Eau de Minthé Eau de Parfum (2019)
by Diptyque

A soapy clean, fresh, green fougère with a touch of mint. Reminds me of deodorant, freshly applied out of the shower. I’m surprised how classically clean this smells and with almost no mint. There is a cooling, almost menthol effect in the very first minutes of the opening but that doesn’t last long. Definitely mature, clean, well-groomed and masculine.

Projection is a above average and longevity is maybe 8-9 hours.

It has an air of a fougere fragrance. It's fresh, green and has a definite minty accord which to me smells like a combination of fresh mint, geranium and lavender. In the drydown the patchouli adds some weight and becomes more aromatic, but other than this, it's pretty much the same smell.

Remarkable, and I disagree with the multiple lukewarm and negative reviews. Genuinely fresh herbal without going all sickly sweet and powdery: long-lived, and retains its clean freshness like Guerlain's L'Eau Boisée. Very good longevity. Beautiful bottle. A fine fragrance, I would buy it if my budget stretched that far.

Green, herbal, refreshing. The mint is NOT like toothpaste, and is not really very minty in style; rather, it is green leaf herbal at the beginning. Pleasant scent, settles into a light brown patchouli accord. My one complaint is that it is not terribly interesting. When I think of classic mint scents, Creed's Sélection Verte or L'Artisan's L'Eau du Caporal come to mind. In these, the mint is more identifiable yet is not compromised. The dry-down is gorgeous -- a throw-back to a classic fougere of the 80's but with a little lighter touch.

Launched in early May 2019, Eau de Minthe is Diptyque's modern take on a classic fougere (fern) accord. The traditional lavender is replaced here with mint; a fresh herb that is usually a top note in fragrances.

As such, I found the fragrance name a little misleading. The mint is not the leading star of the show here. Instead, it makes its appearance from the outset and is short-lived. It seems a little shy and doesn't shout out from the balcony. It is muted, tamed even, yet woven together expertly with earthy patchouli (perhaps there are hints of nutmeg there too) and geranium. On my skin, the patchouli jumps out loudest of all, with the other notes playing their tune quietly in the background. I detect no rose as such.

Eventually the fougere dry-down soon takes over, leaving a relatively strong trail of freshness and just a touch of sweetness creeping through. It was enough to keep me smelling my hands every few minutes and I was soon hooked. On a tester/blotter, the scent retains the accord for several days even with few sprays, so I bet this one will cling to clothes quite nicely.

Diptyque continues its history and obsession with everything to do with Greece or Greeks - from the herbaceous and incense-fumed mountains of Mt. Athos (L'Eau Trois), to the mythological cinnamon-opoponax 'favourite' of Alexander the Great (Eau Lente) and the fragrance of fresh green figs (Philosykos) - comes the tale of Minthe and Hades. If Hades smelled this good, he must have had style. As a Greek, it's hard not to love this brand.

All in all, this is nothing groundbreaking as a new scent. But it is a fresh fougere minus the lavender and for some people this may well be a modern take on a classic and will likely satisfy even the most demanding vintage scent enthusiasts. Just what we've been waiting for. Well done, Diptyque!