Eau de Campagne (1974)
by Sisley

Visiting my friend Marcel in his hospital bed the other day, I was surprised to find him in a mood that was almost ecstatic. "As you well know, mon cher Nitram," he informed me, "I have long been anxious to recapture lost time. Well, here I have a veritable bottle of precious, elusive memories! At the first sniff of Sisley's Eau de Campagne, I was immediately transported back to my childhood! There I was, all of eight years old, dressed in my little sailor suit (de rigueur attire for children of my generation), crawling through the summer undergrowth at the bottom of our garden. The smell of cut grass and tall, dusty nettles, warmed by the sun, surrounded me on all sides, interspersed with the occasional whiff of herbs and tomato plants from our kitchen garden. Although a somewhat delicate child, I was determined to keep on crawling, in the vague hope that, somewhere in the midst of all this fragrant foliage, I would meet up with my first love Gilberte, also eight years old, and, nose to nose, we would declare our undying devotion to each other!"
At this point in his monologue, Marcel was interrupted by a huge, frowning nurse who informed him briskly that he really should stop getting so excited and eat up his tapioca pudding.

19th November, 2011.

A vivid green fragrance that is fizzy at the top/ intense and quite legible with a mossy/earthy drydown. Tomato leaf and basil give this frag a herbaceous and vegetal vibe while the spiciness of geranium add its own kick.

If you like the original Pour Monsieur (Chanel), Diorella, and Cristalle -- even Vent Vert, you will like this too.

Don't complain about its longevity, just re-apply and freshen up!

Highly recommended!

13rd November, 2011.

This is JC Ellenà how I like him. Appearantly simple yet very complex. An incredibly compelling bitter green composition that opens with a burst of sharp bergamot and assorted herbaceous / leafy notes. An invigorating blend made out of tomato leafs, basil, and an extra-bitter geranium note. A perfect unisex fragrance that you will surely dig if you like Cristelle, Grey Flannel or The Unicorn Spell. Among the best in its genre.

18th June, 2011. (Last Edited: 4th August, 2011.)

Eau de Campagne’s journey is a brief one, but certainly quite eventful. The opening is bold, and nothing short of fascinating. It feels wild, green and contains the chlorophyll from a thousand roughly torn nettle stems. There is a suggestion of citrus in the opening, but it is clearly not meant to have much of a presence. This is a brief phase, and Campagne quickly dries into something dry and herbal, with a diminished green undercurrent. Drying down, it freshens and probably reaches its peak of pleasure giving qualities. It is relatively short-lived, expensive, but different enough to warrant the outlay.

17th April, 2011.

Eau de Campagne may not be the most unique scent in the world - its basic structure is the traditional Eau de Cologne - but what sets it apart from the crowd is an intense greenness. This has leafy green and mossy notes in spades, and they last for the duration of the scent. This seems more like an EDT concentration, because I find it to be a lot stronger and longer lasting than most EDC's I've worn.

The one downside to EdC is personal and subjective - it just does not work on my skin for some reason. My wife used to wear this fragrance, and it smelled wonderful on her skin. Once it hits my skin however, it smells sour and lacks the sprightly green feel. It's like my skin sucks the life right out of this fragrance.

Personal issues aside, Eau de Campagne is a delightful and underrated fragrance. It's a must try for any fan of green smelling scents.

MY RATING: 8.5/10

27th July, 2010.

This is a bit like wearing a salad, but I love it. The scent is like summer in a bottle-- tomato leaf and basil and lemon and grass and a bit of mossy muskiness, extremely refreshing. Like going into a herb garden and grabbing everything and mashing it all up. When I first apply it, I inevitably get the sense "Wow, this stuff is so sharp and strong and I'm going to have a headache" but after 30 minutes it's mellowed pleasantly. Not a lot of staying power, not a lot of sillage, but my goodness it smells nice.

25th June, 2010.