Sisley’s Eau de Sisley trio is new on counters this month. They’re meant to appeal to a “modern and youthful audience”, but modern and youthful is apparently meant only in the relative sense: they don’t look, or smell, like they’re meant for the same audience as, say, Vera Wang Rock Princess or Valentino Rock ‘n Dreams.

I surprised myself by liking two out of the three. Eau de Sisley 1 — “meant to be like a dress made of sunshine”, although why any of them should be like a dress is lost on me, especially since they’re not particularly feminine — is a very green spiced citrus tea with tons of pink pepper (the notes: green mandarin, grapefruit, pink pepper, spice, jasmine water, green tea, juniper berries, patchouli and musk). It’s crisp, fresh and lively, and the juniper berry is strong enough in the early stages to give it a unisex-leaning-towards-masculine bent. That characterization continues into the dry down, which has a dark but clean patchouli-woods base.

Like the others in this trio, Eau de Sisley 1 is sheer enough for hot weather wear, but has enough depth and interest to elevate it above and beyond your average summer-y citrus Eau de Cologne, and the lasting power is reasonably good. I found it enjoyable if not a must-have, and given the price (more about which below) that means that I will not have it…

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