L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme (1994)
by Issey Miyake

Initially fresh, turns into dead flowers in a matter of minutes. Really funereal. I had to wash it away.

This is a somewhat reserved, almost neutral rating. It's a thumbs up with a very big caveat - that you've never worn it before the reformulation.

L'eau D'Issey pour homme has become a great lesson for me in respect to the effect of reformulation and the effect of scent memory upon a buyer's expectations. It's probably not for me anymore, but I still think it's good, and I'll explain why.

This was my daily driver for some time, an easy dumb grab for the office and a fragrance I really enjoyed. Fresh as fork, went really well with my skin and that yuzu note... woof. I love me some yuzu and this was just magnificent.

I don’t know if I’d be as harsh to say it's now lemon pledge, because let's be honest, this was never subtle or gentle in its delivery. It always punched you square in the nose with sharp, dry freshness. For me, this is now Sad Panda pour homme, or just straight up L’eau Disappointment.

So why the thumbs up? I went in to my local cafe wearing some of the reformulated juice a little while ago and the owners (husband and wife) came out for a chat with me. I've been a customer for over a decade. They've both admired some of my fragrances before, but they immediately fell in love with L'eau D'Issey and the husband chose to purchase it right then and there. They've both been stoked with it and keep thanking me for letting them know about it.

I've recently acquired Guerlain Vetiver for the first time - to me it's magnificent. There is, however, a gentleman who's reviewed it on Basenotes and has been quite scathing of the modern reformulation, because he regularly purchased and wore the original. The current version simply doesn't measure up to his expectations.

After having this experience with L'eau D'Issey, I completely understand his point of view... but it doesn't stop me from enjoying the current Guerlain Vetiver fragrance I've come to know. In this case, ignorance truly is bliss.

This is still quite wearable and I have too many good memories to trash it. I won't enjoy wearing what I have left and may regift it soon, but for a new buyer who's never experienced the original, it's a worthy purchase.

I wasn't really that impressed with L'Eau d'Issey PH despite my curiosity over the abundant positive reviews. This didn't form the fresh genre- Claiborne for Men and Eternity for Men (both released in 1989) were responsible for that. But I've never tried this fragrance before so I thought I'd give this fresh scent from the 90's a go...

This opens up very fresh, bitter, and initially really sour from the yuzu. I imagine this goes an alternate route to grapefruit. The sourness goes away in about 5 minutes. I get the floral quality which isn't bad at all. A kind of light mixture composed of vetiver, saffron, and sandalwood. The wood takes a little moisture out of the yuzu as it develops. It goes to almost a skin scent within 30 minutes and is gone 5-6 hours.

In my opinion L'Eau d'Issey PH may use a few exotic notes, but it smells very generic for a fresh scent from it's very bland construction. It's not far from smelling like a lot of Adidas fragrances. It's transparent and boring. Spend $15 and get yourself a bottle of Claiborne for Men(1989)...it's deeper and longer lasting than this. Even if L'Eau d'Issey PH were $15 in a drugstore...I'd still buy Claiborne for Men.

A sweaty techno club in the 90th, everybody wearing CK One, smelt from inside the fresh deodorized men's room.

.Sexy.

i bought this when it first came out, what a wonderful fragrance. lasted forever and projected very very well. now it smells like PLEDGE and does not last at all. i would never get this again. another example of how reformulation has ruined a fragrance. this has happened to many a fragrances. they just dont last or project well anymore. and people keep on buying this stuff? we need to send a message to all perfume houses to bring back the quality stuff again. this is not acceptable. and enough will all the different versions and flankers. this house and ck must have a million of them and all of them are mediocre according to ratings i have seen. just make a couple of really good fragrances that really last and project and get it over with.