Eau Lente (1986)
by Diptyque

I'm giving this a thumbs up for its interesting, complex and unusual style. It is a little sweeter and darker than I like but it is a good scent.
It starts with an usual combination of spice, powder and green notes. Hints of vanilla and dark chocolate also appear. The spice notes are supposed to be cinnamon and cumin. Each of those is distinctive, but here they are smoothly blended into a spice chord. Apart from the initial sweetness, this is a good start. An interesting dusky green note develops, almost a bit leathery in style. Smoky round and sweet opoponax appears in the dry-down, followed by some animalic, slightly "dirty" notes.

10th January, 2012.

It starts with a brust of dense spices (cinnamon and cloves, as others have stated) that lasts for a while and turns slowly into a tribute to opoponax that is sweet but not sugary or cloying, well balanced with the spices.

Topnotes may be hard to stomach, but i like them for a change. The drydown is to die for. It doesn't seem linear to me, which is strange among classics Diptyque offerings.

Good sillage and longevity. Thumbs up for sure.

21st October, 2011.

The first time I applied Diptyque EAU LENTE I discovered that it is as strong as its golden amber color would suggest—more of a perfume concentration than an edt, it seems to me. Eventually, the composition dries down to a smooth and luscious amber. Unfortunately, to get there one must suffer through a spice-cabinet opening, which is so clove-heavy that it somewhat ruins the journey for me. I tried a second time, applying the edt quite a bit more lightly but still found the opening unpleasant. To my nose, this perfume is simply unbalanced, and it's not worth the wait to get to the fine drydown since there are plenty of amber perfumes around town which are a joy to wear from start to finish. Désolée.

24th July, 2011.

The strong presence of spices, cinnamon in particular, reminds me at the beginning a bit the great Cinnabar which is a more woodsy and complex concoction with a (here lacking) fruity-floral temperament. Before that the concert of spices, while settling down, paints of a red dust a starring white smooth bed of milky myrhh, this fragrance initially turns out as a misty and harsh tornado of cinnamon, cloves , nutmeg, star anise and other spices. The dust is powerful, a bit lemony, raw and is a reminiscence of vintage ambiences. This scents seems a bit destructured. I'd have liked that, as well as the storm had rested and the creams started flowing, a bold patchouli or some woods could impress autority and stableness to the work. Anyway this is a good and appealing concoction for lovers of spicy-tasty fragrances reminiscence of mystic ambiences or landscapes and with a touch of bath soap temperament.

23rd June, 2011. (Last Edited: 24th June, 2011.)

If you like bold spicy fragrances you can't miss Eau Lente. Cinnamon and Cloves in the opening joined by boatloads of opoponax. A simple, yet complex fragrance with a classic, quasi ancient structure, magistrally executed to become tremendously modern. I'm personally not very compelled / appealed, but if you like opopnax and spices you've to try this.

Not an easywear, not for everybody but absolutely remarkable.

17th May, 2011.

Indian spices? NO. Just clove. Enough clove to choke a dentist, and I say that as an admirer of cloves -- in the right context (and dilution). However, give this frag an hour, and it develops into the most gorgeous, resinous, dry, dusty oppoponax imaginable.

This phase of Eau Lente is simply beautiful, and it lasts and lasts. It's worth waiting through the cloves to get to the oppoponax, but still, one wishes Diptyque could have come up with more appealing topnotes for this frag.

Anyway, a slightly hesitant thumbs up for me, although I suggest staying as far away from Eau Lente as possible if you're clovephobic.

3rd April, 2011.