Reviews of Cologne Sologne (1989)
by Parfums de Nicolaï

A traditional cologne with citrus and floral background. Nothing more. Great for a brisk pick me up throughout the day. I would go with a cheaper and IMHO a higher quality Guerlain eaux.

Brisk green notes, bittersweet citrus and smooth lavender open Cologne Sologne in the classic eau de Cologne manner. Some woods, orange blossom, and additional aromatics appear in the background, but again in traditional eau de Cologne manner, there isn't much more to the development. Cologne Sologne is very smooth and nicely balanced, but I don't find much that's unique or individual about its composition. Nice, but no more than that.

Nice cologne. Good office wear. Very linear. Nothing special.

A very good citrus splash cologne that could compete with some of the best of the citrus cologne category: Cologne Sologne by Parfuns de Nicolai is refreshingly interesting because of its softer take on the cologne concept. It begins with a strong neroli, bergamot, and lemon verbena accord – quite pristine, but without the usual sharp preciseness of such accords. I get an aromatic rosemary note along with the citrus, but, on moving to the middle, the fragrance becomes pretty much a floral fragrance: orange blossom… orange blossom with a strong citrus background. As floral as the fragrance is, I find it acceptably masculine. The entire ambiance is clean and fresh in a sort of polished way. Cologne Sologne is an excellent splash. I, myself, am not going to buy it because I prefer a brighter, sharper, more traditional citrus than this one offers. This is too sophisticated a version of cologne and I, at present, prefer the more rustic, traditional types, but it is only personal preference, not a judgement against the very real high quality of this fragrance. Like most cologne splashes, it has poor longevity.

Cologne Sologne was the first PDN scent I ever purchased years ago when Sephora carried her line in the South Coast Plaza store here in So. Cal. I was transfixed by this perfectly orchestrated EDC and fell in love with it from the first sniff! It starts off smelling, like so many others have stated, like 4711. Then when you think "it's very lovely, but we've been there and done that, Patty," this amazing rose blooms through and softens into Nicolai's signature tonka base. It's really quite magnificent. Of course, although it is an exceptional perfume, it still is an EDC; therefore, frequent reapplication is necessary since longevity is fairly short as should be expected in a product of this nature. It is a sublime experience.

PdN's colognes are really beautiful. Their Cologne Nature was my first purchase and found it to be a very beautiful scent. So, I had to try the Sologne.

During the first couple of hours, it smelled just like 4711 on my skin. I spent a good bit of that time wondering why I wasted $XXX on Sologne when I had 400ml of 4711 in the cupboard. Well, that was a waste of two hours!

Suddenly, this beautiful, full, dusky rose blooms. It's really an amazing note. But this seems to be an unusual thing. Most users report a middle of beautiful neroli. But, on me, the rose is just undeniable and it's a "full" scent - nothing thin, or flimsy about it.

Sologne has decent sillage and a little bit of projection.

Not an every day scent but a nice addition to any summer wardrobe. I don't consider it a "must have" and I feel fairly close to a neutral vote on it. But I will give it a thumb's up because the artistry of Sologne is very clearly evident.

I'll be honest. When I smelled Sologne's top note, I immediately had it pegged as an expensive version as 4711. It has very much the same smell, ie. the same bracing citrusy top note and smelt like a cologne targeted to an upper class European man that wears Gucci loafers. But then, the exquisite floral middle notes wafted in and Sologne changed into a charming somewhat feminine perfume. The sillage though, is not great, but I was not too surprised given that it is a cologne. Sigh. All in all, I could definitely see this as an addition to my perfume collection.

Here are the notes, per Beautyhabit: Grapefruit, Lemon Verbena, Sicilian Bergamot, Neroli and Sandalwood.

This is what I feel Neroli Sauvage should have smelled like. I love this. Perfect for office wear.

A very soft, quite dry Eau de Cologne style frag. This has a stronger, earlier herbal aspect than many of the eaux with a prominent rosemary. The neroli is quite present too but the citrus aspects are somewhat tamed.

The whole effect is of a classic eau with the top cut back and the other aspects strengthened and enhanced. It is a different (upside down?) take on the eau concept. The softness is interesting, it really does have a soft feel; slightly powdery with a pinch of tonka and rosemary with the sharpness attenuated.

I like it, but miss the fresh sharpness at the top and I prefer these notes to play a supporting rather than a feature role.

You're both right -- THIS is what 4711 SHOULD have smelled right! Sparkling. Effervescent. PERFECT summer scent. Likely not too long lasting on others, either, true that. But ANYTHING'S more long lasting than the much hyped (and utterly worthless) 4711. Imagine that which is nice in 4711 (and there is some, yes) and magnify it and make it better quality. There you'll have Sologne.

I don't know that I'd compare it to 4711, which is one of cheapest, least refined scents in existence. Sologne IS a classic cologne, very soft and refined, and reminds me more of a sweeter Hermes Eau d'orage Verte. Doesn't last long, of course, but it's not bad. I don't know if it is worth the price and the difficulty in finding a PdN stockist, but overall a nice addition for spring/summer.