Eau de France
Rancé 1795

A nice classic scent, well balanced, refined, refreshingly green; It's a tiny bit sharp at first, but that resolves itself in a hurry. Citrus, green, and lavender open the fragrance in a very traditional green accord. It is rich and balanced and nothing at all original. When the fragrance resolves itself into the floral middle, it retains the green cast even among the florals. The florals – ylang-ylang and gardenia – are diminutive both by nature and by design. There's not really very much to the heart notes… I don't understand, why more complexity wasn't put into it. The fragrance picks up again for a little while in the base where a white musk, patchouli and sandalwood are supposed to take over. Unfortunately the white musk is dominant; the patchouli; less; and the sandalwood, even less. The two woods have little body and stay very close to the skin. Eau de France is too safe. It smells good, it's nicely balanced and refined, but there is nothing about it that is really catchy or very interesting. It turns out to be seriously ho-hum.