Diptyque named Oyédo for the ancient capital of Japan, Yedo (the modern spelling is Edo), now known as Tokyo. It was released in 2000 and has notes of yuzu, grapefruit, lime, orange, mint, thyme, and woods.
It starts with strong, fizzy citrus, and smells very much like the concoction they used to serve at children’s parties that was made by pouring 7-Up over orange sherbet…
Acqua di Parma launched Colonia Assoluta in 2003. It is a unisex fragrance, created by Jean Claude Ellena and Bernard Duchaufour, and features notes of orange, bergamot, verbena, cardamom, pink pepper, pimento, jasmine, ylang ylang, rose, wild orchid, cedar, aromatic Thai resins, patchouli, white musk and amber. The “he” below is Marlen, one of the moderators on the basenotes forum, joining me for our third joint review.
He Says: One of my favorite warm weather scents, Colonia Assoluta offers a refreshing and refined bouquet without resorting to employing currently popular notes of tea and grapefruit, and without any ozone or marine accords…
Yuzu Rouge was created for Parfums Zero Six Cent-Trente by perfumer Raphael Haury, and the fragrance notes are yuzu, grapefruit, bergamot, cardamom, cassis, verbena, rose, nutmeg, amber, moss, and musk.
Yuzu Rouge starts as a sparkling citrus rose scent with a hint of cassis, and it is essentially linear, so it pretty much stays that way while it lasts. The rose not nearly as pronounced as it is in Parfums de Rosine Un Zeste de Rose…
Calypso launched Homme (now renamed Tangerine, see below) in 2001; it has notes of tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, tarragon, green tea, rose, black currant, hyacinth, violet, amber and musk.
The top notes are a nice rush of sparkling citrus with a touch of lemon zest. After a few minutes, it takes on a slight undertone of anise from the tarragon, no more than a hint, really, and shortly thereafter is joined by one of my favorite summer smells: fresh-cut grass…
Mandragore is the latest fragrance release from the Annick Goutal line. It was developed by her daughter Camille in collaboration with Isabelle Doyen, the house nose.
Mandragore is, as far as I know, the first fragrance to feature the scent of mandrake, a Eurasian plant with purple flowers and a forked root, long thought to have magical powers. The other notes include bergamot, black pepper, ginger, spearmint, star anise, boxwood, and sage leaf.
Mandragore starts out with dense bergamot and spice notes…