Eau de Campagne (1974)
by Sisley

Eau de Campagne is perhaps the most uncompromising green scent I’ve worn. It’s also one of the finest. It displays all of the elements that characterize Jean-Claude Elléna’s best work – clean lines, concision, focus, and clarity – without the stinginess, the anorexic pallor, or the penchant for self-repetition he demonstrates when working below his potential. Unlike say, Cologne Bigarade or Terre dHermès, it does not smell like something cobbled together from the leftovers of Déclaration. Nor does it follow the overused pseudo-cedar + tomato leaf + froot du jour formula of the Hermès “Jardin” series. For me Eau de Campagne stands with Déclaration, Globe, and Bois d’Iris as one of the most original and appealing of Elléna’s compositions.

In Eau de Campagne Elléna gathers some of the most bitter, sharp, and refreshing green notes, including galbanum, tomato leaf, and basil, spikes them with a very tart lemon, and highlights their herbaceous character with a deeply aromatic geranium leaf. All of this rests upon a bone-dry, chypre-like vetiver and moss foundation, with a resolutely green jasmine as the only remotely sweet element in the entire composition. With so much that is green, herbaceous, and citric in its composition, it will come as no surprise that Eau de Campagne’s middle notes are neither very potent nor enduring. On the other hand, the nutty, spicy, and ever-so-slightly smoky vetiver-based drydown that arrives after about two hours is as hauntingly beautiful an effect as you’re likely to find in modern perfumery.

Like the equally bitter Campari, Eau de Campagne will strike some as pleasantly astringent, and many as unpalatable. Too bad for the many. For lovers of foliar fragrances, Eau de Campagne belongs next to Chanel’s Bel Respiro, Villoresi’s Yerbamaté, Aramis Devin, and Diptyque’s late, lamented Virgilio in the pantheon of green scents.

Eau de Campagne took me a few attempts to appreciate but now I do. This is a straightforward green scent that smells as green as freshly cut grass in a meadow (with a dominant tomato leaf accord, which may not be to everyone's tastes). When summer next comes around, I may re-visit it again to see if it's full bottle-worthy.

So far, the only green scent that I truly admire.

[Original submission date: 10 April 2008]

Sisley Eau de Campagne (EDT)

Notes: top notes, bergamot, galbanum, lemon, basil; heart notes, tomato leaves, plum, jasmine, geranium, lily-of-the-valley; base notes, oak moss, patchouli, vetiver, white musk (from OsMoz)

I must start this review with a disclaimer: Eau de Campagne smells very different on my skin than it does on paper. On paper, I smell mostly what other reviewers have smelled--lush green opening of galbanum and other bitter plant stems followed by a lovely lemon-based citrus melange, cradled by a herbal accord. The effect is intoxicating, evocative of all the scents you might experience in a well-tended herb, vegetable and citrus-tree garden. Florals are listed in the notes, but scent-wise, these components collectively play a supporting role to the more prominent green and herbal notes. Later, a soft white soap note comes forth giving a very clean finish to the entire experience.

On skin--what a difference. The galbanum and other green notes begin to fade almost immediately, forcefully pushing the lemon out front. The effect is of a greenish or unripe fruit at first, due to the lingering bitter plant notes. Soon, the lemon becomes as sweet as an edible lemon candy, and is quickly joined by the white soap note. For a while, the combination of lemon and soap give the impression of fine bath or shaving products. Unfortunately, as the lemon fades into a kind of sulfuric funk that most citruses suffer from, the soapy note becomes sour and harsh. It has been quite a ride in under one hour.

The initial herbal burst may be too pungent for many. I agree that in the first hour or so, there is nothing pleasant in this fragrance, it's just a raw smell of nettles and a lot of other herbs, but if you give it some time, it will develop into a very nice, smooth and refined scent. The absolutely wonderful drydown deserves the tolerance of the much too green, ultra-sharp opening.

Given the pitiful suckup to newness that has got classic companies churning out mediocre new scents year after year and cannibalizing their own best work (Guerlain, anyone?), you've gotta love a company with the self-confidence to come out with a new perfume every 15 years without fail. They really mean it.

Eau de Campagne is a wonder. For me it fills the bill as a light, refreshing citrus (replacing Eau d'Orange Verte when that ran out), plus of course the "greenness" for which it is justly renowned, and lots of other complexities.

I especially like the sour/bitter undertones, which some attribute to tomato leaves. To me it's more rosemary and okra.

There isn't space enough here to do justice to this true modern classic.

Speaking of the fewness of Sisley's releases, I must say that Eau de Soir is gorgeously feminine (held in reserve as a gift when I decide there's a woman who's worthy!) and a total foil to Eau de Campagne.

Unisex? Most assuredly, but let's just call it "butch."

With three exclusive fragrances to Sisley's credit, the delightful Eau de Campagne is brimming with vitality and freshness. Favoured by both men and women, Eau de Campagne is a shimmering blend of lush green tomato leaf, freshly-cut green grass and sparkling citrus. Its herbaceous quality is instantly uplifting, and the elegant composition oozes sophistication - much like their tasteful advertising images of rolling green hills, opulent gardens and welcoming retreats. It is audacious and dynamic, and serves as a bracing feel-good tonic which sharpens the mind and refreshes the body throughout the day. One can immediately detect quality here. Perhaps, if in reality you are not of royal blood or aristocratic descent, a few drops of this luminous fragrance may do very well in suggesting you are. For this, is the verdant nectar of nobility.