L'Eau (1968)
by Diptyque

Augh. I put this on thinking it would be a regular l'eau something or other. Freaking clove bomb. It's like I went to the Willy Wonka Factory, ate some clove candy and turned into a clove.

I haven't been drawn to spice fragrances in the past -- actually received this sample by accident -- but with the weather getting colder now, the idea of something warm and cozy does sound more appealing. Although clove is definitely dominant in the opening of L'Eau, I didn't find it overpowering or unpleasant. It's actually a rather subdued scent on me, without a lot of silage. My main complaint is that the clove note dies down without revealing anything dramatic or interesting underneath. Florals may be adding a tinge of sweetness, but the drydown mostly reminds me of some clove-dominated cologne my dad used to wear -- probably Old Spice. Meh.

Some ambery resin and a whole lotta cinnamon with a touch of clove. Has a few other greeny herbals in there somewhere too.

If Joop is as bad as cinnmon comes, this is the polar opposite. Very Christmas, it would make an awesome room spray. Potpourri to the max, slightly more manly than Secret Melange.

Diptyque’s first scent has a stupefying opening: it’s a blaring accord of cinnamon Red Hots candies and citrus rind that while blatantly artificial, keeps me sniffing just because it’s so utterly weird. As things progress the citrus settles down, the cinnamon candy mutates into cloves, and a soft rose emerges in the background, all of which results in a much more conventional carnation accord. At a distance L’Eau’s main movement is a pleasant rose/carnation over creamy woods, but smelled up close there’s still something harsh and disturbingly “chemical” about it.

Like so many of the Diptyque scents that have come since, L’Eau remains relatively linear once its core arrangement settles into place. As it wears on I feel that this represents Diptyque’s trial run at personal fragrances – which of course, it was. As such, I can’t say it was a promising first effort. Its oddness soon begins to look like clumsiness, with the clove note in particular being far out of balance. In retrospect it’s both remarkable and gratifying that L’Eau’s successors include such beauties as Virgilio, Eau Lente, and Philosykos. More an item of historical interest, I think, than a viable personal fragrance

Simple and quite strong spicy pot pourri fragrance. Very Diptyque-ish.

As pointed by many times in previous reviews, this is definitely not for clove shy people. It comes out very strong with warm support from cinnamon. Somewhat very similar to CdG EdP this, but its less sharp without that a bit of metallic edge. This is more natural smelling.

L`eau is very simple, natural and “raw” without any sensual aspects. I like it a lot, but I never would use this as a personal fragrance. In some specific way I am sure it would make me way too self conscious scent wise.

This would make a fine room spray. So my suggestion is that instead of yourself and your clothing, spray this at your home (or in your vehicle) to various places; curtains, sheets, hand-towels, carpets etc.

Easy on the trigger on this one, no matter where you decide to spray it after all.

This is too much cinnamon and too much clove. I like cinnamon, but just a hint is good for me, not all that. The intense cinnamon smell gives me a headache.

I would wear this on very cold, very "unusual" nights out, and I would spray too little, much like Annick Goutal's Sables. I don't think I'd ever want to wear this more than three or four times a year, so I would never finish 50 ml in a hundred years, but thumbs up for originality. L'Eau has to be the most eccentric Diptyque I have tried