L'Eau Guerrière 20 (2009)
by Parfumerie Generale

a nice incense scent, however stays too close to the skin (just for the pleasure of the person wearing it, i guess). i loved the opening sharp herby/grassy accords, however they go away very quickly (too quickly). if they stayed for longer, that'll be a definite thumbs up.

28th October, 2011. (Last Edited: 20th December, 2011.)

Aldehydes and green/ herbaceous notes joined by frankincense, a subtle oud note and something else that smells much like resinous cannabis. Dry, woody and masculine in a very modern way. Maybe not groundbreaking but incredibly likeable and easy to wear. Together with Comme Des Garcons Standard, one of my favorite office fragrance of the past 5 years. While L'Eau Guerriere is surely not a sillage monster I get a reasonable projection and lasting power.

4th March, 2011. (Last Edited: 19th September, 2011.)

Notes: cinchona bark, sky aldehydes, olibanum resin (frankincense), aloe wood (oudh), musk.
This is a marvelous, subtle scent – and a wood lover’s delight! It has a dry, coniferous opening due to the frankincense. There’s a touch of aromatic herbs and woody bark, from the cinchona, from which quinine is derived. The oudh is very restrained, the merest hint which brightens the scent. Some early notes I had suggested that there is myrrh here as well. If so, there is a marvelous assortment of incense notes. As others have noted, this is a restrained, quiet scent which sits close to the skin. My new favorite!

31st December, 2010.

Aromatic and aldehydic presentation of wood immediately in the opening – must be the “cinchona bark”; it’s quite sharp at first, the accord is pleasantly sweet… somewhat like a hay note or an other dried grass note. It’s an impressively turfy / grassy accord and quite unisex in its presentation. The “grassy” accord settles down to a soft light-wood accord that is apparently the signature accord of the fragrance: It’s earthy, delicate, a trifle exotic, and rich in its lightness. I think that part of its perceived lightness comes from a slight trace of Aloe wood, and the whole accord is lightly shadowed by a wispy incense. I get a calming feeling from smelling this, and, smelled deeply, I get a bit of that scratchy, raw sharpness that it so indicative of hemp… it’s not obvious, but it is there. I enjoy L'Eau Guerriere… it is genderless, transparent, natural, and comforting. I’m not sure that I understand its name… seems too gentle for that…

5th April, 2010.

Notes (from LuckyScent.com): cinchona bark, sky aldehydes, olibanum, aloe wood, musk.

L’Eau Guerrière’s top notes include a citrus so tart and acidic that it flirts briefly with vinegar before stepping back from the brink. The aggressive “sky” aldehydes no doubt contribute to the searing brightness of this introduction. The volatility of these materials ensures that the opening flourish is brief, and what follows is a dry, transparent accord of citrus, wood and frankincense. It’s pleasant and straightforward, if not earth shatteringly original. I have no idea what cinchona bark is supposed to smell like, but whatever it is, it makes no distinct impression beyond “nice wood.”

Its name notwithstanding, I find L’Eau Guerrière to be a very quiet scent, with minimal sillage and projection. It wears very much as a skin scent, especially as it works through its drydown of incense and warm, vaguely animalic musk. In mood and style L’Eau Guerrière closely parallels spare, dry, niche incense fragrances like Heeley’s Cardinal and Olivier Durbano’s Rock Crystal. I frankly find Comme des Garçons’ Avignon richer and more exciting than any of these, and would turn to it for dry incense before the more elusive Parfum d’Empire offering.

11th December, 2009.