Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Caron Eau de Reglisse

While not a Caron classic in the rich, complex and dark manner, I think this is a very nicely done, modern scent that succeeds mightily at being the light-hearted little number at which the house appeared to be aiming. It is fun and fresh - fresh not like so many of the "clean" white musk or soapy scents out there, but rather in a brightly sheer way. The opening is first and foremost fizzy, with an effervescence that I find mimics the refreshing sparkle of carbonation more successfully than its competitors (L'Artisan Ananas Fizz or Yves St. Laruent's Yvresse/Champagne). Victoria of the Bois de Jasmin blog has compared the scent to Pernod, which is quite accurate. The ginger and nutmeg are prominent and the licorice rooty; as the pop fades, the scent wears with the spice and nut notes of brown bark for some minutes. The drydown, a skin-hugging blend of vanilla, musk and well-behaved patchouli, appears rather early on the scene for me. Overall, Eau de Reglisse lacks the sillage and lasting power I prefer; I'm not the sort who needs a full bottle of many light summer fragrances, and if I was looking for a sweat-fighter with licorice or anise, I might have been tempted by the chilly pine forest of L'Artisan's new Fou D'Absinthe. (Luckily, I was not. Is there a saint to pray to for overburdened credit cards?) Still, this is a cute one with some fabulous opening moments. Eau de Reglisse was released as a Limited Edition fragrance to be discontinued this month, and I have not yet heard if its apparent popularity will save it from the chopping block. It is available, as usual, nowhere near me (Caron boutiques, Saks); find it online at the fabulous German site First in Fragrance.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home