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

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

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.

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.