Reviews of Eau Lente (1986)
by Diptyque

Eau Lente is a beautiful Melange of soft spices, especially spices which has barks..for eg. cardamom, cinnamon and Clove buds over a base Vanilla essense(not pods). Opening accords are a beautiful melange of sweetned vanillic cinnamon. another essential accord which features in within 5 minutes is the absolutely stellar accord of Clove buds. the way it's (Clove) introduced and the effect it has on this scent is simply fabulous. Like most diptyques, this accord stays linear with notes blend superbly with a very versatile sillage and lovely sillage. This is not a spicy fragrance like say a KL Homme or a Costes or a Jaisalmer. it's much softer than all those and only tries to heighten the actual smell of the prime spices used in this scent. clove based floride toothpaste reference wouldnt be a bad reference..just to give a feel for how it smells...lingers on for over 10 hours on me.

Eau Lente is an amazing scent and is also one of Diptyque’s best fragrances.

It’s such as warm, mellow and cozy scent, consisting of notes I usually have a hard time appreciating. For example, I love the smell of opopanax but had yet to come across a scent that incorporated this note according to my tastes. With Eau Lente, the opopanax is beautifully utilised (without smelling musty or slightly off) and alluringly emits itself like a rich amber or vanilla. Combinated with cloves (another note I’m not a big fan of), nutmeg and cinnamon, it can sometimes be slightly reminiscent of potpourri. However, the creamy sweetness of the opopanax provides a sensual earthiness, saving the whole composition from any unwanted scrutiny. Although it’s quite linear, the lasting power is very good.

Overall, this is a fantastic spicy scent that’s well-balanced with plenty of depth. This isn’t something I could see myself wearing out in public but, during the autumn and winter months, I would definitely gain enormous pleasure from wearing this around the house.

[Original submission date: 24 October 2008]

The respected reviewers before me describe Eau Lente perfectly. As always Vibert and Foetidus articulate the development in far greater detail than I can manage. In a nutshell - you get clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon, on a oppoponax base; masterfully blended.
What I can add is that there is nothing in my collection like Eau Lente, not even close. This is an important fragrance.

I found this perfume rather repulsive to be completely honest. Unless you want to smell like a spice cupboard i would recommend staying away from this fragrance.

Very good indeed. I didn't think I was going to like this one for a sample wearing, but I was wrong.

It became stronger 30 minutes after I applied it, which amazed me to no end. The spices were controlled and well blended. Never overpowering, but very evident and long lasting.

Linear on me but very likable. Thumbs up for this spice rack.

This is remarkable - solid, almost unrelenting. I get a timeless incense from it and very little of the spices others seem to smell. I can well believe that this is based on an ancient perfume recipe. It has the same emotional effect on me that Philosyskos does - these are both beautiful scents and aromatherapy, rolled into one...

When I tried Eau Lente it immediately became one of my favorite spice-centric fragrances. I find it truly unisex--neither overtly masculine nor feminine--and this characteristic alone makes it interesting to me. The spices are blended and soft, and include some of my favorites, including cardamom and cinnamon. Yes, it's a bit like my jar of garam masala, but when I sniff it (especially on my skin rather than from the vial or on paper) food is not the first, second or third thing that pops into my head! Instead I am instantly and acutely reminded of walking on the Boardwalk at Wildwood, New Jersey when I was a child!! There's a certain melancholic mixture of head shop/incense + ocean breeze + fudge shop + human musk + teenage girl fruity perfume that I never knew was emblazoned in my scent memory until now! Go figure. I must purchase this one, if for no other reason than to relive that memory from time to time!

Eau Lente starts out smelling like an Indian curry - straight garam masala. Happily, within moments it reveals an opopanax heart that prevents it from continuing as a South Asian lunch buffet. Once the opopanax asserts itself, it dominates the scent completely, with controlled bursts of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and coriander occuring from time to time. Otherwise it's pretty linear all the way through.

Eau Lente is beautiful, but surely it's not for everyone. If you like Diptyque's opopanax candle, you're going to love this. If opopanax is not your thing, you can forget about it.

1st try (applied normal) ALL spice.. nutmeg, clove, a bit pungent! Smelled too masculine.

2nd try (applied lightly!) Yum! dry & peaceful spicy, with touch of soft sweetness in background.

This came across as fairly masculine to me, the clove was dominant, and perhaps joined by some black pepper. I do like clove, but I prefer its sweet, fruity presentation in Coco, because that one is more feminine. I would recommend this one as a spicy scent for men, but it is too butch for me. For awhile, I considered crossing over into men's fragrances, but many of them are too different from what I am accustomed to wearing. I believe they are compositionally at odds with womens' fragrances, and it is unfair to judge them according to the same standards. This would be akin to asking a man to give high ratings to a vanilla-based women's fragrance that he would never wear, when he prefers lavendar and lemon. Therefore, I give it a neutral rating.

Eau Lente is thus far my favorite of the Diptyque line. I'll piggy-back on Foetidus' review here, as I think he's done an excellent job capturing the essence of this scent. It is a spicy, woodsy, musky scent. The opoponax here seems less in my face than it often does. It's more subtle here, adding a warmth that is slightly animalic, like amber or musk, as well as adding depth. As Pluran points out, in this scent it never goes to the over-the-top vanilla sweetness that opoponax sometimes does. Instead, here the muskiness and "browness" of the note is accentuated. I wish it lasted longer, and if I had one complaint about this fragrance, it would be that it can sometimes smell a bit like a holiday candle. Otherwise, it's great for those who like woods and spice with a touch of sweetness.

Eau Lente is really fantastic, and totally unlike the other scents I've tried by Diptyque. I'm not someone that really loves spice fragrances, but in this case it works.

Eau Lente reminds me quite a bit of Jaipur Homme (by Boucheron) because of the cinnamon and clove. This is a bit spicier though, and also richer. I could swear there's amber hiding in there somewhere. Maybe Opopanax smells like amber.

It also lasts forever. And, it somehow manages to be masculine and refined at the same time.

This is one special scent—I am totally overwhelmed. Eau Lente begins with a clove / cinnamon note that seems somewhat metallic to me. Although I am no lover of the clove taste or smell, this one is ok. It takes a very long time (at least an hour) to get to the next step: a variation of the spices that spotlights the opopnax. This accord is rich and luxuriant—a musky, woody scent that is warm, comfortable, somewhat exotic, masculine, and addictive. As with most Diptyques, Eau Lente is substantially linear with exquisitely discreet variations: Its final note on my skin is, of all things, chocolate—a subtle rich dark incensy chocolate. There is something primeval in Eau Lente that invokes a racial memory in me—I feel its age—it’s as old as mankind and I find that awesome.

A beautiful spicy and vanillic scent that always makes me think of Christmas time. The spice is reminiscent of potpourri, but with a much more mellow clove note. Lasts most of the day, with a very subtle development as the day progresses.

I love this scent and find it fairly linear--no moody twists, just a slow 'cookng' as it warms up and softens and blooms on the skin. The spices (cinnamon, cloves, other) start out sharp but lose that edge after a few minutes, and then the oppopanax--which to me smells like musky vanilla-amber-woodsy--heats up and envelops the spices. It smells like an oriental skin scent. Moderation is key if one does not wish to smell like holiday potpourri. I would love this on a man.

A very deep, rich spicey scent with plenty of character at the bottom in the form of amber or something semi-resinous. The scent changes little from beginning to end, which is not necessarily bad. To me this is very reminiscent of Santa Maria Novella Potpouri's drydown and that of Commes des Garcon's EDP.