sweet way, the kind of coconut you get from the coconut cakes or coconut candies. And in Voile d'Ocre this is not the idea of coconut you get. That's why I am talking about a fig/coconut association because the scent is spicy yet fresh, woody but not sharp, lactonic but not in a whipped-cream creamy way. In my mind I saw myself on the end of my vacations, at the end of summer, in late afternoons. The sun is almost golden OR the sun has set, either one or the other. When I sprayed this we had a debate with my friend because I liked the scent, and added it on my wishlist. But she said she would not buy a perfume that did not smell like perfume, instead she would rather buy a scented body lotion. Voile d'Ocre reminded her of a Shea butter body lotion and I agree with her. But I like the idea of being a bit over the top and why not have a perfume that smells like clean body lotion ??? Perfumery is fantastic because no one would know and some days I want to smell good but not in PERFUME perfume way.