MPG Eau des Îles

Few fragrances have this effect on me, and that is the more I wear this one the more my respect grows.
Myrtle, taragon;open this fragrance with an accord that grabs your attention right now. In a short while this calms down a bit, and coffee, and ylang ylang begin to take center stage, and don't quite overpower the Myrtle, and taragon, but rather compliment them, and blend most beautifully. When the fragrance begins to
drydown which takes quite a while, and well worth the wait, you can start to detect a faint hint of Vetiver, and Patchouli. By far one of my favorite fragrances from this great house. Perhaps a bold statement, but if one were to see the perfumer behind this fragrance named Jean Kerleo, rather than Jean Laporte it would not have surprised me in the least, it is that good. Watch this one be the next to leave us. IMHO

Wonderful, deep and rich. My favorite from this house.

The only Maitre I didn't like muc was Fraiche Badiane. Besides the five you listed, I would add Iris Bleu Gris and Secret Melange to the list of true masterpieces.

Every time I hear about this scent, I'm intrigued. I think just hearing you all describe the coffee note and how it's interwoven into the structure of the scent, get's me excited to smell it.

MPG scents are like avant garde literature. You know, those books that one of these days, I will take the time to read. I approach all of them this way. Maybe they'll be a little too much (Baime), maybe they'll offend (Jardin du Nil), maybe they'll get us to take a look at a note in an entirely different way (Route du Vetiver). But they will always get my attention and hold me fascinated while I'm experiencing them.

Funny to say...I think I don't test them more recently, because I can't give them the attention they deserve when sampling. I must make some time for Eau de Iles, it seems.

My favorites of the MPG line are Eau des Iles, Santal Noble and Amber Precieux. These three are impeccable fragrances that are probably the best of their type. Parfum d' Habit is an amazing scent too, but it is difficult for me to recomend because it is so out of the lines and into the wild.

Eau des Iles is a true masterpiece of fragrance for Maitre Parfumer. A rich smokey scent that is so complex that it almost defies description from me. It is woody, but gourmand, and smokey. I get dazzled by it and then seduced every time I wear it. A lot has been made about reformulations of MPG scents that occurred when they changed bottle designs and possibly bottlers, but I don't think Eau des Iles has been diminished at all - possibly it was improved!

Santal Noble has changed dramatically in the new bottle design as it no longer has the deep coffee scent in the opening like the old formula had. If the coffee is there I can not find it and it is definitely much lighter. The spices, patchouli and oak moss are also much lighter in the mix. It lost some of its dirtyness and charm. But it may have gained a nobility and purity that it didn't have before. Santal Noble is still a very very good fragrance, but it is just a different fragrance - more a true, light sandalwood scent than the dark rich almost dirty sandalwood that was in the 90ml bottle. But Eau des Iles may have actually been deepened in the new formulation - they got this one absolutely spot on! Ambre Precieux smells the same in the new as the old to me. But I never used it much before the new bottle came out.

The more I wear Eau des Iles the more I realize how much of a masterpiece it is. At first I thought this one doesn't stand a chance against Parfum d'Habit, my favorite MPG, but now after many wearings and after my nose developed a bit, I realize they're in the same league. I wear this one very rarely now, because, like Mike said, it needs full attention, and it's not just something you reach for at an ordinary day.

Reading through Jaime's and others reviews, I realize there aren't many notes that I'm familiar with, but I know that the final result is truly fantastic. I get spices, I get vetiver, and I get just a slight hint of coffee, but that's not at all what MPG Eau des Iles is about.

If I could keep only one of my MPGs (god forbid) this one would be it. Consistently in my top 5. I love Jean Laporte and nobody on basenotes seems to know what has become of him since he sold MPG.

Absolutely in agreement with all JaimeB has said above.
My favourites from MPG are PARFUM D'HABIT and EAU DES ILES, which i always buy the 500 ml recharge.

I got inspired and am happily wearing Eau des Iles today. It is magnificent, and it has great longevity on me. I think it is a great cool-weather scent, it generates a lovely quiet heat.
I also like Grain de Plaisir, but then I love herbal-green scents.
I have a sample of Santal Noble and I agree that is another excellent scent. I find it to be rich but not heavy. Excellent cedar and sandalwood notes.

I am out of my decant and I might need to re-try it, but I found it difficult to love. I detected a hint of green when first applied, but there was too much smoke, and very little florals and coffee (the note I believe is bitter coffee) notes .. interesting notes but the balance seemed a bit off.

I like Ambre Precieux, but for me it ranks below Profumum's Fiori d'Ambra and Parfumerie Generale's L'Ombre Fauve among my favorite Ambers. I like it more than Ambre Russe, though.

The only other MPG i've tested and didn't like was Fraiche Badiane. I thought it smelled too much like a Cinthol soap we used to have here. Too realistically soapy for me, sorry... no go.