Eau de Gingembre (2003)
by Roger & Gallet

I usually don’t care for a strong ginger note in fragrances. I love the use of ginger in Eau de Gengembre. It is gentle and refreshing. The opening is light and citrusy with a pleasant element of Japanese ginger: Apparently the whole plant – leaves, flowers, and root – is used for the ginger note. The ginger strength does get a bit stronger with the heart, and it is sweetened a tiny bit by ambrette: This heart accord is as balanced, refined, and delicate as the opening. For the drydown, the ginger is almost exhausted, but it does leave a sharpness that wouldn’t be there if there were no ginger. The drydown is almost sweet, musky, and short lasting. I love the refreshingly light ginger ambiance of this fragrance. It is especially welcome on those muggy days that are so prevalent here. Of course, since it is an Eau, so it doesn’t last very long, but its reasonable price allows for frequent touch ups. I love this one.

Fragrance notes: citrus, ginger, “oriental flowers”, musk
This is an attractive eau de cologne, very much in the R&G style. In my opinion, that means a somewhat under-rated performer, quite competent if not brilliant. R&G’s in my experience don’t have a lot of initial flash but with a couple of sturdy applications they quietly maintain well all day. The florals here are lovely and so is the musk dry-down. There is nothing so pretty or sweet here that keeps me from wearing it. My one caveat is that there is nothing “gingery” about this scent. No spice, no crisply acidic tones or tangy wood notes that are found in freshly-sliced ginger. I think that is a hard note to render in a scent but it would be great to find.

Very much in the tradition of Mugler Cologne.
Fresh & clean - great for a hot and humid day.