Jour Ensoleillé (2007)
by Sonoma Scent Studio

Jasmine and oakmoss—or reasonable facsimiles—loom large in Sonoma Scent Studio JOUR ENSOLEILLE. To my nose this is more appropriate for an overcast, threatening-to-rain day than as a celebration of bright sunlight. In fact, JOUR ENSOLEILLE seems just perfect for today in Boston, with a lot of wind, and numerous gray cumulus clouds threatening to spill their contents any moment now. The wind is so loud that it seems menacing, beckoning me to remain inside my warm apt. with my even warmer divine white furry feline friend, Diogenes incarnate aka Howard Hughes kitty aka Nanook of the North aka Houdini aka Orson Welles avatar aka Emperor Oliver, who, I recently learned is coincidentally the same age as Hugh Hefner. Let's just hope that HH kitty does not dump me for a younger, more nubile, could-be-his-great-granddaughter member of his very large fan club—all females in existence, to be precise. But I digress...

JOUR ENSOLEILLE has enough oakmoss to be a turn-off to those who have not acquired a taste for the somewhat dirty, dusty, even “old lady” quality of the perfumes in which it figures big. I, however, happen to like that note a lot. Is this presentation worthy of a full bottle? Probably not. This one reminds of several other middling oakmoss-rich perfumes and does not stand out from the crowd. It's not bad, but it's not great either. The alleged neroli and tuberose included in this composition are beyond my threshold capacity to detect. Désolée.

11th July, 2011.

Very rich, heady, indolic orange flower and tuberose blend. Very natural smelling, yet creamy, almost buttery, in a way that reminds me of Fracas and Beyond Love. The sillage is less than one expects in this genre, but extremely tenacious.

Oddly, I don't get even the lightest "chypre" vibe from this, just a lovely - but linear - floral.

As of writing this, my favorite out of the Sonoma Scent Studio catalog.

13rd March, 2010.

I read that Laurie likes to hear from wearers what feelings her scents evoke. Very well- this scent makes me want to be laughing with friends. This is a happy, joyous fragrance (and I thought that before reading her own inspiration for this)

Now more technical: this is the third fragrance I've tried from this line, and I feel comfortable saying these wear like Caron Urn fragrances on me. They open rather harsh and unpleasant, and you have to wait a good 40 min before you are rewarded with a long lasting, beautifully harmonized, gorgeous composition.

Now I like my scents to sit under my nose for at least 8 hours, and Ensoleille complies. This is a scent that turns 'watery' on me, which is a nice change from the sensously earthy fragrances that dominate my wardrobe.

**EDIT** I went back to this after a few weeks for a few more wearings. This past weekend it wore more 'heavy' on me and I got a stronger creeping of vetiver, which is a note I'm not fond of. This is still a thumbs up, but is no longer at the top of my SSS pile.

21st February, 2010. (Last Edited: 29th March, 2010.)

I’m sensitive to indoles so I wasn’t expecting to like this at all. But wow! What a beautiful scent! This subtly indolic chypre is highly reminiscent of Jean Patou’s Mille but minus the skank. That's a good thing in my books.

Elaborating on the inspiration behind this scent, Laurie talked of her earlier days riding horses, surrounded by oaks and admiring the glow of the setting sun on distant hills. Jour Ensoleillé captures this mood perfectly for it feels very much like Mother Nature’s own sunny embrace. Outstanding!

Notes:
orange blossom, neroli, tuberose, jasmine, beeswax absolute, labdanum absolute, myrrh, sandalwood, ambergris, vetiver, green leaves, oakmoss absolute.

19th January, 2010.

Very rich. Very smooth. A lovely floral chypre. Sweet neroli (orange blossom) top notes with an ambergris and light oakmoss base. I'm indecisive about wearing it hence the neutral rating.

17th January, 2009.