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Isabel Derroisne Le Temps des Reines Eau de Parfum
by lillamarta Launched: 1998 - discontinued Group: Woody Oriental ~ INTRODUCTION ~ I test fragrances as a hobby and the next choice in my collection was Le Temps des Reines ("Time of queens" if you translate it) from Parisian niche perfumer and cosmetic brand, Isabel Derroisné. They distinguish their perfumes by ... drawing inspiration for her ingredients and compositions from different cultures and continents and by using natural essences in her fragrances. ~ THE PACKAGING ~ The Eau de Parfum version, the subject of the review, comes in a cone-shaped midnight blue-tinted glass bottle that's topped off by a round stopper. The writing on the bottle and stopper are equally a golden colour. The design is appealing, and has an old-fashioned, royal feel about it. ~ THE FRAGRANCE ~ Top notes: geranium, spices Just after applying one drop on each of my wrists from the miniature bottle I'm hit with a strong, almost overpowering boozy-woody aroma that reminds of me of mature, vintage wine where the aromas have had ample time to crystallise. I get a whiff of geranium oil, this rich, powerful, astringent and especially woody aroma with a hint of green and rose-type floral note. I couldn't distinguish any of the spices though I must say when compared to my geranium essential oil, Le Temps de Reines was slightly softer so they did change the harsh feel for the better. Heart notes: patchouli Half an hour on, the fragrance still had a pronounced wine-like and woody accord accompanied by a softer, earthy aroma. Some of the harshness of the geranium still prevailed but it was now nicely blended in heart note and with the skin too softening it up. To sum up, a somewhat woody but earthy phase that lasted up to 5 - 6 hours. Base notes: sandalwood, benzoin As often when testing fragrances for the first time, I tend to forget about what I'm wearing. When I smelled my wrist the next time to see if there was anything left of the fragrance, I caught a whiff of a soft, barely there skin scent, a warm, dry and slightly bittersweet aroma that lingered on. It reminded me of benzoin, my favourite essential oil at the moment I use in my face and body creams and even made an eau de toilette out of. Benzoin is starting to become my actual skin scent in a way so I thought that what I smelled was just my scent after all other scents have dried down. After returning home and checking the ingredients of Le temps des Reines, bingo! I find benzoin. Not a hint of sandalwood though, it must have disappeared in the earlier phase. So there you go, the benzoin and what's left of it sits quietly on the skin when the fragrance dries down to its base and will last up to about 7 - 8 hours depending on temperature and your skin type. ~ CONCLUSION ~ At the end of the day, I use geranium oil to fend off insects and to deodorise my shoes and it does a pretty good job at those and I don't think it did any favours to this woody oriental theme, even if the emphasis was on woody rather than oriental. Due to the non-sweet and woody nature of the fragrance, it would possibly work better as a men's cologne, though I'm finding it hard to imagine it on my boyfriend. Geranium oil is often employed in men's fragrances to add a woody touch to them, however, blending is crucial as this is a potent essence that can easily overpower. As a ladies' item, you do have to appreciate certain notes and it's especially true for woody scents as People react differently to heavier, earthy and woody oils and resins as they're often associated with masculine fragrances. I like woody fragrances with a semi-sweet touch and due to my own associations I have towards geranium oil, I wouldn't wear this fragrance myself. If this wasn't enough, I felt it didn't have enough notes to play with and wasn't creative either. It was linear, boring, empty and one-sided. I expect more from the house that created Ilaya. ~ PRICE AND AVAILABILITY ~ I haven't seen this variety commercially available on the brand's website http://www.isabel-derroisne.com/. I assume that due to its unpopularity and relatively distant launch, it has been discontinued. If you're a miniature collector it can be found on Ebay but availability is sporadic and a a 7.5ml Eau de Toilette or Eau de Parfum can set you back up to £10. Thanks for reading. p.s. Please note, the product picture is the Eau de Toilette version of Le Temps des Reines. I described the Eau de Parfum though, subject of this review. ©powered by lillybee also posted on ciao.co.uk Read the complete review |
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Isabel Derroisne Ame Toscane Eau de Toilette
by lillamarta Launched: 1996 Group: Floral woody musk ~ INTRODUCTION ~ Having bought and loved Ilaya, a lovely woody oriental eau de toilette from the Isabel Derroisné line, I now own five miniatures from the rest of the line including Ame Toscane. Isabel Derroisné is a cosmetic brand from Paris that distinguishes itself and ... its perfumes by drawing inspiration for her ingredients and compositions from different cultures and continents and by using natural essences in her fragrances. ~ THE PACKAGING ~ A rare and remarkable flacon comes in a shape of the torso of a woman's back which is repeated exactly on the other side as well. The stopper is her hair blowing in the wind. The carton box is peach-coloured and decorated with a golden floral / vegetal pattern. Due to its shape, the bottle doesn't stand up on its own, so I laid it down on its side as you can see from the picture. ~ THE FRAGRANCE ~ Top notes: peach Real, juicy but unripe peach is what I smell first, that can also be described as the odour of the fruit's skin while it's still on the tree. It smells very authentic, I imagine the hell of a work that's gone onto creating this accord, must have been done by adding green notes to the peach one in an intricately calculated way. Heart notes: iris, cedar This peachy - green phase doesn't last long as about 15 - 20 minutes later rounder and softer floral notes arrive. There's a definite shower-fresh floral note that mixed with a bitter-sweet freshness reminds me of Jlo's Glow. Ame Toscane has the same soapy - floral note which when mixed with the green and peachy notes create a 'just taken a shower' feel. The two fragrances do differ in a way, Ame Toscane's soapy-fresh note is slightly colder and more bitter than Glow. Yes, there's a certain type of coldness too in the accord, which isn't unpleasant in any way. Iris, one of the rarest and most expensive perfume ingredients lends this cold, noble and slightly dusty feel and when coupled with fresh and woody notes it becomes particularly poised and balanced. The overall phase lasted for about 4 - 5 hours which I enjoyed throughout despite my usual preference towards warmer, softer scents. Base notes: sandalwood, vanilla, musk The final phase of the fragrance is softer than its precedent with musk and a hint of vanilla holding up the remainder of the fresh and woody notes. The vanilla isn't even detectable as such, it actually adds softness to the accord. To sum up, the drydown is a lovely, balanced mixture of musk and woods with just a gentle presence of vanilla. The staying power impressed me, despite its eau de toilette strength, it could still be felt after 8 - 10 hours and up to 24 hours on clothing. ~ CONCLUSION ~ I'm happy to have found Ame Toscane as the fragrance really is a genuine and rare display of ingredients that are being used in a unique and authentic way unlike in mainstream perfumery. The theme of soapy shower freshness makes it an unusual addition to my wardrobe, however this fragrance is so well-done that I wear it with pleasure. This eau de toilette wears well in winter as well as summer as its natural ingredients never get overpowering but still have a presence even in cold weather. If you like fresh, floral, slghtly bitter scents with a gentle woody-musky base, I strongly recommend Ame Toscane. Ideal as a gift too, it exudes class and niche perfumery and was made with the finest ingredients. ~ PRICE AND AVAILABILITY ~ Isabel Derroisné fragrances aren't yet well-known in the UK, but may be distributed in high-end department stores. I bought mine as part of a lot however an individual miniature would normally cost anything between f £1 - £5 or more if rare. I suggest checking on ebay France as a 50ml full bottle can be snapped up between £10 - £15 plus postage, far less than the recommended retail price of £49 / 50ml EDT. Thanks for reading. ©powered by lillybee also posted on ciao.co.uk Read the complete review |
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Isabel Derroisne L'Amour de L'Inde Eau de Toilette
by lillamarta Launched: 1996 Group: Oriental floral ~ INTRODUCTION ~ Having loved Ilaya, a lovely woody oriental eau de toilette I bought untested from the Isabel Derroisné line, I decided to collect some of the other fragrances in the line as miniatures and see if they are just as nice as their sister fragrance and maybe ... discover another gem. Recently, I won a bid for a collection of four Isabel Derroisné miniatures and 'Pour l'Amour de l'Inde' was one of them. ~ THE PERFUME HOUSE ~ Having been around since 1996, Isabel Derroisné is a relatively new perfume brand from Paris and have produced 16 ladies' fragrances to date. She distinguishes herself and her perfumes by drawing inspiration for her ingredients and compositions from different cultures and continents such as Spain (Andalucia), Italy (Ame Toscane), India (Pour l'Amour de l'Inde) or Africa (Ilaya) and by using natural essences in her fragrances. ~ THE PACKAGING ~ The orange-tinted bottle has a triangle shape that's slightly curved at the bottom whilst the stopper is an orange cap in a shape that reminds me of the long style of a calla lily. The carton box is decorated with a golden floral / vegetal pattern on a vibrant yellow, orange, red and violet background. ~ THE FRAGRANCE ~ Top notes: tagetes, pepper Pour l'Amour de l'Inde starts out with a prominent, floral smell that reminds me of a mixture of lily and bitter orange. Soon the bitterness takes over and in a few seconds I realise there's something amiss. I expected an enchanting, oriental bouquet, instead I find a somewhat orangey sweet but a dominantly herbal and bitter accord that becomes the only dominant note in this phase that will last for about 20 - 30 minutes. Middle notes: jasmine, cardamom, rose The arrival of the heart somewhat lets me off the hook, at least I can start appreciating other ingredients such as rose and jasmine. Sadly, the rose is adulterated by the tagetes. Instead of a dewy and velvety appearance that a good quality rose should bring, it's sour and almost bitter in comparison. With time, the jasmine does develop too into a fluffy, creamy or let's say ice-creamy mixture with some vanilla mingling within, the main problem is it never loses the harsh and bitter edge of marigold. This phase will last quite long, up to 8 hours. Base notes: sandalwood, vanilla The fragrance gradually shifting towards its dry down meant a bit more vanilla and less and less jasmine. I was still holding out for a nice finish with the promised earthy-woody sandalwood that finally didn't happen. I got no sandalwood at all! My nose was still picking up some jasmine but it had an exclusively vanillic theme. The vanilla felt plain, like cooking vanillin and not at all the real and rare vegetal vanilla. What added to the disastrous finish was that the vanilla had a bitter undertone to it which I couldn't really pinpoint. Was it the damned tagetes again at play? Or the elusive sandalwood? Surely no, it can't be that bad?! To say something in favour, the staying power was excellent clocking in at about 9 - 10 hours in total. ~ CONCLUSION ~ I've tested this fragrance on several occasions to see I'm not missing something. Unfortunately, the results were always the same: overpowering bitter and 'cleaning-product'-smelling marigold. I don't think the perfume has turned, that would have been immediately noticeable. On a footnote, my disappointment could be down to the fact that I did not like the smell of marigold in this perfume. I don't mind marigold in gardens (my mum has had them for decades in hers), though I wouldn't class them as having a particularly pleasant smell either. The question is rather who and why had thought that tagetes is an appropriate ingredient for a perfume strongly marketed as India-inspired is beyond me. Tagetes is widely cultivated in India but so is jasmine, lily and rose that should have got a more substantial role here. Not the mention the world's most expensive perfume ingredient, Indian sandalwood. This eau de toilette fails to succeed due to other, more objective reasons too. Firstly, I found that the bitter marigold note was present in all phases and I could detect it even days after I sprayed it on some clothes meaning the composition was way off balance. Jasmine tends to be a dominant note in orientals, here it was only a whisper and felt unnatural. The base was also weak, undeveloped and linear where it should have been the opposite which any decent oriental scent will demonstrate. ~ PRICE AND AVAILABILITY ~ I haven't seen this variety commercially available any more. I assume that due to its unpopularity and relatively distant launch, it has been discontinued. If you're a miniature collector it can be found as a 7.5ml Eau de Toilette though prices can fluctuate between £5 - £15 as I understand the flacon is a rarity. Thanks for reading. ©powered by lillybee also posted on ciao.co.uk Read the complete review |
Isabel Derroisne Perfume / Fragrance |
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1 review Brand: Isabel Derroisné / Perfume / Fragrance / Concentration: Eau de Parfum / Gender: For women |
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1 review Brand: Isabel Derroisné / Perfume / Fragrance / Concentration: Eau de Toilette / Gender: For women |
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1 review Brand: Isabel Derroisne / Perfume / Fragrance / Concentration: Eau de Toilette / Gender: For women |
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1 review Brand: Isabel Derroisne / Perfume / Fragrance / Concentration: Eau de Toilette / Gender: For women |
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