Eau D'Été by Parfums de Nicolaï, 1997

Lovely scent! Very refreshing and clean.

A nice, mild citrus/fruit/light floral fragrance that lasts a good while but stays extremely close to the skin. I had higher hopes that this would be a more robust citrus. BN has this listed as feminine but it's technically unisex... there's nothing that makes this more feminine than any other light citrus fragrance. I'm glad I bought the 30ml and didn't spend a whole lot. Good stuff but I won't back up my bottle...

Thumbs up

I really wanted to like Eau d'Ete . From all that I have read about Patricia Nicolai by Luca Turin and perfume writers, she is well respected as a talented perfumer. I am also very partial to colognes and adore Eau de Rochas, Chanel's Eau de Cologne and Dior's Cologne Blanche, for example.

However, Eau d'Ete is not in the same category as those mentioned above. It honestly smells like spicy cinnamon/musk scented soap with maybe a dash of orange flower. If Eau d'Ete were a beautifully packaged $10 bar of soap, I would probably like it fine but as a perfume at perfume prices (and I know Parfums de Nicolai is one of the more reasonably priced lines), I'm going to have to give this a miss (although the sillage is excellent for a cologne-style fragrance).

Here are Eau d'Ete's notes, courtesy of The Perfumed Court: jasmine, lime, grapefruit, blood orange, cinnamon, balsam, musk.

A pleasant and agreeable scent, however it smells strikingly similar to many laundry detergents. For the price, the smell is nothing special.

Jasmine, lime and grapefruit combine with tomato leaf. Another surprise from Nicolai. Perfect for summer!