Maître Parfumeur & Gantier
Eau des Îles
(1988)
Jean Laporte
Woody Oriental
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Top Notes: Myrrh, Tarragon
Middle Notes: Coffee, Incense, Ylang-Ylang, Labdanum
Base Notes: Patchouli, Vetiver, Galbanum
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A leather-chypre slant with a strange, evocative set of notes. Labdanum serves for the leather note in this, with curious companions in the heart note of coffee, frankincense and the surprising floral ylang-ylang. Myrrh in the top (it's usually a base note) with a green, but slightly anise-like tarragon for support. Galbanum in the base (usually a top note) echoes the tarragon, and patchouli and vetiver are just typical of Jean Laporte. The effect is marvelous, even enrapturing (to me, at least); it is rich, with a green undernote that both delights and astonishes, so deftly tucked into a dry woody-oriental-leather scent. Laporte at his best, it is on a par with Santal Noble and Parfum d'Habit for masculine elegance.