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Eau d'Italie - what makes it different from other eau de cologne type fragrances?

post #1 of 16
9/26/08 at 10:53am
Thread Starter 
I've read the reviews and wonder if this would be a safe(er) blind buy for someone such as myself who almost unilaterally loves edc type scents. I know, I know, there's no such thing as a safe blind buy.....

I've seen many a reference to the subtle incense note in this scent. Are we talking an austere frankincense or a sweetly vegetal myrhh or a smoky aoud note? I've noticed that some eau de colognes already in my collection have this enjoyable characteristic - most lately, I've realized that Eau de Patou dries down to a note that's almost like nag champa with some lemon. Please elaborate, I'd love to hear your impressions and comparisions and experiences.

Cheers,
J.
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post #2 of 16
8/11/09 at 9:58am
Wearing this today for the 1st time. I LOVE IT! Wow, it's good.

I smell the same incense shell, that Duchaufour uses in Dzonghka and Timbuktu by L'Artisan - but in EdI it's sheerer, lighter and not so...hissy. That 'steaming pickle juice' accord is absent and in it's place is that wonderful smell of mud, terra cotta, whatever you want to call it. I smell like a place, not a fragrance - which is a facet I love in fragrances.

It also manages to be fresh, without resorting to the standard neroli, petitgrain, blah-blah-blah of eaux type colognes.

I was turned off to all of the other scents I've tried from this line, for one reason or another - but this one is wonderful. Oh crap, another bottle added to my wishlist.
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post #3 of 16
8/11/09 at 10:02am
I owned a bottle of this a year or two ago. Definitely unique and doesn't smell like a 'fragrance'. I agree with Mike on that.

After wearing it several months, I found it leaning a little too much towards the feminine side of unisex for my liking, but it is a very unique offering. The 'clay' note is amazing.
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post #4 of 16
8/11/09 at 10:40am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the responses - I think I'm going to order a couple of samples from Luckyscent. I seem unable to resist adding to the eau de cologne category in my collection. Why is that? Personally, I think it's because the edc style, classic or nouveau, is so apt for so many occasions. Hard to impart a bad olfactory impression with one of these.

I'm predicting that Eau d'Italie and the new cologne from Divine will be my late summer/early autumn edc explorations.
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post #5 of 16
8/11/09 at 11:10am
Unfortunately I have to say my experience was rather different than Mike's, as I do seem to remember smelling something the words "steaming pickle juice accord" encapsulate quite well. I don't remember much else other than it was a rather culinary-herbal take on the eau de cologne genre.
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post #6 of 16
8/11/09 at 11:19am
Just a word here: while I enjoy Eau d'Italie and think it very much worth wearing, it is by no stretch of the imagination an eau de Cologne style fragrance! Not even close. It is, as mikeperez notes, a woody incense composition. If you're expecting a traditional citrus/herbal eau de Cologne formula from this scent, you may be sorely disappointed. That said, it's good stuff - sample it by all means!
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post #7 of 16
8/11/09 at 12:39pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the caution, Vibert. I wasn't actually thinking of Eau d'Italie as anything like Jean Marie Farina or similar. I was imagining maybe something like the dry-down of Eau de Patou, which definitely has a soft incense glow to it. Eau d'Italie sounds fantastic, in that it could be like the dry down of EdP extended into a whole fragrance.

Anyone want to compare the "warm clay tile" note in this scent to the "terracotta" note in Guerlain's Terracotta Voile d'Ete? I own the Guerlain and instantly picked up on that accord - I love it and am looking foward to the interpretation of it in Eau d'Italie.
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post #8 of 16
8/11/09 at 2:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jardanel View Post

Anyone want to compare the "warm clay tile" note in this scent to the "terracotta" note in Guerlain's Terracotta Eau d'Ete? I own the Guerlain and instantly picked up on that accord - I love it and am looking foward to the interpretation of it in Eau d'Italie.

Nothing like the Guerlain.

The Terracotta VdE is a lot more spicy/floral and has that signature sheer, dusty sweetness that Guerlain does so well. The Eau d'Italie is much more airy and not sweet at all - it really does smell like clay or mud, laying out in the sun. It's hard to describe, but it does not smell wet but instead rather warm. With no hint of sweetness.
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post #9 of 16
8/11/09 at 5:02pm
Just an aside.

"Eau de cologne type" is not a generic statement. It refers to a specific type of citrus fragrance. As Vibert pointed out, a traditional eau de Cologne is a citrus fragrance with herbal notes. It is akin to using the term "Xeroxing" as a generic word for copying.
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post #10 of 16
8/11/09 at 5:13pm
Well, this one sounds wonderful - gotta try it! I do like Sienne l'Hiver (pickles and all), and Magnolia Romana, the other two fragrances I've tried from this house.

BTW, I'm wearing Terracotta Voile d'Ete today. It's going to be a favorite for a long time, I think. It's a carnation that I think many guys could also wear well.
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post #11 of 16
8/11/09 at 5:20pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TwoRoads View Post

Just an aside.

"Eau de cologne type" is not a generic statement. It refers to a specific type of citrus fragrance. As Vibert pointed out, a traditional eau de Cologne is a citrus fragrance with herbal notes. It is akin to using the term "Xeroxing" as a generic word for copying.

Thanks for the reminder, TwoRoads. I'm aware of the definition of the traditional eau de cologne. There are fragrances, however, that fit the use and function of the traditional edc's, but are not strictly citrus-based scents. Note that I said traditional OR nouveau in a previous post. For instance, Bouquet Imperiale by Roger & Gallet is an eau de cologne in intensity and is mean to be splashed or sprayed as liberally as the same firm's Jean Marie Farina. Although it does have citrus notes, it's not totally defined by them the way JMF is. Ditto the new L'eau d'Eau by Diptyque, the Bien-Etre eau fraiche, Eau Nature and Eau de Lude by Patricia de Nicolai, etc. This is where I would see Eau d'Italie fitting into my wardrobe.
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post #12 of 16
2/11/10 at 4:06am
this is a nice scent but profumum olibanum blows it out of the water, the same idea only megatonnage thereof
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post #13 of 16
2/11/10 at 6:46am
I agree with galamb_borang. "Culinary-herbal" vibe is correct according to my experience. It's a rather dry composition. In fact, this don't-know-what is what keeps me from enjoying it. I've tried many of Duchaufour's scents but cannot really appreciate his creations. There's this same accord running though all of his scents no matter what house. I know he's well-liked and I respect that by all means.
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post #14 of 16
2/11/10 at 7:01am
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This is the only one from the line I didn't buy a sample of exactly because I thaought it would be a colonia a la Aqua di Parma....
Mike's idea of "smelling like a place, not a perfume" runs through the entire line and is what makes it one of my favourite houses. The Duchaufour palette is there but while in L' Artisan he uses watercolors, for EdI he has chosen oil. And we are talking about true paintings, not just perfumes.
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post #15 of 16
2/11/10 at 7:26am
I own Sienne I`Hiver and Bois d`Ombrie. Fantastic stuff, with a edp-like staying-power!
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post #16 of 16
2/14/10 at 5:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jardanel View Post

I'm predicting that Eau d'Italie and the new cologne from Divine will be my late summer/early autumn edc explorations.

You took the words out of my mouth. Does anyone here on the board have any experience with both and can compare/contrast the two?
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