Histoire d'Eau (2002)
by Mauboussin

I can totally relate to uandimeme's relation to Serge Lutens' Daim Blond--to a certain extent.

Histoire d'Eau is much like a suede (daim) scent, but the way this scent executes is awfully harsh with this underlying bitter medicinal undertone.

Histoire's lofty notes are very much like Daim Blond, probably because it does smell like the apricot pits of Daim Blond, but pondering on this further, I think an aldehyde note is used rather than a true leather note that's putting this scent into wack and preventing it from giving forth its clarity.

The scent smells better as the aldehydes slowly melt away, but not by much more.

This was a blind buy, with no regrets. The first blast (one spray will suffice) is rather briskly masculine to my nose and maybe a bit artificial. In a sense, this reminds me of my other Mauboussin favorite (the eponymous one) in that it gets better and better for hours -- it really lasts. And as the elements evolve they get racier and brighter, till the tangerine begins to recall the transparent sweetness of my favorite Christmas fruit, clementines, the cardamom gives off an almost skin-like warmth, and the listed "leather" -- whatever that means -- recalls the refeshing, mysterious scent of a carton of cigarettes. Can you tell I love this?

Side note: Though this is marketed as a feminine, to my nose, this is one of the most gender-neutral perfumes I've tried yet.

To my nose on my skin it was like an unsophisticated mix of Boucheron Jaipur and D&G LightBlue.
Way too generic for my taste

Found notes listed as:

Top: Green Tangerine
Middle: Cardamom, Pepper, Nutmeg
Base: Leather, Musk, Amber

I regularly wear Serge Lutens' Daim Blond - which I classify as a slightly fruity/soft suede fragrance.
Histoire d'Eau by Maubboussin is incredibly similar! The leather note is soft and subtly infused with gentle spices. Delicately sweet. This can also be found for purchase on-line at about 1/5th the cost of a Lutens...I definitely recommend this sleeper!

Haven't tried this yet; I've read about it recently and I'm intrigued. But I can't seem to find it either online or in US stores. Can someone help? Thank you!