L'Eau d'Hiver (2003)
by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle

Vanilla, almonds and polymers. A little too synthetic with florals for my taste. Great sillage and longevity.

This does not smell like "eau chaude" (warm water) to me. It smells like cool or possibly lukewarm water. It's definitely watery, soft and transparent, but also fruity in a sort of synthetic, abstract, apricotty, osmanthus-like way. Maybe that's an impression created by the iris and heliotrope? The iris here is not dark, rooty and earthy, nor is it as cold and metallic as it sometimes can be, nor as powdery as it is in other incarnations. It's rather a cool, watery, unsweetened, soft, ethereal iris note. I'm not a fan of iris, it's just too cold and "unnatural" and aloof for me. Here it's considerably softened, with that fruity aspect, not an ice queen like Iris Silver Mist or a root pulled up from wet soil along with carrots like Hiris. Still, it has the same, to my nose synthetic, coolness that I find offputting. Fans of Osmanthe Yunnan might appreciate this fragrance, I think they are very similar sort of pretty and soft yet chic and resolutely artificial florals. Despite the scent being soft, I feel it's wearing me - and nagging me for not having spent hours creating a "natural" "effortless" makeup and ironed my expensively casual clothes... A "comfort scent" for Very Preppy People.

This is like smelling violets and your grandmother's cologne and vanilla pastries through several veils of pearly white chiffon.

It is extremely clever, supremely sophisticated and the perfume equivalent of "money shouts; wealth whispers."

This could be worn at any time, any season by people of any age. Yet somehow, this almost feels too chic for me, but that's my fault, not the perfume's.

Love the clean Heliotrope note that comes in 15 minutes into the scent, this is a comfort scent which can be worn anytime.

Strongly reminds me of Johnson's No-More-Tears baby shampoo. Definitely not worth the money...

Extremely synthetic smelling. The top notes smell exactly like my new summer flip-flops - rubbery- plastic-y. Then it warms up and sweetens a bit. The middle notes rather pleasant, less synthetic, and the dry down is green, to my nose. It's interesting frag, but does me nothing emotionally, not "moving". I won't be able to wear not this one nor Lipstick Rose - another very synthetically smelling perfume of Malle. I'd say they are both for mannequins - why not? Plastic smell for plastic girl. I prefer something more naturally smelling.