L'Ete en Douce / Extrait de Songes (2005)
by L'Artisan Parfumeur

L’Eté en Douce, originally Extrait de Songe, is the cucumber sandwich of the L'Artisan range, with not a crust in sight. The notes are linden, mint, orange blossom, and musk.

Unfortunately, L’Eté smells like fabric softener, is obnoxiously clingy, and can be dismissed as a pale imitation of Giacobetti’s En Passant for Frederic Malle.

20th September, 2011.

happy, this is a happy fragrance without edges. not what you would call a signature fragrance in any way ,but sth that immediately makes you smile. it smells a bit like fresh washed laundry...mixed with an open summer meadow.
remember that first school trip you did not want to go to???? and the pullover your granny had washed and that smelled so homely when you snuggled your nose in?and did it comfort you? été en douce is that pullover. cosy, comforting and soft. or the summer meadow you have been lying on as a kid watching the shapes of the clouds go by?
this is what you find here. clean,cosy,comforting, charming, happy. entirely happy. this may not be a fragrance you will try to seduce someone with...but you do not wear a tight red vamp dress for summer picnic either do you?I love this fragrance because it is genuine and pure.
and why should that nt be sexy?

8th February, 2011.

A pleasant white floral that, for no apparently good reason, I purchased as part of an eBay user's clearance of her zillions of fragrances on hand. Feeling giddy after bidding much too much (and winning!) a nearly full bottle of Chanel Bois des Îles from her, I thought "Why not?" and went after this as well.

It is, as I've said, pleasant enough. The mint, rose, and orange blossom are well balanced, but the musk is far too dominant for me. (I must admit that having spent my twenties during the polyester decade--the 70s--I have a low tolerance--no, utter disdain--for certain musks as they remind me of the sweaty discos and dimly-lit steakhouses with dark wood paneling that I was obliged to visit with my office mates from a job that enabled me to go to college.) The musk is relatively "clean"; but it's still enough to make me hear the Bee Gees singing "Night Fever."

Still, L'Ete en Douce has its commendable qualities, my own sensibilities notwithstanding. It's pleasant, inoffensive, and has better sillage than most L'Artisan florals. "Summer in Sweet" is an appropriate name for it--even though I keep confusing it with the title of a Tennessee Williams play. (Come to think of it, I might actually prefer a fragrance called Summer and Smoke!) I would recommend it to a feminine woman who wants a "safe" fragrance for daytime wear. Sexy it is not, though I wouldn't dismiss it as "bland"--more in the vein of not terribly exciting. But I'm definitely a butch gal who likes to push the envelope (so to speak) and "safe" is not a word to describe most of the fragrances I love.

I might wear this on a day when I'm not teaching or going anywhere. (Although my family was poor and my Dutch Calvinist mother clutched the purse strings tightly, she allowed for two extravagances that every woman needs--high quality shoes and wearing perfume daily.) It would also be very nice for just freshening up the air at home. On the other hand, it might wind up on the "free shelf" in my office at the university from which students may take anything (the books, CDs, DVDs, neckties, fragrances or whatever that I choose not to keep) they fancy. If it introduces some young woman (or man!) to something more advanced than the usual celebutante fragrance, then I've contributed to their education.

1st June, 2010.

I must agree with Tovah. This is an absolutely gorgeous fragrance; fresh, green, charming, happy, playful, summery, perfect.

2nd August, 2008.

I was almost sure I'd like L'Ete en Douce based on Tovah's description. I imagined a beauty of the ilk of La Chasse aux Papillons, but with a field replacing the garden through which the butterflies flee. Not to be. The opening (linden?) was a little higher pitched than I anticipated, and then -- Shock! -- I smelled Alfred Sung's Sha, which I once liked and then grew to abhor. I could be alone in this perception of L'Ete en Douce. For others' sakes, I hope so.

7th June, 2007.

L'été en douce is shockingly, perfectly beautiful. If I could make the perfume of my happiest summer memories, it would smell like this. L'été 's most striking note is linden, which crowns a blend of heady orange blossoms and freshly cut green grass. I know it's melodramatic, but this fragrance makes me hear birds singing and bees buzzing in still, warm summer air. L'été en douce is quite similar to my beloved D'Humeur Réveuse (Lazy Mood from the Sautes d'Humeur coffret). Also, it has the unique linden note of the beautiful D'Orsay Tilleul, with elements of limpid air and lush land. The lasting power is fabulous. Its scent becomes a part of my chemistry and radiates for hours and hours. This tenacity is surprising in a scent that comes across as soft and relaxed. L'ete en douce is one of Olivia Giacobetti's masterpiece fragrances; it does justice to the beautiful smells in nature.

15th March, 2007. (Last Edited: 9th June, 2008.)