Sienne L'hiver

I prefer your image over BD's; it seems pretty acurate. Still, I do no like it the scent. It is well done, but I am not a big fan of that november rain kind of melacholy.

I wanted to like this scent. There is much to appreciate. In the end, I found it to be a slightly sweet, slightly creamy and leathery scent. That particular combo doesn't appeal to me, but I will grant that the scent is well-made and does give an introspective aura.

Does anyone have anymore opinions for it? It sounds like something I'd really enjoy.

One of the most unique scents in my collection. This is my pick from the line. The second is Bois d`Ombrie.

Kakihara, your description is very beautiful! I'm a little envious, as I don't get melancholy from any fragrance.

However, I own Sienne L'Hiver, and it is one of my top favorites. It's certainly one of the most interesting fragrances I own, and I get strong cravings for it frequently. I DO get the pickle note, but that is part of what I love about it.

I'm also a big fan of Magnolia Romana and Paestum Rose from the same line.

Haunani - really, no melancholy from my SOTD, Iris Silver Mist? What about Apres L'Ondee?

Kakihara, Great description & nice first post! I like this scent, too. I love the truffles in it. Very moody.

Nope, I find both of those fragrances beautiful but really too "cold" for my taste. Perhaps that's what people mean by melancholy?

Sienne l'Hiver (I'm wearing it now -- thanks for the SotD inspiration, Kakihara!) is a mix of cool and warm elements that I find fascinating, but not sad in any way.

I am of the belief this scent can only appeal to those, whose skin chemistry agrees with it. It's a scrubber for me.

I want this so bad now.

Sort-of gourmand, sort-of green, sort-of floral. Totally brilliant.

I've spent a lot of time with it, and I get only the barest wood aromas. Much more prominent to my nose is the hay, mushrooms, geranium, iris and beautiful little nick of castoreum toward the end. Most of the community here has vastly more time for Paestum Rose, but to me SH is the best of the Eaux d'Italie.

Consider this for a visual analogue:

Though a rather one-dimensional scent with little development, I really like Sienne l´hiver - it smells great and totally unique!

Tried this tonight for the first time. It's not as weird or interesting as I was hoping. Though, I do have a high threshold when it comes to unusual scents. There's an oily plastic wood note (I think it's the olive note) in there, somewhat similar to Arabian Wood by TF. I get the pickle note Haunani was talking about but it's more a jalapeno note on my skin. There's a mushroom earth note in the topnotes but it vanishes. It's a very complex scent for sure, so I need some more time with it to make a final judgement, but I'm quite surprised, this isn't weird like something from CdG. I was expecting something like Calamus from the Leaves Series. It's actually quite perfumey.

This one reminds me of a cross between Shadow by JAR and Arabian Wood by TF.

It is this note, that keeps me from enjoying this scent. I like bitter notes in my fragrances but sour notes are hard for me to stomach comfortably.

Olives, it smells like olives.

It's fascinating to read the widely varying opinions and sensations people are getting from this wonderfully complex fragrance. I think this tells us that it's a special one.


That picture is gorgeous, Hide & Reason, but the only thing that makes me think of winter with this fragrance is its name. To me, it's more about the bounty of fall, warmth with an edge of coolness.


For me Calamus is lovely, but nowhere near as "weird" as Sienne l'Hiver! I think I sort of get what you mean about the pepper (jalapeño) thing. I think of capers or green olives for the "pickle" note.


I agree, and black olive is one of the listed notes, right? But I get green olives, or maybe a mix of black and green.

One more comment/question: You know how you sometimes just CRAVE a particular scent? Sienne l'Hiver has produced the strongest fragrance cravings I've ever had! My mouth even waters, thinking about it. Have any of you experienced this?

Calamus smells so realistic or natural, it smells like a group of wet plants, like you're smelling a place or moment of time, that's why I find it so unusual. As complex as Sienne l'Hiver is, it still smells like a perfume.

Update on this one. I wore it as a SOTD earlier in the week. It smells a little mundane when you're not sniffing it so closely. You can't pick out the weird notes like the earthy mushroom or the pickled jalapeno. The clouds of sillage smell like an olive skin cream I've smelt before.

Ditto, and on me, olives and pickle juice. Just olives and pickle juice.

I'd have liked to smell romantic things in this, but it smells just horrid to me.

I catch that "olive" note but I will disagree with "olives smell like olives". One can understand this note only if one has spent some time in an olive producing region. It is not the smell of the olives themselves but the smell of the air around an olive mill where olive oil is produced. It very pungeant and permeates the air for miles around small olive factories in late fall in the Greek olive producing regions. It is like walking on a knife's edge kind of smell: sweet, oily, pungeant, at times it brings to mind the smell of pure unscented olive oil soap, at times it makes one think of shoe polish, it can be pleasent and then it can turn repulsive. In fact it can have the same property that pure acidic acid has: it can provoke a gag reflex if you get too much of it. I believe this is what people identify as vinegary note. It is not actually ths smell of olives in a jar or brine but the overcondensed smell of olive pits and skin that are left behind after pressing olives.
As far as the rest of the notes, this fragrance is really beyond me. It is probably one of the most evolving, more complex and unconventional fragrances I have ever worn. I think Duchaufour is right in considering this his masterpiece and who are we to argue him? And he must also be right about the dialogue between him and the commisioners because all the Eau d' Italie's that I have smelled are FBW. The dry style of Duchaufour is there but no wood and iris overkill, indredible longevity and projection, complexity and desire to create something that not only smells good but also evokes feelings.

it reminds me a bit of a communion wafer

So...I am wearing this one again after a long absence away from it, and I like it.

Perhaps I've come around to the sour/tart and olive tart notes that turned me off before - but also, there's other Duchaufour scents that I have done a 180 on that sort of come from the same planet as this one (Eau d' Italie, Bois d'Ombrie, Timbuktu, Dzonghka, etc...).

This one really does smell more earthy than the others. Like cold stones. Fresh mushrooms ripped out of earth. Cold, salty, briney olives.

I feel...contemplative.

I really don't like this one at all.

I have it in my collection, and I think it`s a great scent. Totally unique and original. I have no problems understand this is Duchaufour`s masterpiece. I don`t understand the jabber about the olive smell. If olives smell like this, I would eat a full glass every day! Do you think it`s ok to use this fragrance with a shirt / tie / suit jacket?

Curious. Are these actually listed notes in the fragrance, or just note perceptions?

I absolutely adore and respect this fragrance. Whether it's weird or unique that you want to consider this, it's on my TOP 10 List... As for the attire, I have never worn this one "suited and booted" but go for it and let me know how you make out.

I have only smelt this on paper (and did so the other day), as the olive note intrigued me.
It came out straight away and was a beautiful savoury briney note that is so rare in perfumery.
It reminded me a lot of Dzongkha with that dry vegetal woody/incense. I found it fascinating and will definitely get myself a sample.
I'm pretty sure I'll end up with a bottle...
It's dry, cold stone, with some bizarre warm elements, delicate mushrooms, salty brine giving a dominant yet perfumed olive note... really unusual in a very subtle, airy way.
I will grow to love this.

Me too.

Actually I have a bottle and I HATE this fragrance.
Almost pure olive oil and vinegar. Also the lasting power isnt good, 5 hours at maximum.