Olène (1988)
by Diptyque

Quite nice but quite similar to Do Son. I have both samples with me and neither I nor my wife can tell the difference. Could they have placed the same fragrance in two sample vials by mistake?

I found it was too fresh and too watered down for my taste, I prefer sweet fragrances to have a lot of depth and this one does not. I think you can and I have found many easily available perfumes that evoke pretty much the same effect for less than a third of the price.

Olene is a big, heady, indolic jasmine, and whether or not it contains the night-scented species, it creates a profoundly nocturnal ambience. It’s a touch clearer, cooler, and drier that Serge Lutens’s A la Nuit, but it is a similarly weighty fragrance. As it ages on the skin Olene's indoles grow even more potent and prominent, without the honey and spice that season the jasmine in A la Nuit’s floral oriental context. In this regard Olene comes close to being a true soliflore, one of relatively few in modern perfumery.

As so many other Diptyque compositions, Olene is a relatively linear scent, sustaining its bold jasmine accord for hours before drying down to a musky, woody base. Olene is a potent fragrance: it projects well and leaves an ample cloud of sillage behind it. If you’re looking for a straightforward jasmine scent, I recommend you give Olene a try.

Olène is a pretty white floral scent but it’s too feminine for me too pull off, especially during the drydown.

Olene is simply the most indolic frag I've ever experienced! Serge Lutens' A La Nuit is still my favorite, which just happens to be the perfect blend of indolic jasmine and touch of green for my taste, however this Olene is worthy too! Olene reminds me of the opening indolic phase of yet another Luten's - Sarrasins. Ink smell, for sure! (I guess some may think it more 'mothball' smelling, but not me.) Olene possesses a unique sweetness as well, which I personally find better suited to feminine wearers.
If you like 'em bold - fragrant white flowers, heavy on the indoles - this one's not to be missed! Thumbs way up!

Quite feminine. I find it a very strong white flower fragrance—heavy, and I don’t get much of the powder that has been mentioned. I also get a somewhat sharp, quite viscous (think: slimy) green note, which I like at first, but it soon turns on me. Primarily this scent is a strong white flower fragrance, without much more happening. If I try, I can get a hint of the mothball effect that takemyhusbandplz mentioned. As in most of Diptyques’s fragrances, it is very linear. This is a scent that doesn’t hold my interest for long because I feel that these particular accords need to go somewhere—to do something; since they don’t, it brings out a boredom that could easily lead to annoyance. Hence, I find that its linearity is a negative. Olene has excellent longevity. It’s not a terrible scent, but there are more interesting and better white floral fragrances around.