Ciel d'Opale (2012)
by Ann Gerard

The fruity opening is quite nice, with the quince note pretty well done, and citrus with galbanum supplying freshness of the deeper, less bright side than citrus on its own would do. In the drydown the floral notes include jasmin, but is dominated by a honeysuckle that is as synthetic as dull on my skin - this is no Creed Chevrefeuille!

The base is wood-centred, mainly cedar, with a run-of-the-mill vanilla rounding it off. A bit on the sweet side, but pleasantly so and never cloying.

Moderate sillage, adequate projection and four hours of longevity on my skin.

Overall not bad, but a tad dull on my skin - mediocre and distinctly unexciting; a scent good for spring. 2.5/5.

A pleasant, but uninspired white floral with an emphasis on honeysuckle.

While this is pleasant and easy to wear, like a number of Duchaufour's recent commissions, it sticks to coloring within the lines. Consequently, it smells like a number of other "nice" but nondescript white floral perfumes. What's placed upfront is the balancing act of the honeysuckle and the jasmine in which the honeysuckle is notched a little higher to keep the jasmine at bay. There's a slight citrus note that peeks through to add an additional degree of light, and the base is a bit of an uninspired stock amber/vanilla combo that's forgivable in that it's not cloying, but is otherwise a little dull. As the top settles, what's left is somewhat of a textbook floral that's nicely rounded without ostentation, yet ultimately does little to set itself apart from other sping/summer compositions of similar quality.

Pros: Given the notes, it's expertly handled in a way that keeps it from being overly cloying.
Cons: There's nothing really new or different from other white florals. Lifespan = about 2 hours.